On Friday, March 6, the highly anticipated Millennium Tour 2020 took off with a sold-out performance at the Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden. Prior to the New York City showcase, the headliners performed in Louisville, Kentucky and Indianapolis, Indiana.
Sammie opened up the show, Soulja Boy followed with fan favorites such as “Pretty Boy Swag” and “Donk,” and Lloyd shook the crowd as he ran through the venue seconds before his first song.
The Ying Yang Twins introduced a new single, while Pretty Ricky’s dance choreography brought back memories from top videos in the ‘90s.
The Millennium Tour fans were particularly excited about Ashanti bringing audience members on stage and her “Southside” duet performance with Lloyd.
Omarion and Bow Wow closed the show with their own electrifying sets and a collab performance of the 2005 hit, “Let Me Hold You.”
All the artists mostly performed throwback classics, but some new songs like Ying Yang Twins’ latest single, “Stupid Ass,” and Omarion’s “Can You Hear Me” performed well, too.
We spoke with Sammie and D-Roc before their performances, and they each talked about coming together for this tour.
The Knockturnal: How are you feeling about joining the tour and performing in NYC tonight?
Sammie: “It’s like a homecoming. And I think what’s dope is that we’ve all been in the game at least, the minimum of a decade if not 20 years in. And we’re blessed to still be around and represent an era where they still want us around. We didn’t have to force ourselves on people. The first leg, I missed, but I did attend the show and it was amazing to see everyone come out for round two, and for everybody to be a part of it, and to get to leave my mark on the legacy of the Millennium Tour is truly a blessing.”
D-Roc: “Oh, it’s still the same. We didn’t change. This is pure Atlanta and it can’t stop, don’t stop. The thing about it is, when we first started, I can say, we were grinding. We headed south, but once we actually got that break, I can say east and west coast took us in and didn’t let us go yet…Our show is high energy from beginning to end. We do not turn you down, we keep you turned up. People say, oh I forgot about that [song]. And oh I forgot about that [hit], too.”
The Knockturnal: What’s one thing you’re hoping to contribute to the world at this time in your life?
Sammie: “To the world in general, more peace, light, love, and Godliness. I think it’s a lot of dark things out here, a lot of hatred, a lot of sorrow and sadness and hurt. So I’m always trying to be a beacon of light to some degree and then [for] the music to remain timeless and to prove, especially to the genre of R&B, transparency, vulnerability, honesty. I think that’s imperative to hone in on the root of R&B and soul music.”
D-Roc: “I just want to tell the kids that they need to get out here and do something else other than rapping. It ain’t all about rapping. You can go to school and get an education. That’s how they’re really keeping us held back because we’re not teaching each other to educate each other. We want to teach each other how to kill each other, and that’s how the majority of these rappers are dying too early.”
The artists will continue to tour in Virginia, Pennsylvania, California, Georgia, Texas, North Carolina, Florida, and more. For tickets, upcoming tour dates, and to see G-Squared’s full schedule, click here.