LOCATION: Chinatown (NYC), New York

Lukas, A newly made friend of mine from Poland had asked me about New York while we were cruising through the remote islands of the Linapacan strait in the Philippines.

One of the questions he had asked me about was the famed “basement” setting parties of the NY nightlife. I had then went into my usual schpiels of all the amazing events I’ve been able to attend during my “LETSdeuxLUNCH” social experimenting within the NY partying scene.

And just as that memory popped back into my head. I was reminded of the fact that one of my favorite events from yesteryear was slated to be held just within a couple days.

To those who know, this is one of the dopest events there are out in NYC. All praises due to the genius minds of Matt Levine & Co.,Brandsway Creative, , & Redbull. They have all collaborated and have established a dope annual event that not only helps place exposure into the Lower East Side (LES) establishments of Manhattan, which is a hotbed for creative development and social shindigs, but also provide incentive to donate to a good cause (This year’s proceeds went to the Lower East Side Girl’s Club)

Last year, they had taken a building that was affected by Superstorm Sandy, and transformed it into an event space that hosted the likes of a free hotdog and cotton candy stand, carnival games, Jamie XX (of the XX), DJ 12th Planet, the A$AP Mob, & the Ying Yang Twins. The previous year, they had transformed a chinese restaurant into a party house that provided bouncy castles along with performances by Cam’ron & Riff Raff. This year, the hype was just as crazy, or even more to obtain the tickets that are required for entry into the venue, which as always, was kept a secret.

Thanks to the generosity of Mel D. Cole, one of NYC’s most prolific nightlife photographers, and the awesome Jen of ThatDJLife.Com, I was able to get my friends and I into the #LESbeat festivities for a 2nd year straight.

Even frigid temps and polar vortexes aren’t enough to whisk native NY’ers away from the party scene. (Of course, an open bar also is quite the incentive in such conditions). The line outside of the dim-sum-turned-party-venue Grand Harmony, located on Mott St was just as any other #LESbeat event. Inching closer and closer to opening times, the line would build and build. Accompanied by my usual suspects, Tim, Gecile and her friend Noel, we would try to entertain ourselves outside on the line by guessing who the surprise artists were (Our guesses ranged from Usher to Ja Rule…we were REALLY hoping for Ja Rule). As we continued to “turn-up” despite lip-cracking temps reigned supreme, the line would slowly move. Eventually, Jen of ThatDJLife.Com arrived in perfect-timing fashion to generously give me 2 more tickets to get my buddy in. So far, so good.

Upon entering the venue, we were embraced with a warm gust of air and proceeded onto the dance floor. Visible from entrance was the stage, and on both sides of the venue were perfectly-situated bars providing Red Bull & other drinks throughout the night. The coat check line at the line was pretty ridiculous so I figured I would just go through the night with my jackets on. The first thing that caught my attention was the free-food. (Duhh.) On one side, there was a 3-man crew providing freshly-made dim-sum plates to all guests alike.

On the other side of the room, was a table that was dominated by Dominos and an array of pale-yellow wrappers, all that disguised McDonalds cheeseburgers within its warm clutches. Of course being me, I indulged with no shame. This is #LESbeat for goodness sake!

One thing I did notice was the lack of activities. There wasn’t much present to partake in, other than the usual drink and dance. The year prior, there were carnival games (although it was way too cold to enjoy at the time), and the famed bouncy castles of 88 Palace were all the rage. However, I am not complaining at all. It was still a fun and quite intimate setting.

First act…was Matt&Kim. The dynamic duo, of whom I’ve had the pleasure of seeing live and actually meeting as well, outside of Fuse Studios in Times Square. They didn’t perform any of their own personal songs aside from a snippet of “Daylight”. Instead, they put on a DJ set as their performance. Although quite disappointed that I wouldn’t get to see them put on a personal show (because they are fucking awesome live), either way they provided the just-right tunes to get the event started.

The tunes, of course had a hip-hop theme through the night as this tends to be the usual set up for events. Hits such as Drake’s “Hold On, We’re Going Home” to Lil Jon’s Crunk-Turned-Trap jawn “Turn Down For What” all were heard over the blaring speakers of the venue.

