Chris Brown and Usher's big Atlanta night turns into a mess
The R&B Tour's record-breaking five-night run at Mercedes-Benz Stadium opened with a nearly three-hour delay, no joint performances, and a backstage argument that Brown insists is "internet cap."
In brief
Opening night of the R&B Tour's historic Atlanta run went sideways fast
The setup was supposed to be triumphant. Usher and Chris Brown arriving at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Thursday, November 5, for the first of a record-breaking five-night stand in Atlanta. History-making. Sold out. The kind of hometown moment that gets framed. Instead, TMZ reports the night opened with a verbal argument backstage and ended with thousands of paying fans wondering what exactly they had just paid for.
The show didn't start until around 10 p.m., roughly two and a half hours after the scheduled time. According to TMZ, the delay stemmed from a disagreement between the two co-headliners over when to take the stage. Sources told the outlet that Brown wanted to hold the show until more fans had arrived, delayed by heavy Atlanta traffic around the stadium, while Usher wanted to start. The difference in approach reportedly escalated into a verbal argument, and per Baller Alert, the tension did not fully resolve itself before curtain.
When the show finally did start, fans got something short of what they came for. TMZ reports the pair did not perform a single song together the entire night, with large portions of the expected setlist cut. Complex confirmed, citing the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, that Usher and Brown performed entirely separately on Thursday, skipping the joint moments audiences had seen earlier in the tour. At one point, according to the AJC, Usher welcomed the crowd with "Atlanta, welcome to my show," a line that drew its own share of raised eyebrows.
The fan response on social media was immediate and not kind. TMZ noted that concertgoers called the performance "very underwhelming," with others demanding refunds from Ticketmaster and some declaring they would not attend another show by either artist. AllHipHop reported the backlash spread fast enough that feud speculation was trending before the arena had even fully emptied.
Brown denies it; Usher says nothing
By Friday morning, Brown had posted a brief response on his Instagram Story. According to AllHipHop, he wrote: "Internet cap. don't fall for it." He did not specify what he was refuting. Baller Alert points out that the post should not be read as a direct denial of TMZ's specific account of a backstage argument, since Brown did not name or address any particular report. Usher, as of Friday, had not publicly commented at all, per Bossip.
TMZ, for its part, stood by its reporting. Bossip noted that despite Brown's Instagram post, TMZ maintained that tensions between the two did boil over backstage during the tour kickoff. The outlet cited sources saying the two artists have been "extremely competitive the entire tour." Baller Alert added that no confirmed evidence of a physical altercation surfaced, and the situation remains a reported verbal dispute, not an established fight.
The stakes are high, and four more nights remain
What makes all of this louder is the scale of what Usher and Brown built in Atlanta. Atlanta News First reported in August that the tour added a fifth stadium date due to overwhelming demand, making Usher and Brown the first act in Mercedes-Benz Stadium's history to play five shows during a single tour stop. Fox 5 Atlanta confirmed they broke the previous record held by Beyoncé, who played four nights at the venue during her 2025 Cowboy Carter tour.
The tour itself has been a commercial force. The Hype Magazine reported that the R&B Tour set attendance records at multiple stadiums, including Detroit's Ford Field, where it became the first concert tour in that venue's nearly 25-year history to play three consecutive nights, and Northwest Stadium in Washington, D.C., where three shows drew more than 122,000 fans. Rolling Out noted that for Usher, 48, the Atlanta residency is personal: this is his hometown and the Atlanta run is the peak of his first-ever headlining stadium tour. Rolling Out also reported that the two artists talked about touring together for nearly a decade before the plans finally came together this past February.
AllHipHop confirmed four more Atlanta performances are still scheduled, on November 6, 8, 10, and 11. Night two was last night. Whether the joint moments return to the setlist, and whether the optics from opening night follow both artists through the rest of the week, is now the question hovering over every remaining show.
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CAN I KICK IT? screens New Jack City at the Sylvan Theater, Washington Monument, on Aug. 22. (Courtesy SHAOLIN JAZZ)
The live-cinema series CAN I KICK IT? returns to the National Mall this month with what its producers are calling the "Gangsters on the Mall" chapter of their free outdoor summer run. On Saturday, August 22, the SHAOLIN JAZZ production brings the 1991 crime classic New Jack City to the Sylvan Theater at the Washington Monument for a night of film, music, and community under the DC summer sky.
What sets the event apart is the sound. As the film plays, DJ 2-Tone Jones builds an original score in real time, reimagining one of the most iconic crime movies of the ’90s through hip-hop, soul, funk, and more. It is less a movie screening than a live performance built around the film.
The details:
Film: New Jack City (1991), with a live soundtrack by DJ 2-Tone Jones
When: Saturday, August 22 — seating opens at 7:30 p.m. (bring lawn chairs and blankets); film begins at 8:30 p.m.
Where: Sylvan Theater at the Washington Monument, Independence Ave SW & 15th St NW
A parking note from the organizers: expect road closures and restricted parking east of 14th Street NW due to a separate race event in the District. Roads west of 14th Street NW will be accessible and available for parking.
New Jack City is the second of three screenings in this year’s free CAN I KICK IT? outdoor series, which opened with Black Panther at Skyland Town Center and concludes with Scarface at the Lincoln Memorial on September 5. Produced by the Washington, DC-based multimedia arts company SHAOLIN JAZZ, the series has presented more than 150 live cinematic experiences at venues across the country, from Lincoln Center to SXSW.
"I wanted to be able to tell good stories with substance and remove the ‘ego’ out of the art," said Andrew Huang during a recent interview. Now, he’s building his career at the intersection of discipline, creativity and innovation.
