Keri tales

Words by C. Daniel

Photos courtesy of Freddy O and The Garner Circle PR

In Wonderland - Keri Hilson

Keri Hilson shines and tends to wonder off from place to place musically.

Once upon a time, after a ten plus year grind, a hard-working Decatur born-and-raised homegirl came into her own with the release of her debut solo effort, In a Perfect World, released on March 24, 2009. She possessed star quality with a pretty smile, humble demeanor and a rainbow-colored sequined dress. In celebration of the multi-talented singer/songwriter’s success, courtesy of the Garner Circle and MusicBusinessPolitics, she turned Opera, the grand Midtown Atlanta club, into something out of a storybook on Thursday, March 26, 2009.

Opera - Down the Magic Rabbit Hole

Loosely based around Lewis Carroll’s 1865 classic tale, Alice in Wonderland, everyone inside of the private world walked past a grassy carpet with concrete blocks down a magic rabbit hole. It was Hilson’s dreamland: surrounded by a grand hall of balloons, rose petals all over the ground, dangling flowers, an ice sculpture on stage with an animated caricature of Hilson etched above her name and ignited sparklers upon her arrival. Throughout the land were kings, queens, and knaves of hearts walking around the crowd. Somewhere, a caterpillar was smokin’ hard on a quite aromatic hookah. It was a bit hazy.

The night called for a cool celebration. Against Hilson’s bouncy aqua boogie of her Lil’ Wayne-featured single, “Turnin’ Me On,” her main collaborator, producer Polow Da Don, proposed a toast in her honor and freely handed out multiple bottles of Moet to the crowd. And they kept ‘em comin’. Even Polow, dressed in his signature V-neck t-shirt and white ‘A’ hat with the flipped brim, sipped on some champagne after tellin’ the crowd that he was not a drinker. Guess you could say it was a tea party with the Mad Hatter, but the next minute, Polow was in the crowd doin’ all of the throwback dances and hypin’ up the crowd over the mic.

Over 200 songs later and a undeniable chemistry, Polow agreed that the night was a special one for Hilson and himself. “We’ve been workin’ a long time,” he said before the crowd, who in a joint venture with his label, Zone 4, and Timbaland’s Mosley Music Group label, released Hilson’s project. “This night is all about Keri. It was all timing and a great situation.”

Along for the magical mystery tour were The Apprentice’s Kwame Jackson; V-103 radio personality Frank Ski; Grammy-winning rapper T.I.; Disturbing the Peace head honcho Chaka Zulu; TAG Records debut artist Q Da Kid; “the Youngest in Charge” DJ Infamous; rap artist Lil’ Scrappy; Diamond (of Crime MOB); Zone 4/Interscope labelmate Rich Boy; producer Drumma Boy; rap artist Fabolous; Atlanta rap legends YoungBloodz; producer Jazze Pha; rap artist Jody Breeze; producer Jermaine Dupri and 2 Live Stew personality Ryan Stewart.

From there, the speakers blared out some of In a Perfect World’s hottest bangers: the sonic and hypnotic “Knock You Down” (featuring Ne-Yo and Kanye West), ‘Get Your Money Up” (featuring Keyshia Cole and Trina), and the Timbaland-produced merry-go-round melody-meets-techno claps of “Return the Favor.”

For the well-respected member of the songwriting team, The Clutch, who has penned for some of the most recognizable hit musical acts ranging from Usher (“Love in this Club – Pt. II), Omarion (“Ice Box”), Britney Spears (“Gimme More”), Pussycat Dolls, Mary J. Blige (“Take Me As I Am”), Ludacris (“Runaway Love”), Ciara, Beyonce, Bobby V. (“Anonymous”), Ashlee Simpson, Diddy, Chris Brown, Ruben Studdard, the night for Hilson marked a true testament to her hard work and drive to continue success.

It was indeed a dream come true. “I feel the love in Atlanta,” she says. “There’s nothin’ like it. Y’all had my back no matter what I had been goin’ through. Every song is more than good, and I won’t let you down.”