Atlantic Records

As if the last two semesters I've interned at Atlantic haven't been amazing enough, yesterday, truly took the cake. Besides interning for a "winning" label (in true Charlie Sheen fashion), one of the many perks of this internship are the experiences and opportunities I'm presented with on a daily basis. I've been interning in the Publicity department for 6 months and one of my favorite parts of the internship is the anticipation of not knowing what the day can hold.

Yesterday I was asked to run a routine errand, which involved me dropping off will-call tickets at Webster Hall for the Lupe Fiasco CD release concert. After returning to the office, my supervisor, Jason Davis, told me he had a ticket to the show along with a VIP wristband, to cover the night for the Intern Blog. When we arrived at the venue, the energy was electrifying and you couldn't help but feel that something HUGE was about to happen.

Lupe, who just released his controversial and highly-anticipated, third album, "Lasers", saved his best and most memorable moment for his NYC show. In front of a sold out crowd of "Fiasco fanatics", bloggers, press, tastemakers and Atlantic Records staff, Lupe delivered the best live performance I have seen, possibly ever. The energy he gave during the show was absolutely exhilarating. He ran through his string of hit records ranging from the classic "Kick Push" to the fan favorite "Hip Hop Saved My Life" to the ever-so-popular sing along "Superstar" (in which he was accompanied by the crowd singing along with him word-for-word), to his latest single, "Words I Never Said."

Later in the set he treated everyone to a surprise as he brought out John Legend to assist him on another song off of Lasers, "Never Forget You". As the night carried on, I couldn't help but think about how incredible the night had been. As I stood in the VIP balcony looking over the sold out crowd of euphoric fans, and scoping the scene seeing Atlantic Records executives, it was then that I realized that this internship has really changed my life. Seeing as I recently moved to New York City from Portland, Oregon specifically for this internship, I had never been to Webster Hall, let alone a concert in NYC. I felt honored to have the chance to witness and be a part of such a great opportunity like this. Having been a fan since the beginning of his career, I was so happy to see that Lupe truly delivered. The road to "Lasers" was a rocky one, but as Lupe himself says, "the show goes on."

-Adrian J. Publicity Intern