First, a bit of background. So, I’m minding my own business, participating in a site walk-through for work (my day job that is) and the young woman leading us around the New York Public Library says that this evening (that is, last night) they’re putting on an event that begins at 11 and ends at 4. This kind of timing piques my interest. All night soiree, you say? Do tell. We’re there to explore the space for an event we’re planning for fall, but what’s tonight? Turns out it's DJ Cassidy’s 28th birthday celebration (what else?). I immediately wonder how I wasn’t aware of this shindig sooner. And, more importantly, I plot, how do I manage to maneuver my way in to this stellar scene combining booze and books?
So, it’s 11 p.m. and I’m sitting on the steps inside the library’s main entrance. The line forming outside along Fifth Avenue is growing in size and anticipation. I realize a few things while ogling the beautiful folks sauntering in. First, despite my attire –- a Lindsay Lohan-endorsed black-and-white Alexander Wang number and my late grandmother’s mint-condition vintage heels -– I far from fit in here. Who are these people? Well, I’ll tell you. They hail from a few places my judgmental mind sees fit to assign them. Some are straight off the runway with legs for days, fashion plucked from the pages of Vogue. Never have I seen so many S&M-inspired stilettos perfectly capable of eating feet -– calves even. And those stems! Spandex and pleather leggings nearly sent me into envy-induced convulsions. I decided then and there that Equinox must become a twice-a-day endeavor and that food is no longer an option. It’s got to go, all together, in addition to the already eliminated meat and dairy. Now, what to do about my height?
Some partiers were trying too hard, high schoolers (college kids?) sneaking in for a “wicked” evening out. Really? You’re back at the library for god’s sake. The B&T crowd was in full force, the Meat Packing and Chelsea club-lovers flocking past my wide eyes and dropped jaw. I just couldn’t wrap my head around all the fancy fuss, not to mention the myriad onesies billowing by. And, damn were these girls struggling to walk in their platform footwear. All I could do was shrug and judge their rear ends. (9 out of 10 in most cases. Grumble.)
By midnight I gave up on the red carpet arrivals, content to order myself a complimentary drink downstairs and absorb the dance floor scene, complete with bright blue and green lights, white (what were they thinking?) Ikea couches and bad (okay, okay, decent) dancing. A tall, well-dressed, dreadlocked dude stole my heart as far as bustin’ moves goes and takes the cake for best booty-shaker. My date can attest to his skills.
As the event was sponsored by Belvedere Vodka and Sprite Green, cocktails were… interesting, to say the least. At least they were passing hors d'oeurves to help soak up the alcohol -– PB&J finger sandwiches, to be precise. Classy! (Most def the perfect cure, though.)
So, enough about me, my outfit and the food and bevvies -- how about some name-dropping? Obviously DJ Cassidy ruled the roost. He donned a red suit that could halt traffic on the foggiest of days. In this Santa-inspired getup he roamed the room, stopping here and there to dance and MC (supplementing MC Frank Jugga) as Jermaine Dupri and DJ Ruckus worked the turntables. He got down on said sofas, a cameraman following his every step, and made a point of pit-stopping at “important” people. For example, the sunglasses-clad Jay-Z (blockaded by beefy security guards), Nas, Heavy D, Funkmaster Flex, Maxwell and Doug E. Fresh. A delicious sighting that can’t be bottled up, Tyson Beckford was a central celeb, a magnet for those same leggy ladies mentioned earlier. Swoon. America’s Next Top Model winner Jaslene Gonzalez was similarly luminescent, quite the sight with her glowing smile and tasteful (a rarity, let me tell you!) attire.
At 1:30 a.m., Rakim took the stage in honor of DJC’s b-day, and Bobby Brown (!!!), who followed, closed his set with “My Prerogative.” What happened next is anyone’s guess, as I ducked out by 2:30. (Girl’s gotta work a 9-5!) Also on premises were The Retro Kidz (sporting flat-top haircuts), Naughty By Nature and DJ Premier. I swear it was an old school hip-hop and R&B convention –- and I couldn’t have been much more impressed.
Reality TV personality Khloe Kardashian made an appearance, as did the founder of clothing brand A New York Thing (aNYthing), Aaron Bondaroff, a.k.a. A-Ron. Blogger Micah Jesse also caught my attention as he let loose swinging his ghetto-fabulous gold chain around his head like a lasso whilst grinning and grinding. And just what was he (were we all) grooving to? Oh, just little ditties like Montel Jordan’s “This is How We Do It,” Mariah Carey’s “Fantasy,” Aretha Franklin’s “R-E-S-P-E-C-T,” Earth Wind and Fire’s “ September,” Digital Underground’s “Humpty Dance” and AC/DC’s “You Shook Me All Night Long,” among countless other classics.
Now if only we could have put our heads –- and heels –- together to reenact "Thriller," prison-style (or at the very least like Jennifer Garner in 13 Going on 30). Yep, I said it. Wake me when it’s over. Now I’m out.
Photos by Jerritt Clark
