Whether it was his new single Bojangles or clips from his first record M.I.A.M.I., Pitbull performed in front of his fellow Latinos with a passion and excitement that made up for the fact the stage was devoid of any showmanship. Pitbull was an eager warm-up act for Fat Joe, who took the stage seconds after Pitbull ended and kept the show moving for another 80 minutes or so.

For Fat Joe, the rise to fame was not paved in the gold and platinum draped around his neck and fingers. Releasing his fifth record, Fat Joe is trying to follow up his ultra successful Jealous Ones Still Envy, featuring What's Luv with Ashanti. From the moment that song hit the airwaves, Fat Joe officially became a Top 40-embraced artist, and it brought fans to his older music, which is much more raw and determined. With his new album Loyalty, Fat Joe has definitely drawn back to his earlier music, as his rhymes are a bit more raw and the rhythms are not carrying the tunes, but rather his words again are coming back to domination.

As Fat Joe took the stage, he rapped and strutted his away across the empty stage and did his best to play a show for the small yet rowdy bunch in the seats. It may be unfortunate for Fat Joe to have such out-of-music success as it may lead some to think Joe has gone commercial or does what he does for the commercial success. And sure, Fat Joe has enjoyed his success as most hip-hop artists do, but his lyrics are still meaningful and have not fallen too far from his roots when he put out Represent.

Although Joe played over the track without hitch, it would have been much better to see Fat Joe with an entire stage show along with his music. His lyrics and sound lends themselves to a large show production with lighting to fit the mood of the song and 50-Cent style stage props. But even without that, Fat Joe celebrated with the few hundred there to enjoy the night. Upon leaving the venue, the bar to the right had a sign, "Closed For Private Party." One could only wonder what additional stage acts went on behind those doors and if those were just as entertaining. Either way Fat Joe has been deemed too commercial and a pop wonder, but his performance without and help of lights and stage antics was still empowering and emotional.