It's awesome to be a VIP. Even if it only lasts a day.
Over the weekend, Brisk Bodega lined up a prime party schedule, from lunch with DJ Irie to an American Airlines Arena VIP suite at the Macklemore & Ryan Lewis and Talib Kweli concert to a party bus chauffer.
A good time was definitely had by all. And somehow, we snuck in too, got drunk as hell, and ate many chicken wings.
Here's a 15-photo recap.
See also: Macklemore & Ryan Lewis Live Broadcast to the AMAs, Put Haters to Shame in Miami
A party bus with smoke machine, lasers, and heavy bass took everybody to the Rusty Pelican.
DJ Irie has been working with Pepsi for about nine years. His advice to up and coming DJs who want to get noticed by sponsors is "create a newsletter, update it with everything you do, and make everything bigger than it is."
Some of the people there were Mikey Fresh from Vibe, the editor of Bossip, Chicago Hustles Magazine, On Smash, Dallas Socials, Brooklyn Examiner, the Howard Theatre, and Derrick G.
There was unlimited free champagne and OJ. I spiked it with fruit punch, invented a new drink, and had about 15 of them.
See also: Macklemore: "If You Want to Be an Active Participant in Hip-Hop, Get Off the Couch"
Later that night, Talib Kweli opened the Macklemore & Ryan Lewis concert at the AAA with a killer set of Black Star classics, heavy new bangers, a Beatles cover ("Eleanor Rigby"), a UGK down-South tribute, and heavy doses of the high-speed, supertechnical rappity rap that puts him on par with Eminem for delivery, but with more conscious substance.
We didn't know Kweli was the opener. And at first, it didn't seem to make much sense. But Macklemore is a proudly independent hip-hop artist, and it's cool that he shows respect by putting on one who came before him.
Also, Bacardi white rum and Brisk Lemon Tea is another good drink.
Karen Civil got a birthday cake and then Macklemore hit the stage.
He said, "This is my first show in Miami!" and the crowd went wild. He said, "I ate Cuban food on South Beach!" and the crowd went wild. He said, "When I was 25, I went to rehab, got out, moved into my parent's basement, and started making music with Ryan Lewis!" and the crowd went wild.
But when he said, "Yo, we're going to be broadcasting a song from here live on the AMAs [American Music Awards] for millions of people!" The crowd lost their minds, and their voices rang throughout American Airlines Arena like the Heat had just completed the threepeat.
The guy did "Thrift Shop," he did "The Heist," he did "Same Love," and he threw a leopard jacket to the audience. He said it smelled like a grandma who smokes too many Swisher Sweets.
Then he jumped into the audience and got nut-checked by a fan.
Macklemore threw on a Heat #33 jersey, talked for a long time about how much he loves Miami, and thanked the world for his American Music Award.
And the crowd went wild.
We and the rest of the blog corps enjoyed the hell out of it, and the Brisk Bodega party went on to LIV. That shit was pretty cool.
Awesome to be a VIP.
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