In an over-saturated music industry, there’s nothing better than new talent that has something fresh to offer.
Last night SOB’s hosted BET’s Music Matters Showcase featuring this year’s ‘best of the best,’ and, all cliches aside, the group of talent chosen truly represents this year’s best of the best.
The line-up included Curtis Fields, Adrian Marcel, Mateo, Austin Brown, Ro James, and Bobby V.
You may not be familiar with all of the names, but come 2014, these artists will undoubtedly make their mark. We all know BET’s Music Matters artists are destined for success. Just ask Miguel, Melanie Fiona, J. Cole, Alicia Keys, Estelle…
El Presidente Rico Love co-hosted the show, giving his stamp of approval to all of the artists chosen, something any artist would be honored to receive. So for these up-and-comers, it’s no small feat.
If you weren’t fortunate enough to swing by SOB’s last night, here’s what you missed:
Curtis Fields opened the show performing “This Christmas,” “I Get By With A Little Help From My Friends” which he revealed was the track he performed for LA Reid which got him signed, and closed with his single, “Opposites Attract.” And as far as a band goes, you don’t really need that when you can play instruments on your iPhone, which is exactly what he did.
Adrian Marcel, a personal favorite of mine, then took the stage and owned every moment of his performance. The Raphael Saadiq-protege performed a handful of songs off his 7 Days of Weak mixtape including the stand out, “Waiting,” which had a semi-apathetic crowd finally show some enthusiasm.
Krucial Noise’s Mateo showed his vocal range as well as his talent on the keys performing his take on Kendrick Lamar’s “Sing About Me,” his original holiday track “Home For Christmas,” and closed out with his current single, “How Good Is Your Love” which is a 106 & Park favorite these days. Mateo performs like a veteran in the game, and was a favorite with the female-heavy crowd.
Austin Brown, nephew of Michael Jackson, proved that talent runs in the family when he took the stage, showing off his perfected dance moves throughout his set which included his retro-sounding single, “Ménage a Trois.”
After Austin, Rico Love blessed the crowd with a mini impromptu performance of his current single, “They Don’t Know,” before Ro James took the stage.
Ro, who’s voice is smoother than silk, sang alongside a full band and quickly proved to be a crowd favorite. The audience sang along throughout his set which featured a few tracks off his EP trilogy Coke Jack and Cadillacs. He kicked things off with his just-the-right-amount-of-vulgar track, “Lisa,” a new track, “Neon,” and his staples “ADIDAS” and “Pledge Allegiance.”
Bobby V closed out the show around 11PM performing songs off his newly released album, Peach Moon.
For more on BET Music Matters and the above artists, click here.
PHOTO/VIDEO CREDIT: Instagram
