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Watch The Throne

I was lucky enough to attend “Watch The Throne” in Miami last night, courtesy of Dontaira and Kia… 🙂 The Jay-Z and Kanye concert is nothing short of fabulous, amazing, exciting and inspiring!! The energy inside American Airlines Arena was unbelievable, not an empty seat in the house..and of course plenty of star sightings with DWade and LeBron leading the way, (on what could’ve been a HEAT game night at Triple A), but nonetheless, thousands upon thousands of Hip Hop fans threw the Roc in the air to party with the best of ’em – myself included! 😉

I borrowed the above pic from @CCole_E twitter, cuz apparently her tickets were slightly closer then mine…LOL!! I’m not complaining though…I had a great view of everything I needed to see.

The set design and staging for the show were extremely well done, they had a main stage with a platform that went up and down centered in front of it, then opposite there was another platform which could be raised as well, bringing the artists closer to the crowd across the main stage.

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The lighting and use of lasers, fire and effects = mind-blowing…I was seriously mesmerized.

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Obviously I wouldn’t expect anything less from Hip Hop Royalty, but all the staging, paired with SO MANY hits…all that music…WOW, just WOW!

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During the 2 hour show they each had their own sets in addition to performing several songs together from Watch The Throne and elsewhere….but more than anything, I loved hearing Jay’s hits that took me back a good decade + … and being surrounded with everyone else who felt it too.

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And — the best part, they did “Ni**as in Paris” 5 TIMES!! Twice to close the show and 3 times for an encore….and each time they re-started the crowd loved it that much more! “THAT SHIT CRAY!!!”

Shouts to my concert date Kimi..it was her FIRST EVER rap/hip hop concert!! I know, right!?!? It was a hot, sweaty, humid mess inside the Arena, but worth every beat that we danced too.

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How many artists can make tens of thousands (grown ass adult fans) throw the Roc symbol in the air and all be on the same beat…. If they’re coming to an arena near you…you DON’T want to miss it…simply EPIC.

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Me + My Girlfriends

Last weekend’s adventure also including lots of time with me and my girlfriends..I didn’t get to see them ALL (Kimi), but everyone else came out to play, including Cat from Jax and Gaby from PHX! It also happened to be Irie Weekend as in DJ Irie…so lots of fun festivities going on…. My first stop was to see the Shelton’s and baby Darion!! I think his picture says it all…SIMPLY ADORABLE!!

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Look at how he gazes at his Auntie Aubrey with those big blue eyes… *sigh* He is a living cabbage patch doll!!

Then, later that night….I hit up Miami Beach and the Crown Royal Black Lounge at Mokai with Riza, where we met up with the Lady Dana!

Friday I attended the Irie Weekend Golf Tourney to shoot some interviews and footage for On The Flipside …

Lil Jon and his son DJ Slade were also in the house… Photos courtesy my photog Anthony Peraza

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Friday night we LIV-ed it up…with DJ Irie and friends…

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DJ Irie had one helluva party with lots of star power LIV-ing with the best of em….

The best part was when Irie was “on stage” with Flo Rida..so fun to WATCH him have fun..great vibe and atmosphere!!

Saturday I brunched on Ocean Drive with the girls…

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And — I left the “Wet Willie’s” to Cat and Gabs!

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When Sunday rolled around, we were close to running on empty..but we managed to get it in one last time at LIV!!

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Above: Cherisse and Amy, Below: Gaby and Aubrey

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Mind you it was really only about getting dressed up so I could rock the fabulous feather earring you see me wearing in the picture..Gaby spotted ’em for me, and well, I was destined to have the earrings!

On another note…I learned oh SO MANY things from my friends this weekend, Blumpkin via Cat, Crippled Sparrow via Cherisse…but nothing could top Gaby’s “Cat Daddy” dance! She even shared this video with me of her dancing the dance….it’s dark and you have to turn your head to the side to watch…but you get the picture…enjoy!!

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Flashback Interview: Sean Kingston

My thoughts and prayers are with Sean Kingston and his family, as he remains hospitalized after a weekend jet ski accident in Miami. He’s a sweetheart and I wish him a speedy recovery.

I interviewed him in the summer of ’08, on set while he was shooting a music video… I remember this day because it was a totally last minute assignment, and I wasn’t really “done up” or ready to go, but he was nonetheless so complimentary and sweet while talking to me, just a cute teddy bear!

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OTF: Ronnie Brown Interview

WATCH NOW! See my On The Flipside interview with NFL Running Back Ronnie Brown and his initiative: 23 Ways to Stop Youth Violence… I met up with him during his “tour stop” at Fort Lauderdale High School.

