Soulja Boy Rehearsing
So Soulja Boy is onstage bouncing all over the place and I can’t help but feel like following suit.
I can’t lie, the kid has grown on me over the past two years. “Gucci bandana, Gucci, Gucci bandana!” Funny thing is, an unidentified white person came over and asked me, “what are they saying? Gucci what?”
Gucci mane isn’t here, but Shawty Lo is. By the way, I’ve never seen him without shades on. Interesting!
Shawty Lo
15 Minutes Later…
Goodie Mob Onstage
We need oxygen to the stage, please. Oxygen.
Cee-Lo just finished doing some hilarious dance and has everybody crying laughing. “We need oxygen to the stage, please,” Cee-Lo jokes. “Oxygen!” It’s kinda nuts to see Goodie Mob on stage together. Big Boi is here too. All we need is for 3 Stacks to show up.
“Somebody take a close up of my bicep, man,” Cee-Lo offers. “Use the fish-eye for that one.”
I swear, Lo’s a companion. Now he’s inviting us to stop by his club later on today. “All the BET staff is welcomed to come to my club, the green room,” he reveals. “First round on me.”
5 Minutes later…
Khujo, T-Mo and Big Boi
There’s some down time and members of the Mob and Big Boi are seemingly discussing the performance. Meanwhile, Lo’s sitting on the piano singing lines from classic songs including Chris de Burgh’s “Lady in Red.” Moments later, he’s doing his own rendition of Maxwell’s “Pretty Wings.” I must say, those guys are some of the coolest around. As I came closer to Cee-Lo to snap a picture, he started giving me directions.
“Let me see what it looks like,” he asked after I snapped the first photo. “Nah, you gotta get some of the keys. Take it vertical.”
Cee-Lo poses for BET.com
5 Minutes Later…
Laurie Ann Gibson sat in the Mob rehearsal with women I believe to be her dancers. She rocks a Cassie-like hairdo nowadays. She also stopped by our production office earlier today. I wonder what she was looking for.
Laurie Ann and friends
15 Minutes Later…
I stopped by the production office to upload a few flicks, look at the monitor and see Laurie Ann Gibson on stage with Snoop Dogg, seemingly spitting something. I ran back to the rehearsal space, but she was gone by the time I got there.
Snoop Dogg rehearsing
It looks like The-Dream will be on stage more than once come showtime. Right now, Snoop D-O Double G is rehearsing “Gangster of Love,” a cut featuring Dream, that he plans to premiere at the BET Hip Hop Awards. I wonder what Laurie Ann was doing on stage. Maybe she just crashed it. Meanwhile, Snoop’s cousin, Daz looks on and wishes Trina was sitting next to him.
Daz reveals his dream girl
Make sure to tune into the 2009 BET Hip Hop Awards on BET October 27th 8/7c.