Celebrity Rap Superstar › Ep. 107

‘Ladies' Night’

Despite the fact that there's a whole hour stretched out in front of us, we're getting into it fast in week seven of Celebrity Rap Superstar. After a brief recap of last week's action, we find out that this penultimate week will be an stra...  Full Episode Summary

Despite the fact that there's a whole hour stretched out in front of us, we're getting into it fast in week seven of Celebrity Rap Superstar. After a brief recap of last week's action, we find out that this penultimate week will be an straight out head-to-head rap battle. That means, we're it won't be long before we're down to two finalists!

Host Kevin Hart wastes no time after welcoming Sebastian Bach, Shar Jackson and Kendra to get right to the elimination. Go figure, America voted and this week that's exactly what determines who stays and who goes.

He starts with Shar ... and despite the creepy, tense music, he tells her she's safe! That's no surprise as she's been the strongest rapper each week and a judges' favorite. After a little celebration, Shar heads backstage and Kevin moves to sort out the remaining finalist. First, he asks the judges to give their opinion of who is the stronger MC. Across the board, Big Boy, D.M.C. and Da Brat say it's Sebastian. "I know it's not popular," Big Boy concedes, "but honest."

"That's how the judges feel, but let's see if America agrees with the judges," Kevin says. "Sebastian, after six weeks of hard work and great performances ... you are goin' home, Sebastian!"

Despite obvious disappointment, Sebastian hugs Kendra and walks off stage. But Kevin calls him back to talk and hands him a mic. "I just want to say," Sebastian bellows, "America, you suck!"

Before a vignette recapping his six weeks as an amateur rhymesayer, Bach plugs his new record, Angel Down, which is due out Nov. 20. "I have Axl Rose from Guns N' Roses singing on three songs," he boasts. "This record's a killer record." He also promises to work with his mentor, Kurupt and D.M.C.

"This wasn't about what the judges thought," explains Kurupt, who says he realizes it's the American viewers who made the choice. "They gave their honest opinion of what they wanted to see."

And with that, Sebastian exits and it's time to get down to business. "This is going to be one of the most intense parts of this contest yet," Kevin says as he explains that Shar and Kendra will each offer three new raps this week. The first will be a hip-hop anthem, followed by an old school rap song (chosen by viewers via an MTV.com poll) and finally an original song.

Kendra Wilkinson is up first and we take a look at how she and Kurupt got ready for this week's performances. " I made it to the 7th week," Kendra says as she takes a break from rehearsing. "Wow! I'm very proud of myself."

As for her chances, she says, "I'm going to try my hardest to win ... I think that people recognize that." And right before she takes the stage, she says, "It's all going to come down to this moment. It's do or die. And I'm gonna ... uh ... do!"

Kendra starts off with a run through Nelly's "Hot in Herrre," and when she runs out of gas, she let's the excited audience sing the chorus. "It was hot," says Da Brat, "but I think that Kendra, because of what we said about Sebastian, you let it take something out of you."

Big Boy agreed, but says, "I would say that you're the most improved. Second song: ive us that Kendra." D.M.C. is right in line with his colleagues, and says he wanted her to "have put more oomph in the lyrics."

Now it's time for our other finalist, the obvious hip-hop talent Shar Jackson. "I think it would be really, really cool to win ... I've overcome things on this show that I didn't know I could do. I would do it again."

Despite having trouble with her in-ear monitors and flubbing a few lines of Missy Elliot's "Get Ur Freak On" along the way, Shar's overall performance is strong. "She's not like a contestant, she's like a guest superstar already," says D.M.C., while Da Brat agrees, saying, "Shar, even when you mess up you shine."

After a commercial break, Kevin Hart welcomes us back to ay that "after tonight your votes will determine our champion," and that phone and text-in voting will be open for 24 hours. Then it's time to find out what old school songs were chosen by fans in an online vote on MTV.com.

Kendra and Too $hort watch a video of fans rooting for her and suggesting what song she should perform. Not surprisingly, when it comes down to it, the audience gives her a song that fits her personality like a glove, Sir Mix-A-Lot's "Baby Got Back."