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This will be in the next episode…but you can watch the segment now!

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Miami Adios

The time has come for me to make my next move… it’s been nearly 5 years now that I’ve called the Magic City home, and while I do love Miami life, I’m taking my talents from South Beach, home to the Bay.

As a TV broadcaster, there’s nothing more flattering than being able to “go home” and tell stories on the same streets you grew up on… and now I have that opportunity at KRON 4 in San Francisco. I can’t say I was always looking to make the move back to the left coast, but over the last year, I have been praying on what to do, and being closer to the majority of my family and friends, just seems like the right thing to do. So, this opportunity came along and I am so excited to be able to be back on the screens in the Bay (I previously had on-air stints on KNTV and KTVU in 2002 & 2003), inject some of the Miami style and bring my brand of TV to the Bay Area!

I am really looking forward to being around all the sights, sounds and people I grew up with..the whole Bay Area vibe that is so unique! It’ll be nice to eat sushi and teriyaki plates from actual Japanese restaurants, Chinese food that’s not P.F. Changs and Hawaiian BBQ joints, not the Thai, Sushi, Chinese fusions that they throw together in Florida – like it’s all “the same.” Ah and the authentic Mexican food…can I have a flauta and chimichanga please!?!? I pretty much just always wait til my west coast visits to indulge in those…

The great thing is, Miami isn’t going anywhere…and it’s just a plane ride away… But I will miss living on the 31st floor in a luxury building that sits on Biscayne Bay, with an awesome view of  Miami, a state of the art gym, huge swimming pool, steam room and sauna on the 10th Floor (that I didn’t use nearly enough); and being able to walk in my neighborhood at any time of day or night, because people here just never seem to sleep (or work)! And I can’t leave out the 3 mile drive across 395 to South Beach and the abundance of yummy Cuban food. Most importantly, I have gained a fabulous network of friends and contacts in South Florida, and I will miss them dearly, especially my (Miami) girls Dara, Cherisse, Kimi, Rene, Dana and my Deco Drive fam… Now I’m trading in the “Hola Mami” for the “hella this and hella that!”

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South Beachin’

I spent a nice day at the beach yesterday with some good friends! Now, although I live just a few miles away, I don’t take advantage of it enough…so I made the conscious effort to hit South Beach for some fun in the  sun! 🙂

Cat trekked down from Jax to hang and Dara and Alexis joined too…

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…then we escorted the bros from Chicago into the ocean – I told them not to worry about sharks! lol

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Rene showed up with an umbrella later in the day…and Jevon tried again and again and again to get it to stay in the sand…the thing tried to fly away a good 3-4 times. There must be some special trick to making it stay!

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FUN FUN FUN in the SUN SUN SUN

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MIAMI – Pro Cheer and Dance Workshop

I am often asked and approached by women who are interested in joining the ranks of “pro” cheerleaders and dancers in the NFL and NBA. The problem is there aren’t always a lot of resources around to accurately prepare a candidate for the audition process, not to mention the choreography style, hair/makeup, fitness, attire and the interview process that are also a part of the road to Going Pro!

So, I am excited to announce that I am coordinating a “Miami Pro Dance Convention” for Going Pro Entertainment! The event takes place Sunday, February 27, 2011 at FitSource in North Miami. The are 2 separate sessions, AM and PM…and each has its own unique routines and presenters. I have some amazing choreographers and presenters on deck for the event and I know it’ll be a huge success. The agenda includes NFL and NBA style choreography, informative Q&A, as well as gift bags! 😉

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Anyone interested in participating or seeking more info can visit the sign up link here – http://miamiprodance.eventbrite.com/

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OTF: 305

I just edited my final episode of On The Flipside for 2010! It’s been another great year, slowed down a bit, but definitely had fun putting all this great content together and thankful for everyone who helps me get it done!! On this episode, I used the American Airlines Arena in downtown Miami as my backdrop (hence 305) and we’ve got highlights from Juwan Howard’s “Juice Foundation” fashion show launch, the ribbon-cutting for Baltimore Ravens Ray Lewis new real estate endeavor, then the Miami Dolphins have gone to the dogs! Actually some of the players posed with their dogs for a (charity) calendar… plus we go to the Sucka Free to profile 49ers Gold Rush member Jasmin… Press play below!!

For ALL the episodes visit: http://ontheflipsidetv.com

Here’s a pic of me at the Juice Foundation event. Photo courtesy of NLPG Images.