Andrew Huang, founder of New Place Studios. (Courtesy photo)
As a Chinese American, Huang was reared with a deep respect for hard work, consistency and excellence. He describes his childhood as "not so affluent" and later attended college to hone his passion for videography. "In college I tried to do something I loved, which was video, but along the way I knew that I had to find a job. And so I thought, ‘what was the low hanging fruit to get to that stable 9 to 5 job?,’" he stated.
Later in life, Huang found himself working for corporations where his creativity was often limited, eventually leading to burnout. "I worked in a corporation for a long time and there were a lot of missing pieces. I wanted to fill in gaps missing in corporate video production," said Huang.
He later described how his upbringing and a mindset of "survival" led him toward a corporate career. However, his desire for balance and authentic storytelling ultimately pushed him to take the entrepreneurial leap.
"I founded a new place where you can create video and film with ‘substance and style,’" said Huang. His desire for work-life balance and passion for storytelling naturally evolved into a small business based in Virginia. With the launch of New Place Studios, the entrepreneur quickly found himself reconnecting with the values that would become the foundation of everything he creates behind the camera.
Huang said being a business owner has allowed him to first embrace himself. While others may see video as simply capturing moments, he sees it as a way to preserve stories that inspire, connect and leave a lasting imprint.
By combining cinematic visuals with cutting-edge production techniques and a keen understanding of branding, Huang helps organizations and individuals communicate their vision with purpose. He said understanding a client’s "why" serves as the compass for delivering the services they need.
One benefit of working with a small business, he said, is that clients get to see the production process unfold through a micro lens while working with the same faces throughout the entire project. "The work feels personal," said Huang.
Huang does not regret leaving behind the flash-over-substance mentality and corporate hustle culture. That does not mean the Asian American entrepreneur has been without challenges in the industry. "It’s relatively hard to find other Asian American creatives or people who would want to work with me in the DMV," said Huang.
He identifies the industry culture in which everyone is trying to blend in, creatives may fear displaying their Asian identity and some feel pressure to adopt an American corporate persona. He also points to what he describes as a level of gatekeeping within the industry. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration’s 2024 statistics, Asian American and Pacific Islander entrepreneurs own more than 3 million businesses and employ 5.2 million people in the United States.
After tapping into organizations such as SCORE, which offers free small business mentorship, New Place Studios has become a trusted creative partner throughout the DMV (Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia). The company produces a range of creative services, including commercials, corporate branding, documentaries, film, 2D animation, motion graphics and photography.
For Huang, entrepreneurship has become more than a departure from corporate life. It has given him the freedom to create with intention, build meaningful connections and tell stories that go beyond the surface.
The 2026 CAN I KICK IT? outdoor series. Poster courtesy of SHAOLIN JAZZ.
For three Saturdays this summer, some of Washington’s most familiar public spaces will do something they rarely do after dark: fill up with blankets, lawn chairs, and the sound of a movie being scored live, in real time. CAN I KICK IT?, the traveling “live cinema” series produced by the DC-based multimedia arts company SHAOLIN JAZZ, is bringing a free outdoor run to the city — pairing three era-defining films with an original soundtrack performed on the spot by DJ 2-Tone Jones.
The premise is what sets it apart from a normal screening in the park. Rather than simply pressing play, 2-Tone Jones builds a score as the film unfolds, pulling from hip-hop, soul, funk, jazz, rock, electronic music, and sounds from around the world. The result, the organizers say, is less a movie night than a one-time performance — the same film you know, wired to a soundtrack you have never heard and will not hear again. Guest DJs warm up the crowd starting at 7:30 PM before each 8:30 PM screening.
The 2026 outdoor schedule
All three events are free and open to the public.
Saturday, August 8 — Black Panther at Skyland Town Center. A pop-up marketplace and community activities kick off the evening; guest DJs at 7:30 PM, film at 8:30 PM. Marvel’s superhero epic gets a one-night-only live score in Southeast DC.
Saturday, August 22 — New Jack City at the Sylvan Theater, Washington Monument. Seating begins at 7:30 PM; the film starts at 8:30 PM. The 1991 crime drama plays out at the foot of one of the country’s most recognizable landmarks.
Saturday, September 5 — Scarface at the Lincoln Memorial. Seating at 7:30 PM; film at 8:30 PM. The series closes with Brian De Palma’s crime saga against the backdrop of the Memorial, scored live from start to finish.
First up: Black Panther at Skyland Town Center on August 8. Poster courtesy of SHAOLIN JAZZ.
A DC company with a national footprint
SHAOLIN JAZZ describes itself as a Washington-based arts company working at the intersection of music, film, art, and culture, and CAN I KICK IT? is its signature production. According to the organizers, the series has staged more than 150 live cinematic experiences around the country — at performing arts centers, museums, festivals, and cultural institutions including Lincoln Center in New York, SXSW, the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, Republic Square in Austin, the Tacoma Armory, and The Cary Theater.
“CAN I KICK IT? has always been about creating a shared experience,” said Gerald Watson, co-founder of SHAOLIN JAZZ. “When you combine iconic films with live music in public spaces, something special happens. People aren’t just watching a movie — they’re experiencing it together. That’s what makes these nights so memorable.”
Cinema as a community event
The DC run lands as cities across the country look for new ways to activate public space through arts and culture — and this series is a straightforward pitch for how to do it: take a landmark everyone already knows, add a film everyone has an opinion about, and let a live soundtrack turn the evening into something neighbors experience shoulder to shoulder. Families, film buffs, and music fans are all invited, and admission won’t cost a thing.
The CAN I KICK IT? outdoor series runs August 8, August 22, and September 5. All events are free; check SHAOLIN JAZZ (shaolinjazz.com) for the latest details and any weather updates before heading out.
