November 4, 2022
Written and photographed by Marika N. Johnson
The Millennium Tour is still in existence after its beginnings in 2020. Proving that nostalgia wins the day as the 10 act show makes a stop at the BJCC’s Legacy Arena in Birmingham, AL.
Bucket hats, overalls, airbrushed shirts and boots were the favored look of the many attendees.
Day 26, from Diddy’s Making the Band 4, started the show with all five members on stage making the reunion complete. “So Good”, “Got Me Going”, and “Imma Put On Her” seemed to be the crowd favorites.
With such a large line up, this concert was well put together. Event planners kept the pace steady with no lag in between sets. Crime Mob quickly took the stage belting out hits such as "Stilettos (Pumps)", getting the crowd immediately to their feet. With fists pounding in unison, Lil Scrappy joins them with "Knuck If You Buck" and "Rock Yo Hips".
Sammie begins the short but sweet third set clad in University of Alabama gear, a nod to the favored team– we see you Sammie! “Come With Me“ and of course, “I Like It“.
Fourth on stage was Bobby Valentino. During his set he alluded to the infamous trouble ridden Verzus battle. Regardless of the outcome of that particular event, he impressed the crowd with his vocals on "Slow Down" and "Tell Me". He ended his set with a beautiful falsetto on "Mrs Officer".
With a quick transition, Pleasure P graced the stage and began his set. He was donned in red fur with matching red rimmed shades and a red brush cut hairstyle. With a flawless voice, he croons to the mostly female crowd hits like “Grind With Me”, “On the Hotline” and "Boyfriend #2".
Travis Porter enthralls us as the three manned group rallied the crowd through the 6th set with a variety of hits that included, “Bring It Back”, “Ayy Ladies” and “Make It Rain”.
With memorable classics, the Atlanta crunk movement lives on.
On stage next leads us into the Lloyd experience. Like many of the artists on the tour, we were first introduced to him at a young age. Therefore, watching and listening to a mature and insightful LLoyd was a breath of fresh air. He spoke of the brevity of life and asked us to “love one another”. With a beautiful smile and smooth vocals, Lloyd leads us through his 15 year musical journey with classics such as, "Get It Shawty" "Lay It Down" “Girls Around The World”.
Adoring fans bid adieu to Lloyd and with a jolt of crunk Atlanta’s Ying Yang Twins, Kaine and D-Roc, injected energy into the capacity filled Legacy Arena. The duo hits the audience with back to back to back whammers, “Ay Yi Yi“, “Whistle While You Twerk“ “Get Low”, “Ms. New Booty”, "Salt Shaker'' and "Wait (The Whisper Song)”. The two released so many mega classics that they can undoubtedly be crowned as early twerk music pioneers. They walked so The City Girls could run.
Keri Hilson is the only female R&B vocalist on the Millennium Tour. She represented well singing favorites such as “Knock You Down”, "Turnin Me On", "Pretty Girl Rock". Also, she shared her many song writing credits. Keri penned classics such as, “Take Me as I Am”- Mary J. Blige, “Ice Box”- Omarion, “Pimpin All Over the World” -Ludacris.
We draw closer to ending this epic walk through an era with R&B male vocalist, Mario. He provided a stellar performance with a flawless voice and a team of talented dancers. The ladies agree that many memorable moments were created with his shirt on and then off. Either way, the crowd went wild for Mario as he danced and sang his way into the hearts and souls of thousands. “Let Me Love You”, “Just a Friend 2002”, “How Do I Breathe”, were all a part of his setlist.
That brings us to the final performance of the night! We hear the loud revving of a motorcycle engine and a red Ducati emerges from the stage floor lifting Bow and his bike upward creating quite the dynamic image. He opened the set with the crowd already on their feet as he rapped “Fresh AzImIz”. Dem Franchize Boyz joined Bow on stage with “Oh I Think They Like Me”. He exits the stage leaving Dem Franchize Boyz to finish their set with (dancers and oversized white tees included) “White Tee” and “Lean Wit It, Rock wit It”. BowWow then returns with a medley of hits and an outfit change and also a fresh pair of Dunks.
“When I say Bow, ya’ll say Wow…Bow…WOW…Bow…WOW!
“What’s my motherf’ckin’ name?”
He completes his 30 minute set after giving us hit after hit. He gave us dance moves on “Bounce Wit Me”, and ran through other classics such as, “My Baby”, “Let Me Hold You” and “You Can Get It All.”
This legendary walk through the late 90’s and early 2000’s was a moment well worth the wait. The concert was executed well, cognizant of time and visually stunning. Everyone left satisfied that their artist sang their favorite songs. We reminisced together, screamed and sang together. We departed with a feeling of thankfulness as we hold on to the memories that these throwback artists created for us.