Not even an epic Southern California rainstorm could dampen the excitement Saturday at the Soulquarius R&B Jam at the Observatory in Santa Ana. The collection of ’90s-era hip hop artists coupled with its soulful superstars and like-minded contemporary performers managed to transform a soggy Saturday night into a festival-size house party.
There were some logistical missteps. Set times were essentially irrelevant, and acts ran well behind schedule. The ability of fans to travel among the three stages within the footprint seemed to help, heightening their anticipation as they wondered who would appear next.
Tackling the headlining responsibilities was R. Kelly, who had the daunting task of delivering the kind of performance needed to counter the stage delays, cold weather and general listlessness inevitable among attendees who spent hours standing around. His arsenal include a hefty catalog of nostalgic singles like “Half on a Baby,” “It Seems Like You’re Ready” and the anthemic “Bump and Grind,” all of which ignited an audience ready and willing to function as Kelly’s backing vocalists. With tunes like “That’s That” and “Ignition,” Kelly proved electrifying. For the faithful fans who stayed late, the bevy of hits that ended the evening was enough to send them stepping home in the name of love.
As the festival’s co-headliner, Erykah Badu proved the consummate professional as she battled a heavy blanket of lethargy. For those who skipped The Dream’s set on the House Party stage or couldn’t get into the at-capacity Mya appearance, the hour-plus lull between Jhene Aiko and Erykah Badu proved untenable. Mostly ignoring the lack of reciprocity from the audience, Badu waxed poetic with jazzy, soulful selections like “Didn’t Cha Know” and “Out My Mind, Just in Time.”
She managed to mount a rally with party starters like “On and On” from “Baduizm,” not to be confused with “…& On” from “Mama’s Gun,” both of which proved to be crowd-pleasers. “The Healer” was likely the highlight of her set, delivering a reminder of Badu’s rank in both hip-hop and neo-soul.
Despite dragging change-over times at each of the stages, frequent bottle-necked pedestrian flow and the challenge of the limited capacity of the indoor stage, forcing security to shut the doors numerous times during Pretty Ricky Mya, and Baby Bash, the performances lived up to the hype and outweighed the festival’s hiccups.
Though he slurred his way through some of the verses, DMX had fans jumping in unison to “Ruff Ryders Anthem” and “Party Up.” Brandy teleported her fans back to earlier days with tunes like “Almost Doesn’t Count” and “I Wanna Be Down.” The tandem of Ja Rule and Ashanti managed to earn forgiveness for going on over an hour late with a barrage of hits including “Wonderful” and a rendition of “Happy.”
The Grammy-nominated BJ the Chicago Kid scored big with his stanzas from “Church,” “The New Cupid” and the Schoolboy Q hit “Studio.” He even tipped his hat to soul legend Teddy Pendergrass with a “Love TKO” interlude that sent the room swooning.
Baby Bash closed out the Observatory stage strong by enlisting the help of regular collaborator Frankie J for “Obsession (No Es Amor).” Rounding out his time with “Suga Suga,” Bash sent the room into hysterics, reminding just how well the intersection of R&B and hip-hop resonates.
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