R&B on ice

Monkey see. Monkey flee. Y’all, we are two weeks into 2026 and I’m already like, “Girl, what are you trying to put me through?” Just when I thought I was gonna be able to take a deep breath, I suddenly found my city as the setting for “Jumanji: Escape from O’Fallon Park.” As much as technology keeps me in the loop, it was my Mississippi uncle that broke the news that some YMs (young monkeys) escaped from a house on “The Bud.”  I forgot I even had a land line until I heard the house phone ringing. I pick up and I don’t get a “hello.” He just starts frantically talking. “I know you like to go to that Rex Plex YMCA, but be careful. It’s some velvet monkeys on the loose over there!” Based on his description, I didn’t know if these monkeys were pimps or stuffed animals. I started to tell my auntie to press his Life Alert necklace. As he started rambling about his coworker’s neighbor’s snake that broke out of the aquarium in the 1970s, I glanced on social media and saw that there was a legit hunt for VERVENT monkeys underway. Y’all’s cousins and nephews were already going to town with AI and Photoshop, I totally believed it to be fact. The only image I halfway believe to be authentic was the one where the monkey was stepping off the porch with what appeared to be a half-smoked Kool Filter King at its foot. But seeing the wild turkey (not the adult beverage)headed to the Aldi on Lucas-Hunt and the St. Louis six will make me believe just about any animal fugitive rumor. Y’all remember the St. Louis six? I could just say “the cows,” but what’s the fun in that? Can you believe that was almost ten years ago. When I saw the video of that cow walking past the TitleMax on Grand, I was like “Is this cow about to get a payday loan and start his life over?” I will remember the way they cut up when the STLMPD tried to hem them up for the rest of my life. The one started ramming the police car – and I thought I heard another one in the background singing Jennifer Hudson’s version of “And I Am Telling You (I’m Not Going).”  The way they ran up out of that slaughterhouse and into a new destiny as soft life farm animals will preach like a sermon! But back to the YMs. Why were they talking about them on the BBC? In their report they were saying that AI images and videos were hindering apprehension attempts. The one of them under the arch in St. Louis Cardinals swag slurping up chop suey noodles while “Country Grammar” bumped in the background took me up, over, under and out!

RIP Tai Davis. The truth is all the hilarious monkey fake footage was just the distraction I needed after hearing about the loss of one of the region’s most dynamic members of the St. Louis creative community. I was shook to pieces when I heard about the passing of chef, musician, model and all-around incredible person Tai Davis this weekend. He represented for us in the best way on a national and global stage, but wasn’t stingy about sharing his gifts with the region.  I was excited about what he was already working on bringing to the culinary community in 2026. He will be dearly missed. I’m sending prayers and condolences to his family and friends. I feel like the best way to honor him is to fearlessly operate in all of the gifts and talents that one has been blessed with.

Encouragement for Krisstyle. Speaking of prayers, I want to send several to DJ Krisstyle. He is facing several health challenges and is in need of a liver and bone marrow transplant. Now y’all know I’m not allowed to promote donation pages, but it is easy to find if you want to drop a blessing. I don’t mean to make this week’s Partyline such a heavy one. However, there have been so many events that would have been a bust to write about if Krisstyle hadn’t been in the place tearing it up on the tables! I’m claiming a healing victory for him – and I can’t wait for his full recovery – or the epic “I’m a survivor” celebration that will come as a result.

R&B on ice. Listen, I was so curious to see what Morgan Casey’s latest out-of-the-box nightlife experience was talking about that I promised myself to take a few ice skating lessons so that I could flex on the girls at R&B Ice Skating After Dark Saturday night with DJ Bounce. Forget Debi Thomas, I had planned to be the next Surya Bonaly by the time I stepped on the rink. That’s right, I planned on hitting multiple one-leg back flips in a row—and getting recruited as a last-minute competitor for the 2026 Winter Olympics. I had already started working on my Italian so I could represent North St. Louis with as much style and grace as Jackie Joyner-Kersee used to for East St. Louis during the summer games when I stood up on that podium as the first elderly urban star of the ice. Needless to say, life and procrastination meant that I was up in the Centene Ice Center hugging the wall and the rail like everybody else! Well not everybody. Why did a few of the girls have a well-rehearsed line dance that they performed on ice skates? I promise you, one of the reasons why I was so excited to go to R&B skating because I just knew I would be able to mark myself safe from the latest line dances- even though I’m proud of that 314 one because it is set to the music of one of my faves—Willie Moore Jr., or the artist formerly known as Pretty Willie. I still had a good time watching the folks have their arms out to help with balance like they were perched on a cross. And I’m grateful to Morgan for mixing it up when it comes to her nightlife events.