Takeout Tuesday at Coyo Taco: “A Breath of Fresh Air for Hip-Hop Lovers”

Old-school hip-hop, graffiti, and sneaker battles. That was the scene, back in the day, when Takeout Tuesday would take over now-defunct South Beach party spot Buck 15.

“At the time, old-school hip-hop wasn’t really being played that much at the clubs,” recalls DJ Keen One, the party boy who started it all. “The vibe of the party was based on old-school hip-hop, soul, funk, graffiti, art, and sneaker battles,” where shoe collectors would show off their limited-edition kicks and impress the crowd with their sole knowledge.

“Hip-hop heads, skateboarders, B-boys, B-girls, artists, models — it was a big mix,” the DJ says, describing the crowd at the weekly rager, which originally ran from the mid 2000s to 2011. “That was the cool thing about the party. It brought together a lot of people who wouldn’t typically hang out.”
As Sven Vogtland, AKA DJ Rude Boy Sven, co-owner of Coyo Taco and former Takeout Tuesday regular, remembers: “It was always a special hip-hop party. On the Miami club scene, it was a small, cool place where hip-hop lovers could find great DJs.”

Keen One adds: “It was like a stepping stone for a lot of DJs. One of the main DJs that came out from that time was Tom Laroc. It was also the first party to bring out Louie Arson and DZA.”

Now after a four-year hiatus, the original gangsters of the 2000s hip-hop scene are relaunching Takeout Tuesday at Coyo Taco's Tequila Bar in Wynwood. The rebooted party, Keen One says, will be “an outlet for bringing back the DJs who helped preserved that old-school hip-hop culture and music.”

It's also appropriate for the new Takeout Tuesday to be taking up residence in a semi-secret club adjoining a restaurant, because its original home, Buck 15, was actually the upstairs lounge of bygone SoBe Chinese food joint Miss Yip.

“Jennie Yip and Amir Ben-Zion had just opened Miss Yip and Buck 15,” the DJ says. “At the time, they had approached me and were like, 'Hey, we opened this place and think you should do a party here and play old-school hip-hip,' and I was like, 'Cool. Let's do it.' It grew organically from there.

“That was kind of the reason I decided to start it at Coyo, because of the small space and the fact that Sven, Ana [Robbins], and all the owners have the same mindset as Buck 15, and also because of their association with food,” Keen One says.

“Miss Yip had the best Chinese food at the time and Coyo is one of the best taco places in Miami.”

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Takeout Tuesday. With DJ Keen One and others. 10 p.m. Every Tuesday at Coyo Taco, 2300 NW Second Ave., Miami; 305-573-8228; coyotaco.com. Admission is free. Ages 21 and up.