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EUR ON THE SCENE: Ashanti And Goapele heat up the stage at Heineken Red Star Soul Concert.

Review by Tanisha Williams - photo by Foley Fale

(August 8, 2008)

*Wednesday night, the "Heineken Red Star Soul Concert" series officially set it off at the sexy hot-spot Boulevard3 in Los Angeles.

The green carpet came up short, but, offered up celebrity stunners: actress Megan Good; actress Elise Neal; retired-NFL player Marcellus Wiley; reality-personality Shante Broadus and a rare appearance by soul singer Jon B.

Once inside, DJ Cassidy spun old school hip-hop tunes that you wouldn't dare stand still to. Keeping it moving, host Kenny Burns (BET -"Black Poker Stars Invitation") and Danella (BET-Red Carpet) introduced producer/songwriter Mark Batson as the recipient of the Heineken Independent Achievers' Award.

Well-deserved, this award celebrates individuals who demonstrate the hustle, integrity and drive to succeed while helping others along the way. Batson has worked with Alicia Keys, James Blunt and Anthony Hamilton.

Bay area songstress Goapele, took to the stage and whipped up a sweet serenade of neo-soul sounds. The crowd swayed and sang as she closed her set with one of my favorites, "Closer."

Goapole

After a brief intermission, Ashanti moved into position styled in fitting black spandex pants and patent leather stilettos. No lip-synching at this joint, after a few shout-outs and directions for audio improvements - no fault of her own - Ashanti commanded the stage as the R&B princess we have affectionately crowned her. The confetti soared through the air while she belted out various classic hits such as "Foolish" and "Happy," to current cuts off her new album, "The Declaration." I went, I saw, I sang, I danced and had a great time.

Ashanti proved to be a crowd pleaser Wednesday night at Boulevard3 in Hollywood

The Heineken Independent Achiever award recipients are hand-selected by a distinguished committee consisting of current Motown Records president Sylvia Rhone; former Motown president: music industry veteran and neo-soul pioneer Kedar Massenburg; five-time Grammy-winning producer and songwriter Bryan-Michael Cox; "Lifestyle Specialist" and former vice president of A&R at Roc-A-Fella Records, Kenny Burns; and founder of Atlanta's FunkJazz Kafe and past Independent Achiever Award recipient, Jason Orr.

This is a great cause to celebrate and the 2008 Heineken Red Star Soul experience is coming to a city near you. The schedule for the following cities includes (artist lineup subject to change):

Aug. 13: Dallas (Gilley's, Raheem DeVaughn and Bryan-Michael Cox)
Aug. 20: Atlanta (Opera, Lyfe Jennings and Bryan-Michael Cox)
Aug. 27: Chicago (House of Blues, Dwele and Chrisette Michelle)
Sept. 4: Detroit (Fillmore, Dwele and Estelle)
Sept. 10: Cleveland (House of Blues, Lyfe Jennings and Bilal)
Sept. 17: Washington, D.C. (Ibiza, Raheem DeVaughn and Chrisette Michelle)
Sept. 24: Philadelphia (World Cafe Live, Musiq Soulchild and Estelle)
Oct. 1: New York (Mansion, Keyshia Cole and Raheem DeVaughn)

For more information about the Heineken Independent Achiever Award, selection committee members and each recipient, log on to www.heinekenredstarsoul.com

Tanisha Williams is a Southern California based writer. She is also the the publisher of Renaissance Women Magazine (www.renaissancewomenmag.com).

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