Missy Elliott hit the stage performing “Get Ur Freak On,” “WTF (Where They From)” and “Lose Control,”. Elliott and Timbaland, both from Virginia, decided to hang around the festival even after their Friday sets were canceled due to weather.
“This is huge for V.A.,” Elliott told the crowd. [Pharrell] made sure he did whatever he had to do to make sure we were all here today.”
Diddy was one of the biggest ovations of the night. The Bad Boy mogul opened with “Finna Get Loose,” his 2015 collaboration with Williams. Then followed up with going into “Mo Money Mo Problems,” “It’s All About the Benjamins” and 2002’s “I Need a Girl.”
Diddy will go down in history as one of the most charismatic performers. He danced at all across the stage. A pivotal moment though would be when he mentioned Greekfest, a 1989 Labor Day weekend college party. African American students clashed with police and the Virginia National Guard and how that remains one of the city’s darkest moments. “Two decades later, black tourists still shy away from Virginia Beach,” the Virginian-Pilot wrote in 2009. “Only recently has the city seen success attracting black-oriented conventions.”
“They got nervous and shut everything down,” Diddy told the crowd. “And then Pharrell came and brought everything back up.”
The List Goes On>>>>>>
Busta Rhymes and Spliff Star performed amped versions of “Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Can See” and “Pass the Courvoisier”. Then his final guest…Usher dance-walked onstage. The R&B singer performed his classic hit “U Don’t Have to Call” “Lovers and Friends” and “Yeah!” .Pharrell then finished the whirlwind set with three of his biggest hits: a solo “Blurred Lines” minus Robin Thicke, “Get Lucky” and “Happy.” Other performers included; Anderson .Paak, Chris Brown, Teddy Riley and Pusha T, among others.
At the end of the set, Williams gave a shout out to the police, the fire department and Virginia Beach mayor Bobby Dyer. It has been almost two decades since Greekfest happened, but some city officials and locals have long memories. Instead of a racial riot; they saw instead was tens of thousands of people peacefully and jovially celebrating music. Best yet…a local celebrity-turned-global-superstar that is intentionally mending a place he calls home.
