Monica Performs at GET SCHOOLED - Comments on Prez Speech

Who can remember the last time that the first day of school was such a big deal (maybe when we were probably 12). But yesterday was a bit different. For one thing, President Barack Obama gave a much ballyhooed speech to all students of all ages nationwide.

For another, there was GetSchooled, a concert event for the new initiative run by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, broadcast Tuesday night on all Viacom networks, including MTV, VH1 and BET. Afterwards, Monica, the R&B singer who was headlining the concert.

Monica had a few words to say about the Presidents speech:

"I didn't get to see all of it because I had to be here," she admitted, but "what I did see, I was very proud. I feel like it will stir up some controversy, but I did appreciate that he's very direct, and that he gets straight to the point, and gets straight to the solutions."

The singer knows what she's talking about: She was no slouch during her school years. Back when she had the hit "The Boy is Mine" with Brandy, she was a 4.0 straight-A student.
 
"I think that he speaks a lot about the common goal, and me coming from a not-so-privileged background, I respect the angle that he approaches things because I've been in that seat, knowing that I want to learn and maybe not having all the things that you need," she said, before addressing another pressing subject: the upcoming MTV Awards.

"I want to see Lil' Wayne win. He's from the South," she said, "His daughter is my sweetheart, she's about 11 and she's in a group called the OMG Girls, and my son loves it. So, I'll just be hoping that he leaves his legacy, because I think he's truly becoming a legend."

The all-day affair was sort of like school for the bigwigs who came: In between the red carpet appearances, a GetSchooled Conference emceed by Stephen Colbert and featuring the Gates' and Arianna Huffington of the Huffington Post (among other highbrow types) took place away from the flashing paparazzi cameras.