Last Night

Last Night.

So I decided to hang out and support my man Justin Hyppolite. I go to the far side of Bklyn to this really cozy spot. The people are all in there chillin. Folks were having a great time, playing pool, drinking and dancing. I believe someone catered earlier.

Anyway, there were a few familiar faces hanging out. That's always nice. Justin and Bradford James had the most beautiful vibe. Playing everything from The Main Ingredient(Cuba Gooding Sr.) to old Blaze records. LOL. Bradford played a Jazz record with a swing feeling yet it still was 4 to the floor! HOT!!!!!!!!!! One day, he's going to tell me what that was. Master Kev and Dave Shaw walked in and we had a few drinks. Miriam was taking pictures of everyone which, by the way, is extremely important to our scene. Ray Vasquez was out getting food! LOL. Papo Swing brought his Congas!! He's playing and then he'll get up and hug someone he knows. The spirit was beautiful. The party would be over at 12 midnight. And I had a 2 hour drive home.

So I'm about to get my jacket when DJ Sabine, whom I absolutely love(check out my previous blog), says "Hey. Spinna is rocking a party tonight." I thought, "hmmm. Not a bad idea." So Sabine and her guy jump in the car with me. I'm driving around Bklyn as though I know where I'm going. After a few wrong turns, we miraculously end up at Spinna's party. Now immediately I notice something that is consistent with Spinna. His crowd is really energetic and into his music. They're coming to PARTY.

Everybody seemed to be in their early 30's. Maybe even mid 20's. But I didn't feel like the old guy there. LOL.

OK..... I need you to pay close attention to what I'm about to say. My career has evolved around Soulful House music. I can do music of most genre's but soulful house music has been a home for me. However, that's going to change. I am a global thinking person. And global is going to be my approach musically from now on. Spinna played some of EVERYTHING. For me, Stevie Wonder's "Superstition" was the song of the night. But he rocked New Edition, Evelyn Champagne King, Guy, Aretha Franklin and anything you can name!!! The crowd LOVED every song. Here's the killer, he was mixing slow jams by Whitney Houston!! SLOW JAMS IN A CLUB! And it was accepted.

Now everyone that knows me knows that my favorite DJ is Joaquin Joe Claussell. However Spinna may have influenced my career in a profound way last night.

There is a beautiful balance between soulful and Global that Spinna has that I am certainly going to get.

Another thing that I loved was that there seemed to be a cultural difference, or maybe I should say a mentality difference. There was NO guest list. AND DRINKS WERE SELLING!!! Our soulful house parties are very inexpensive to get into. Our people are still asking to be on the list, and bringing their own bottles of water. We must change. But if you're reading this, and you're an artist, DJ, promoter or just someone who loves to go out and hear good music, please open your heart and mind to more styles of music. Check out other scenes. Go see what's happening somewhere else. And if you do go, participate. Don't stand there criticizing everything.

The one thing I hate about our scene in the states is that almost every city I visit, whether it's Jersey, Chicago, Detroit, Philly, Baltimore, or where ever, we develop "CLICKS." We attend the same 2 clubs and we become associates of those clubs. So much so that we become "known" for being a "part" of that club. And we talk about clubs that we don't attend. "I don't like them because of this or that."

The truth is, they're playing the same exact music. Maybe one or two records are different. But for the most part, it's the same. Here we are all in our 40's acting like children and we don't even see it.

I go to Spinna's party and I'm watching a bunch of 30 year olds party like we should be doing.

It's so sickening. The more I write about it the more annoyed and disgusted I feel.

Wanna hear something else stupid that we in the soulful house music community are known for?

If we promote a party and certain people that we know don't come to our party, we take it personal and dislike that person! So much so that we exude and make it clear to the person that we don't like them. How ghetto and immature is that?

If your party is not supported by an individual, it's not a crisis. You don't control anyone and nobody owes you anything.

In life you never know who you will need. I've made some mistakes like this. I've hurt some people and burned some bridges that I regret. But I've learned my lesson and that will never happen again. Are you guilty of anything I'm saying?