Missy Elliott is celebrating her storied career with her first arena headlining tour, and with Timbaland, Ciara, Busta Rhymes on board, it was a certified banger-fest at Tampa’s Amalie Arena last Wednesday night.
This stop of the “Out of This World” tour saw 12,000 old-school hip-hop fans in attendance as Timbaland started things off, playing hype man perfectly as he ran through hits of his own, plus others he was featured on for half-an-hour (Aaliyah made the playlist, too).
Atlanta’s Ciara, who’s kept Russell Wilson relevant over the years, followed, opening with “Goodies” slowly stepping down her slightly slanted riser down to the main stage. Accompanied by around seven dancers, Ciara went through a 45-minute set that included all her hits including “1, 2, Step” and “Level up”. At one point the applause was so loud she had to pause the regularly scheduled program and take it all in and thanked fans for hanging with her for over 20 years.
Mr. Rhymes, with his forever stage partner “Spliff”, proceeded to give Tampa , what one might call, a Laurel and Hardy of a hip-hop performance. From chatting back and forth with each other and with the crowd, to adding funny accents to the chorus’s of his songs, Busta Rhymes was truly a pleasure to watch and was all smiles. In awe of the crowd’s volume, the 52-year-old looked up and said, “Hey Tampa…..y’all different”.
Missy pulled out all the classics and all the old outfits, making multiple wardrobe changes throughout the set. The energy was at its peak and she thanked everyone for rocking with her for over 30 years. The four-time Grammy-winner took to elevated risers as well as a platform that brought her over the arena floor audience. During “Work It” Elliott took to the floor and did a whole loop around the bowl interacting with fans, giving dabs, singing into cell phone cameras and all out having a blast. Trina, a Miami native, even came out for a few songs to give Missy time to change into her final outfit before being joined by all three openers for a medley of “Up Jumps Da Boogie,” “Touch It,” and “Lose Control.”
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This stop of the “Out of This World” tour saw 12,000 old-school hip-hop fans in attendance as Timbaland started things off, playing hype man perfectly as he ran through hits of his own, plus others he was featured on for half-an-hour (Aaliyah made the playlist, too).
Atlanta’s Ciara, who’s kept Russell Wilson relevant over the years, followed, opening with “Goodies” slowly stepping down her slightly slanted riser down to the main stage. Accompanied by around seven dancers, Ciara went through a 45-minute set that included all her hits including “1, 2, Step” and “Level up”. At one point the applause was so loud she had to pause the regularly scheduled program and take it all in and thanked fans for hanging with her for over 20 years.
Mr. Rhymes, with his forever stage partner “Spliff”, proceeded to give Tampa , what one might call, a Laurel and Hardy of a hip-hop performance. From chatting back and forth with each other and with the crowd, to adding funny accents to the chorus’s of his songs, Busta Rhymes was truly a pleasure to watch and was all smiles. In awe of the crowd’s volume, the 52-year-old looked up and said, “Hey Tampa…..y’all different”.
Missy pulled out all the classics and all the old outfits, making multiple wardrobe changes throughout the set. The energy was at its peak and she thanked everyone for rocking with her for over 30 years. The four-time Grammy-winner took to elevated risers as well as a platform that brought her over the arena floor audience. During “Work It” Elliott took to the floor and did a whole loop around the bowl interacting with fans, giving dabs, singing into cell phone cameras and all out having a blast. Trina, a Miami native, even came out for a few songs to give Missy time to change into her final outfit before being joined by all three openers for a medley of “Up Jumps Da Boogie,” “Touch It,” and “Lose Control.”
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