The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade tends to be a pretty breezy time, with its massive, extravagant balloon designs and elaborate floats strolling through New York City with marching bands. Additionally, this extravaganza rolls out the red carpet for special guests and performers alike. It makes sense to bring in your typical pop acts, keep the vibes clean, etc. Or you’ll get some familiar faces from past decades to appeal to older viewers. Some artists might even tease some Christmas jams since the holiday season is around the corner.
This year at the 99th Annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, the celebration brings out a ton of 2000s appeal. Jewel, Colbie Caillat, and Gavin DeGraw filled out some of the more adult contemporary options.
However, hip-hop and R&B fans had plenty of reason to rejoice this year. Here are four performers who reminded us of how heavenly 2000s rap and R&B hits were.
Four Performers That 2000s Hip-hop/R&B Fans Should Look For During the 99th Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade
Busta Rhymes
Busta Rhymes left it all on the table with his massive medley of hit songs at the World of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles float. Anyone with access to MTV during its prime lit up when he performed “Pass the Courvoisier Part II,” “Break Ya Neck,” “Look at Me Now,” and “Put Ya Hands Where My Eyes Could See.” What’s crazier is that he still had an abundance of records he could’ve pulled out for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. “What’s It Gonna Be?!” would’ve been a treat to see, especially if it meant seeing Janet Jackson receive her flowers. Regardless, any Y2K rap fan certainly walked away happy that he rolled out the hits.
Ciara
Contrary to Busta Rhymes, Ciara used her time during the parade to promote one of her newer songs, “Low.” Would it have been cool to hear “Goodies” or “1,2 Step” for the sake of nostalgia? Absolutely, she sounds just as good as she did 20 years ago, and those songs are perfect. But it’s definitely understandable why she leaned away from some of the Y2K tendencies.
Shaggy
When Shaggy takes the spotlight, you tend to expect a rendition of “It Wasn’t Me.” His anthem about infidelity is always guaranteed to please the crowd, each lie growing increasingly absurd throughout the song. “Angel” is another breezy crowd pleaser I’ll always pop for if he doesn’t feel like crooning about clumsily cheating.
Lil Jon
Lil Jon didn’t exactly go crunk during his set on the Geoffrey’s Dazzling Dance Party float. Ultimately, he preferred to keep things pretty family-friendly, given his rambunctious energy by performing “Turn Down For What”. Would I have liked to hear “Get Low” booming as the balloons soared high in the sky? Absolutely. Maybe we could fantasy cast another Lil Jon appearance next year.
The post 4 Performers That Prove the 99th Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade Is a Y2K Hip-Hop/R&B Lover’s Dream appeared first on VICE.