As Matt Levine came up on stage to announce that two of his favorite hip-hop groups are in attendance, the flock started getting tighter towards front and center. In the midst of the crowd-control migration, I spotted the homie Mel D. Cole of Village Slum. Dude is just an amazing photographer and have had the pleasure of attending many events he’s covered. Chances are, if he’s shooting or attending an event, it’s definitely the place to be at.

*FOLLOW HIM ON TWITTER: @MELDCOLE | INSTAGRAM: @MELDCOLE | VILLAGESLUM.COM*

The speculation grew and grew, as there were even rumors that the CLIPSE were set to perform (although, it stayed just as that, a rumor). But then the lights dim sum more (catch that?) and the first group came on.

The crew out of Brick City that introduced the “hook” to the rap game. Treach & Vinny D came out of the vault like it was the ’90s again and rocked the crowd with hits like “O.P.P” and “Hip Hop Hooray”. It was quite funny seeing Treach doing his dances up on stage, and then ending the set with him pointing up to the sky posing in Godlike form. Sadly, I couldn’t rotate the wheel quick enough on my disposable to capture the shot but it was pretty dope.

Now, the one thing that did bug me through their set is one thing that has become quite the norm at all concerts and events. The crowd seemed kind of flat. And of course, I understand. Naughty By Nature would only resonate with those 80’s and 90’s babies, and those who are accustomed to playing NBA 2k and humming along to the old-school hip hop tracks while they try busting 100 points with LeBron James. I get it. But the other thing is when Vinny had requested that the crowd put their “hands” in the air and wave em like they just don’t care. It was almost like they didn’t…literally. Either that or they were too busy holding up their phone trying to get the perfect shot of the group they did not know. Regardless, that’s a topic for another time…and blog.

The duo would finish their set and beats would fill the time in-between sets. The room was buzzing with conversation and the usual guy dancing solo with Google Glasses on. Your crowd was typical of NY nightlife. But of course, there are also the cool and crazy cats out there who does right in “showing-out” properly.

And so, the time was set for the 2nd (and what was to be Final Act). At this point, I was still hoping Ja Rule for some random reason. Regardless, the marches came on over the speakers. And of course, vividly remembering the lyrics and chants of the songs that reigned during the early 2000’s era, the words came to my mind as quickly as people flopped to the open bar once the doors opened. “Everywhere we goo-oh, people wanna know-oh, who we ahh-ree… so we tell them.. THIS IS….”

And that’s when it came clear, the 2nd group was…

THE LOX

This brought me back to the days where my friends and I would stay shacked up in our studio (aka my dad’s office) and record all day. We would bump D-Block ALL DAY EVERYDAY. So of course I was ecstatic that the LOX were on. They performed their group classics, as well as their personal classics as well. Songs like Good Times (I Get High), Fuck You, Represent, And We Gonna Make It all acted as a time machine, to when times where a 10 dollar mic, some good company and some good smoke was all I needed to balance the real life struggle of being a……student hehe. Alas, the group would then make their way off the stage, signaling the end of the live performances and Dj Sliink would take over for the rest of the night. However, before the night ended, as it has happened at the 2 previous #LESbeat events, the females in attendance would get a chance to grace the stage for a display of good ol’ fashioned ratchetry.

Needless to say, it was ok at first, but was overall underwhelming. And I mean there were some cute girls..uh..ladies on stage, but for the feat that they were trying to pull off, I (as well as others) were not majorly impressed. Kudos to them though. It takes a lot of confidence to pop your thang in front of a room of strangers and dancing lasers, so they always will have a place in my heart. Maybe not in the VIP lounge, but definitely on the dance floor.

Alas, the night ended and my little crew would then venture back into the tenacious chill of New York.

January 23, 2014 was a reminder that I live in a city of endless possibilities. You could be chilling doing nothing at one point, then end up at some crazy FREE party the next minute. You just never know, and that’s the best part. From the undisclosed location, to the set lists that are almost just as protected as a Beyonce album leak, you just never know what’s going to happen at these events. Kudos. If my friends from across the world would ask me to take them somewhere that epitomizes what the NY party scene is all about, I would take them to Matt Levine & Co.’s events.

Without a doubt, and all within an #LESbeat.

-PASSPORT|kenny

Field Notes