Wake Up!... A Morning Concert in Central Park.

I am an avid listener of hip-hop and a college student. Therefore, I love free music. Lying in my bed on a Thursday morning, I caught the tail-end of Good Morning America; a staple in my household. An advertisement for GMA's Summer Concert Series came up and stated that the next day would feature John Legend and The Roots. WHAT???!!? 

At that moment, I was struggling to gain reason. Why didn't I know this earlier? Whatever the case, I was excited because of the free opportunity to see the LEGENDARY Roots Crew but bummed that I wouldn't be able to share the moment with my closest friends from the lovely state of California. 

The whole day I was telling myself I wouldn't go because it would be stupid to wake up early as hell in the morning to go to Central Park by myself. After some simple coaxing by some friends, I was committed to busting a mission at around 5am. 

No.. I did not sleep at all that night. I set an alarm for 5am but turned it off and decided to just do something productive at 4am until it was time to start getting ready. 

Showered. Camera Packed. Water Bottle Packed. Stop at Dunkin Donuts. 
Check. Check. Check. And Check.  (I even called my local Dunkin Donuts at 4:45 in the morning to find out when they opened. Thats dedication!) 

On my way. I missed the first bus. The donuts were fresh so it was worth the 10 extra minutes I waited at the bus stop. 

Take the Bx7 or Bx10 bus to 231st Street. Hop on the 1 train. No express trains that morning at 96nd or 72nd street. I went local all the way to Times Sqaure. Transfer to the Shuttle. Take the uptown 6 train from Grand Central. Get off at 68th street. Walk to 72nd and go west until you hit the park. Enter park.

I got there at 7am just when they started the sound check. To my surprise. The crowd area was SOOOOO much smaller than it seemed on TV. (I have no idea what the hell they're going to do when the Jonas Brothers perform next Friday. -_-) 

I missed my opportunity to get a good spot up front. But i was relatively comfortable. The crowd was pretty diverse to my surprise. Young and Old. Black and White. Everything in between. People were pretty chill. I ended up chatting with some alumni from UCSD. What are the odds that I stand next to a Californian, I thought that was cool. 

 Black Thought performing during the sound check.

 Sam Champion and Robin Roberts seem like genuinely nice people. I wouldn't mind meeting them in person one day. 

 ?uestlove. Need I say more? 

 John Legend feelin the vibes from the new collaborative project with The Roots: "Wake Up!" 

Short and Sweet. The concert was just a taste of the new album dropping on Sept. 21st. It was a great experience, waking up that early for such an event. 

A good day to feel alive as a New Yorker, a music lover, and a broke-ass college student. 

WAKE UP! 

-TLG