This is long overdue (about 3 months to be exact) but its better late than never.

Friday, September 16, 2011.

I knew Lupe was gonna be in the area. In fact, I told myself a while ago that if I didn’t see Lupe before the end of the year that I would denounce as a fan. So I purchased tickets. Bought two as a matter of fact. I dragged my co-workers and my sister down to the Marriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia on this brisk Fall evening for a concert that I will never forget.

It was SUPPOSED to be Lupe, Wale, Big Sean and Miguel. I was excited. However, about a week before the show, we found out Big Sean was no longer performing. A little disappointing but still excited nonetheless. So. We stood for about an hour waiting for the gates to open. Another two hours before the show began and it would be an additional two hours before Lupe even hit the stage.

But it was worth the wait.

Lupe Fiasco’s first female artist on his label 1st and 15th, Sarah Green, did her thing. Still trying to make my mind up about whether or not she will actually make it to mainstream. I guess only time will tell. In the meantime, check her out. Some other randoms performed but to be honest, they didn’t make that great of an impression on me.

Fast forward through Miguel’s performance and press play on Wale’s. The one thing I can’t stand about Wale is that he does WAYYY too much when he performs. At this point, the crowd got crazy. Wale jumped into the crowd.  Walked all the way through the sea of people pushing and scratching to get at him (I am among these fans) and then back on stage. Other than his “I want to cause a riot” stunt, his set was pretty good. I was right in the front, so I purposely wore my Towson sweatshirt for Bait 😉

Lupe never disappoints. He reached back and pulled from F&L, definitely performed most of LASERS, and everything in between. He even dedicated a few songs to the Occupy Wall Street movement and to the issues in Palestine. I appreciate Lupe’s effort to make his fans aware of political and social issues.

I managed to capture a few images on my friends EVO (my phone died before the show even started). I think they’re pretty good for a camera phone.

All in all, the concert was great. And not just because I’m a fan. I left the pavilion and my legs were numb because I stood so long. But it was worth every moment.

Next time, I won’t wait so long to tell ya’ll about it.