Tunechi delivered a scorching combo of 'How to Love' and 'John' to end the show on Sunday night.
By Alvin Blanco
Lil Wayne performs at the 2011 VMAs
Photo: Getty Images
Lil Wayne closes out a hectic week that included a skateboarding mishap and a Jay-Z dis by proving he's just as much rock star as he is rap star. Weezy F. closed out the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards with a scorching performance of his hits "How to Love" and "John."
"You know, he always comes different: One day he's a rock star, one day he's a skater; he's singing R&B. I think we can expect a little bit of everything in this performance," Weezy's musical director Gil Smith told MTV News last week.
He wasn't kidding.
YMCMB wunderkind Drake introduced Weezy, who kicked off his performance singing his hit rap ballad "How to Love," with Auto-tune effects added to his microphone. Backed by a live band, Lil Tunechi eased down the stage sporting a black top hat, snug-fitting animal prints pants, a white V-neck T-shirt and red Vans.
After showing off his vocal chops and finishing the first verse of "How to Love," Weezy then took off the hat and shirt, put back on his sunglasses, and after uttering, "Ladies and gentleman, my name is Lil Wayne," screamed and launched into "John." The band replaced the original instrumental with the familiar groove of Black Sabbath's "Iron Man," giving the performance a decidedly hard-rock turn as the rapper hyperactively jumped around the stage.
After kicking his verse for "John," which features Rick Ross, Weezy ran into the crowd and greeted Rozay. Back onstage, he picked up a white and black guitar and told the crowd to put their hands in the air (along with plenty of expletives) and played a few notes, before removing the instrument and slamming it to the stage.
With Jay-Z and Beyoncé clearly beaming about expecting their first child, and the Throne setting the stage on fire earlier in the night, many couldn't help but wonder if Weezy would lob any shots at Jay.
But that was not to happen, as Weezy ended his set by returning to the mic one final time to say, "Young moolah, baby," before tossing the mic stand to the floor. Although Weezy was up for awards in a pair of categories — Best Hip-Hop Video for "6 Foot, 7 Foot" and Best Collaboration for his part on Chris Brown's "Look at Me Now" — he didn't earn a Moonman this year.
As a consolation, Weezy should sleep well knowing his new Tha Carter IV album dropped at midnight via digital retailers and the physical CD is hitting shelves later Monday morning (August 29).
The 28th annual MTV Video Music Awards have wrapped, but the real action is just getting started! Stick with MTV News for winners, fashion pics, video and behind-the-scenes stories about everything that went down. Visit VMA.MTV.com for the latest.
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