Things we saw (and heard) at the Kanye West T-Mobile party

"I’m gonna give you hit after hit after hit," surprise performer
Kanye West declared from a stage set up in a remote corner of L.A.’s Griffith
Park as the launch party for the new T-Mobile Sidekick LX kicked into gear. And
he meant business, pounding out every smash in his arsenal, including
"Champion," "Stronger," "Good Life," and
"Can’t Tell Me Nothing" off his latest album, Graduation,
while forgetting the words (twice) to older tunes like "All Falls
Down." Fulfilling his contractual obligations,
Kanye freestyled midway through the set, effortlessly rhyming "they made
me say T-Mobile" with "because I’m global." The pitch was made all the more appropriate when he came back around to the chorus, "Wait ’til I get my
money right," an opportunity he then seized to rant about the woes of the
music business. "They say hip hop’s not selling, music’s not selling, do
you know Graduation was the No. 1 most downloaded album before it came
out, and it still sold like crazy?" the ever-so-humble West asked
rhetorically. "Maybe, if you make really good music, you can still sell…
I showed ‘em all. 50 Cent, Island Def Jam… I said, ‘L.A. [Reid], we’re gonna sell a million the
first week, and if I only do 800,000, then I apologize in advance.’"

None necessary on this night, where celebrities like Grey’s Anatomy‘s
Justin Chambers and Friday Night Lights‘ Minka Kelly (sans John Mayer)
rocked out, fists pumping in the air, alongside a host of reality ‘stars,’
among them Kim Kardashian, that Brandy chick from Rock of Love
(walking the carpet with Britney’s No. 1 YouTube sympathizer, Chris Crocker)
and the recently reunited Travis Barker and Shanna Moakler ("We never
actually divorced," he was quick to point out). But the most enthusiastic
fan of the night award goes to Wilmer Valderrama, who constantly traded off
verses with Shawn Wayans while standing on a couch to get a better view. He
outlasted his That 70s Show costar Laura Prepon, as well as junior
rappers Omarion and Bow Wow, who took off early, in what turned out to be a
70-minute set. That’s one thing about Kanye West: you certainly get your
money’s worth.

None necessary on this night, where celebrities like Grey’s Anatomy‘sJustin Chambers and Friday Night Lights‘ Minka Kelly (sans John Mayer)rocked out, fists pumping in the air, alongside a host of reality ‘stars,’among them Kim Kardashian, that Brandy chick from Rock of Love(walking the carpet with Britney’s No. 1 YouTube sympathizer, Chris Crocker)and the recently reunited Travis Barker and Shanna Moakler ("We neveractually divorced," he was quick to point out). But the most enthusiasticfan of the night award goes to Wilmer Valderrama, who constantly traded offverses with Shawn Wayans while standing on a couch to get a better view. Heoutlasted his That 70s Show costar Laura Prepon, as well as juniorrappers Omarion and Bow Wow, who took off early, in what turned out to be a70-minute set. That’s one thing about Kanye West: you certainly get yourmoney’s worth.