On stage, Kendra is her old self and while her rap might not be as nuanced as some of her other competitors have delivered through the weeks, this arrangement gives her a chance to do something for which she's best known: shaking her ass in her short shorts. And when she does it, the crowd goes wild.

Instead of cutting to the judges, we dip right into a video of Shar and MC Lyte watching a reel of fans sharing their opinions on what old school song Shar should perform. And when it comes down to it, she takes a whack at Young MC's "Bust a Move."

When it's done, D.M.C. tells Shar she's " he best part of this evening!" Big Boy tells Kendra, "You could have come out with that just as an instrumental and we would have enjoyed that!" and Da Brat chimes in to tell Kendra that she "killed it. Poppin' your ass is your thing and you kill it when you do it." Then she tells Shar that her "swagger is just all together ... you always get it poppin'."

Before heading to a commercial, Kevin explains that Kendra and Shar worked with a noted hip-hop producer to create their final original raps. Backstage, Liz Hernandez introduces us to hitmaker Mr. Collipark who has fashioned smashes for the likes of the Ying Yang Twins and Soulja Boy, among others. "I had a great time working with both," he says before we head into a commercial break, " I think it's going to be difficult for America to decide."

After a quick trip to the bathroom and a stop by the fridge, we come back to find Kendra in the studio with Mr. Collipark. After weeks and weeks of shaking her ass, she's looking to get serious on her second original rap. She wants to write, " A song that has to do with me, about how I grew up." She goes on to say that because of her celebrity life, "people think that I was always rich, always happy," but explains that as a kid she was "f---ed up" on drugs. "It's so personal it's making me work extra hard," she says of her song, which is titled "Epiphany." "I've been through hell and back -- it's you that's going to help yourself. I want people to know that."

Introduced as K-Dub, Kendra hits the stage to deliver a chorus that chimes, "If the sky turns grey, it's OK, just keep workin' hard you'll shine one day." The lyrics dig into her past drug use, and she says, "I hit rock bottom, people tried to help me and I said, 'No go."

"I'm a little choked up," says Kevin Hart. "That was really deep." Turning to the judges, Da Brat says, it was "heartfelt . . . It was great to me, it was touching." Telling Kendra it was "your best performance yet," Big Boy confesses that he knows Kendra well from television and sexy magazines, but admits "I learned more about you in those two minutes than I knew about you." D.M.C. praises her too, adding, "It was very good because you rapped and you didn't rely on the booty shakin'."

In her video retrospective, Shar admits that she's, "Kinda scared" about working with a real producer. In the studio, she tells Mr. Collipark that she wants her rap "to be a party, a good time, bouncy," and he tells her, "I want your lyrics to be about you." Shar takes that advice, explaining that her song, "Let It Blow," is "going to be about my journey on Celebrity Rap Superstar."

Taking the stage, Shar gets the crowd to help her out, repeating the song's title in a call-and-response of "Let It Blow." In the first line she lets us know that despite her position as a judges' favorite, "the truth is that I didn't get a break from the start," but she goes on to boast about winning everyone over. Among calls from people she meets who want to know what she's going to do next, she takes a pointed stab at her tabloid favorite ex's ex, looking directly into the camera to say confidently, "They should have had me open up at the VMAs!"

"That is a song that I would definitely play on the radio," Big Boy says. "You just delivered the knockout blow." D.M.C. agrees, saying, "It isn't fair! You are incredible!" While Da Brat, closes it out, saying, "Shar Jackson, you are part of a rare breed. You kilt it. There ain't nothing else to say, you murdered it!"

After a recap of Kendra and Shar's original rap performances and reminders of what numbers to use to vote, Kevin announces that the voting lines are open RIGHT NOW! Then he explains that next week, in addition to finding out who will be crowned the Celebrity Rap Superstar, that all of the show's contestants will be reunited, and there will be a guest performance by Naughty By Nature.

And with that, we welcome Sebastian Bach back to the stage to close the show with a Beastie Boys classic, "Fight for Your Right." And before the credits roll, Sebastian does what he's done week in and week out: he lets loose his rock guy scream and whips the crowd who didn't vote for him enough into a frenzy. Alas, it doesn't matter much, as his performance was purely entertainment. It will be Shar Jackson or Kendra Wilkinson who becomes the Celebrity Rap Superstar, and that decision is in your hands, America.