Men dressed dapperly in their best tailored suits with hard bottom shoes and women adorned in sparkly body-hugging frocks with stiletto heels perfectly set the tone for looks at the A Taste of Luxury event on Friday, Sept. 10.
The popular celebration which promotes Black excellence in fashion, food, and entertainment presented by Thomas “Cash Cohnes” Cohnes of Cohnes Entertainment and sponsored by Lisa Lee of Rémy Martin, invited national recording artist Lyfe Jennings for a performance at the Clayton Plaza Hotel.
Media personality Meghan O hosted the event and DJ Charlie Chan Soprano provided entertainment. Jennings started his set with “My Life,” from his 2004 debut album “Lyfe 268-192.” However, it was clear at the beginning of the track that many in the audience weren’t familiar with the song. He jokingly said, “they say suits and dresses make you lose your memory.” He continued “I know we dressed up tonight, but we ain’t dressed out. You still remember where you came from right?” To take it back to the early days of his career he circled back to singing “My Life” and then the crowd “remembered” the song and joined him in unison.
Jennings, sporting casual clothing compared to the evening’s guests, said he enjoys coming to spots like Clayton and seeing Black people in formal attire. Although it was different from what he sees at most venues, he liked the attire requirement. But with the dress code, he told everyone to never forget how they got to the current moment. “While we all are dressed up I don’t want nobody to forget how hard it was getting to this moment,” he said. From there he transitioned back to another song from his first album, “Stick Up Kid.”
Jennings went on to sing many of his other hits including “Statistics,” “Never Never Land,” “Let’s Stay Together,” and more. In between each song he provided comic relief, transparency, and dropped many life gems as one would suspect because of his stage name. “I suspect when you were 16, 15 you had a lot of dreams in your life; wanna be this, wanna be that,” he said. “Then when you get a little older and you’re with this man sometimes you mistake where your life is at.”
Jennings briefly talked about how sometimes the person you want for you isn’t the right one and God is blocking the connection because they don’t make you happy. “When you were younger you wanted that man and didn’t understand why God didn’t give you that man, but you also wanted happiness,” he said. “God couldn’t give you that man cause he wasn’t gonna make you happy.” As requested by Lee, who also was celebrating her birthday that night, he concluded the show with the song that launched his career to stardom, “Must Be Nice.” Everyone passionately sung the song word for word.
Prior to him coming to the stage, Cohnes and Lee shouted out veteran media personality Tammie Holland and sent prayers her way as she is currently battling stage four cancer. In the past, Holland served as the original host for their Taste of Luxurie events. “Raise your glass or hand if you believe in healing, extend love, thanks, concern, and heartfelt to Tammie Holland and this fight.” Lee said.
Local artists Tish Haynes Keys, a former The Voice contestant, Stringz EMB, and Lydia Caesar were the opening acts for the showcase. Keys proved why she was chosen for the show with her signature soulful covers of Fantasia’s “Lose to Win”,: Natalie Cole’s “Our Love,” Janet Jackson’s “That’s the Way Love Goes,” and more. EMB showcased his easygoing, free-flowing deep storytelling with his song, “Time,” then transitioned to his “most favorite song” “Perfect,” and ended with “Lights On,” featuring Katarra Parson and Will Buchanan, a track about depression that he released for Mental Health Awareness Month.
Queens, New York native Lydia Caesar, who describes her music as Rock&B amazed the crowd with her soul-stirring performance of “St. Louis” ( an appreciation song about her husband who’s a University City native), her latest single “The Ones We Love,” and her own twist to Michael Jackson’s “Dirty Diana.”
At one point, she forgot one of the verses to the song, but like a true artist, she humorously sang, “Tryna remember the words to the last verse. Anybody know the words to the last verse, just give me one line,” in a playful and graceful way. Eventually, she remembered the words and received a joyful round of applause concluding her performance. While Jennings was the headliner of the show, local acts still received the love and praise they deserved. “I wanna thank everybody for helping us sell out these last few events and continue to support us.” Cohnes said. “We’re gonna keep bringing these great events and thank you again.”