Baltimore Was Ready For The Boys 4 Life Tour
The Boys are back in town…in Baltimore that is. Sunday, March 29 served as the Baltimore stop of the Boys 4 Life Tour, which features B2K and Bow Wow as the main headliners and pretty much any young millennial in the area popped out for the show. With the rest of the bill including Amerie, Yung Joc, Dem Franchise Boys, B5, Crime Mob, and Pretty Ricky, this was essentially a matured version of the critically acclaimed Scream Tour.
Doors opened at 6 PM and the show started PROMPTLY at 7 PM, with one of the 2000’s R&B princesses taking the stage. With nothing but a mic and a light, Amerie seemingly walked right out from 2006 wearing a sheer black bustier and red shorts opening with my favorite song from her, “Talkin’ About” right into “Talking To Me.”
Since her set was only 15 minutes long, she couldn’t even really dig into her catalog and performed just 5 songs, quickly moving to “Why Don’t We Fall In Love” and “1 Thing.” Although we know that shows with fully stacked lineups lend little to no time for an artist to really breathe during their set, we hope that she’s able to go on a tour of her own that will allow her to perform more of her material that helped put a stamp on female R&B in the early 2000s.
Moving right along it felt like for the rest of the show we were being transported to an Atlanta house party, starting with Yung Joc, who ran out to his 2006 hit “I Know You See It.” I kind of forgot how much of a featured artist Joc was during his prime, as he guest starred on a lot of songs that were in heavy rotation during the time, but it was definitely his bars in “Buy You A Drank” that had me rocking back and forth in the pit.
That slight rock turned into full on motorcycle arms as the beat for “It’s Goin’ Down” dropped and the audience in unison bounced from side to side.
The group comprised of five brothers was a bit of a late addition to the original lineup of this tour, but B5 was surprisingly impressive. It had been a good while since I had heard any of their music, and I know that I hadn’t previously seen them live in concert before, so I wasn’t sure what I was in for.
While not in the major spotlight, The Breeding Brothers have certainly been working on their craft because their stage performance was extremely polished, effortlessly dancing across the stage while delivering live vocals. “Hydrolics” was the highlight for me, because the beat and production for that song still knocks, and the live rendition just added to the vibe that was already established from the studio track. Not everyone can, or should, attempt to cover anything originally crafted by Michael Jackson or the Jackson 5, but B5’s remake of “All I Do” lends new life to the classic song, while still retaining elements that made it a fan favorite.
Crime Mob and Dem Franchize Boyz brought the crunk energy from the A that had us all hype, before anybody was getting “lit”. Whether you were getting ready to beat somebody’s azz, putting on your white tee or rocking your hips, their music was what you would listen to while getting ready for a night out at the club. The Baltimore show seemed to have been delivered a special treat, in the form of Diamond coming out to spit her verses, because to my knowledge she wasn’t present at all of the previous stops on the tour.
I had a whole moment while watching that this was truly one of the last eras where hip-hop was actually fun. We had catchy tunes to go along with an associated dance that everybody just knew how to do. Shall I say that this was the precursor to what TikTok dances are today? I would say so, and it was no more evident than when Dem Franchize Boyz threw on “Lean Wit It, Rock Wit It.“
Anytime the fellas of Pretty Ricky get put on a concert bill, they are going to show off. Every time I’ve been to one of these Millennium Tours, I’ve walked away saying that Pretty Ricky was one of my favorite acts of the night. I’m not sure if it’s the catalog of songs, how they flow within each other as a group, or just the showmanship that they display on stage, but they are entertaining for sure.
Ascending from underneath the stage like the superstars that they know they are, Pleasure P yelled out “it’s five in the morning” as the beat for “On The Hotline” dropped and it was on from there. In the 35 minutes that they had, it was a brief trip down memory lane, going back 21 years to their debut album “Bluestars,” where they blew the dust off of singles “Grind With Me,” “Your Body” and “Nothing but a Number.”
If you know anything about Pretty Ricky, you’ll know that things can get a little salacious, and “Juicy” was the moment for that when Spectacular walked down in the audience in nothing but a red towel to find a woman so that he could bring her back onstage and give a lap dance to. Usually there’s only one lady on stage, but Pleasure P found an extra victim for Sexy Spec to hump on.
At this point, it’s already been a long night, but we still weren’t done yet because neither of the headliners had come out yet, but that would change when Bow Wow appeared inside of a cage that displayed a “beware of dog” sign, kicking things into gear with “Bounce With Me.” With just he and his DJ, he quickly showed you why he was such the childhood rap phenomenon that he was in the early 2000s.
No longer “Lil” Bow Wow, Shad Moss runs around the stage with much of the same energy from 25 years ago, performing “Ghetto Girls,” “Take Ya Home,” “Basketball” and “Fresh Azimiz.“ Granted we know Bow for all of his solo hits, he lent his talents to quite a few tracks as a special guest, often time with his parts being the best of the song. He dug in the crates to play some of his features including “I’m A Flirt,” “I Think They Like Me,” as well as the remixes to “Jumpin’ Jumpin’,” and “Where The Party At.”
One of the biggest deals about this particular tour is that it would be the reunion of B2K, which sent a lot of ladies in a frenzy. The LAST time that B2K had mounted a reunion was the very first Millennium Tour, which I also attended, so this would be a full circle moment to see Raz B, Omarion, Boog and Fizz all back on one accord. Straight out the gate they pulled no punches. Officially celebrating 25 years as a group, it was a perfect choice that they opted to open with “Uh Huh“, their very first single. It was the exact same essence of the song and performance that made young girls all over fall in love with them in the first place.
Not taking their foot off the gas, they moved right into the “Girlfriend” remix that served as a direct throwback to their 2002 BET Awards performance of the song, with some of the same choreography intact. Their reinforced sense of brotherhood has been the driving force for giving the fans what they have been yearning for after so many years, and their discography still has cuts that’s been making people see multiple tour dates. “What A Girl Wants,“ “Gots Ta Be” & “Why I Love You” all sounded great with the live instrumentation, giving it the upgrades that were welcome.
All four members had their own solo sets to showcase their individuality. Raz B performed “Everything” and a Michael Jackson dance tribute, of course you know Boog had to do it for Lil Saint and rehashed his now iconic dance scene from “You Got Served“, Fizz rapped and Omari gave us teasers of “Posed To Be,” “O” and a joint performance of “Let Me Hold You“, before assembling back with his group for them all to perform “Touch” together.
Seeing the group back at full force was a testament that you’re capable of overcoming any issues with people that you’re close with, as long as the mutual love and respect is at the core. B2K say that they’re going to release new music this year, so we’re going to hold them to that promise and who knows, you may be seeing them on the road again next year, with more than what will just be a greatest hits show.
