Keith Sweat receives Entertainers Key To The City at the Rise Up NYC Concert Series in Harlem

Short N Sweet Ent

Photo Credit: Short N Sweet Ent

Earlier this summer, Mayor Eric Adams of New York City, announced the resurgence of the 3rd Annual Rise Up NYC Concerts, which will provide 14 world-class concerts across all five boroughs. As a free and unforgettable concert series, this would allow people across the city to come together to enjoy music that has deeply impacted the culture. It was broadcasted that the artist line-up would include: Keith Sweat, Patti LaBelle, Fat Joe, Sean Paul, Victor Manuelle, MC Lyte, Mya, and many more with a few select artists receiving the Entertainers Key To The City.

Photo Credit: Short N Sweet Ent

On Saturday, August 3rd, 2024 hundreds of fans lined up outside of the historic Apollo Theater to witness and celebrate the musical career of the living legend and icon Keith Sweat. Singer and songwriter Meli’sa Morgan hit the stage to perform one of her hit singles, “Fool’s Paradise” but was shortly interrupted when the rain started to pour. Before the show ended, Meli’sa Morgan showed the crowd why is still on top of her game. She delivered an epic and powerful performance and had everyone singing word for word before the show was officially over.

The Rise Up NYC Concerts took to their social media platforms the very next day and announced that the show was rescheduled for Sunday, August 4th.

DJ Hollywood opened the show by playing the best old-school jams and had the crowd reminiscing over their younger days. Next up, hip-hop legend Kurtis Blow came out and performed one of his greatest hits, “The Breaks” and gave everyone an electrifying experience. Through his dance moves and stage presence, he proved why he still has it and why the younger generation of artists should be taking notes. After their performances, Chief Advisor to the Mayor, Ingrid Lewis Martin, presented both DJ Hollywood and Kurtis Blow New York City Citations and recognized them for all of their achievements throughout their career. During his acceptance speech, Kurtis Blow stated, “I’m a walking, living, proof, and testimony of the power of God”. It was at this very moment that Blow had the attention of everyone. What he said was inspirational, and relatable, and it touched the hearts of the people in the community.

The time had finally come and the superstar Keith Sweat was set to take the stage but before he did Mayor Eric Adams presented him with the Entertainers Key To The City. After receiving the key Keith Sweat went on to thank everyone for coming out.

“I just want to say thank you to Mayor Adams and everyone that’s out here tonight. I used to walk down the street as a kid and just look under the marquee and see people like Gladys Knight, James Brown, and Teddy Pendegrass, just to name a few and I said maybe one day I’ll be able to be under the marquee. Never did I think in my wildest dreams I would be doing this 37 years strong. You hear people say, Living Legend, So God is good all the time and all the time God is good. Yesterday was supposed to be the show but God had worked in mysterious ways. He’s never wrong and always on time. He wanted this to be on his day. So that’s what we are going to do”.

Known for his exceptionally deep and appeasing voice the King of R&B and Soul Mr. Keith Sweat put on a show that will be talked about for the next generations. As soon as he hit his first note on the mic, the aunties and grandmas in the crowd went wild. You can tell back in his early days that his “baby-making” records were nothing but perfection. While performing “Make It Last Forever”, “Get Up On It”, Twisted, and “Nobody” the fine ladies and gentlemen in the crowd were singing along word for word.             

Toward the end of the show, Keith Sweat brought out his long-time friend and respectfully another goat in the industry, Johnny Gill. He discussed how they were there for one another for the passing of close relatives and how that made their friendship even stronger. “You might as well call us brothers. It don’t matter. The only thing we don’t have is the blood running through our system but we definitely think alike, act alike, we crazy as h*ll but we enjoy what God has blessed us to do and that’s to perform”. Keith Sweat gave Johnny Gill his space to go through some of his greatest hits, such as “My, My, My” but eventually he came back out to share the stage with him.

The standard is set for the rest of the Rise Up NYC Concerts. If you missed this show, you missed out on an incredible evening full of joy and good energy. Everything was left on the stage and the mood was set for the rest of the night. People left feeling good and were happy with how everything came together.

If you are interested in attending any other free concerts during the rest of the summer please go to the website and their Instagram page for all the updates and who’s next to hit the stage.  

Written By: Shauntay Hallett

Until next post... Coach Tay