Struttin’ with my sistas. As per usual, iHeart Media’s Sista Strut 2025 reminded me that nobody has us like we have us. The way we can find triumph and celebration in the midst of tragedy should be studied! I felt so seen, y’all. I mean, where else can you hear hip hop with a little bit of gospel, play Double Dutch and schedule your next mammogram all in one spot. I love him like few others, but I have to share the note from a concerned church member about my boy DJ Cuddy’s attempt at hopping on the Chris Brown “It Depends” viral dance trend. “My dearest beloved, that was not your ministry.” It started off cute. And I feel like you can dance from what I saw. But I’m gonna have to depend on you to not give up halfway through your little routine.
But back to the beauty of Sista Strut. It felt like one of those picturesque moments where everything in the world feels right, and that there are people who have your back no matter what battle you face – including cancer. My only note is for Mother Nature. Girl, you ain’t tired of burning us up yet? It’s almost Halloween and I had to stop myself from dusting off my favorite pair of Daisy Dukes for the Sista Strut!
After the party it’s the [Salute] after party. Sure, I could have come up with something on my own to remind y’all that the energy from this year’s Education Salute after party is going to be _________ (insert new slang for “off the chain”). But Jay-Z’s little lyric will do. Trust that the post-gala party is going to eat down. The only comparison is the energy of any Black woman between the ages of 36 and 94 who hears a certain set of guitar strings followed by a voice that sings, “Where them fans at?” a run for their money. After we have loved up on our educators and given love offering to our scholars, the turn up will immediately follow. And this won’t be your “regular degular (yes, degular)” vibe. We have some folks who are out here giving us something to talk about with how they are out here keeping the night life and day party scenes thriving. Morgan Casey, who has been bringing capacity crowds to every event she puts her name on, is curating the New School vs. Old School afterparty. DJ Kut and DJ Homicide will be on the tables – and my boy Dre’Co will be on the microphone. I cannot wait! If you don’t have November 1 marked on your calendar by now – with your preferred ride share on deck for pick up and drop off – go ahead and get it together! I’m shouting out the “most lit in show,” so be ready to compel me to give you flowers for how you turned the party out. Because the gala is going down first, we are going to be doing it big in the best of our “good clothes.” I really have a feeling that the St. Louis American Foundation’s 38th Annual Salute to Excellence in Education Scholarship and Awards Gala at America’s Center is going to be as much of a moment as it is a mouthful to say. Don’t be left out. Get your tickets at stlamerican.com.
STL is the new Hollywood. So, which one of y’all told DeVon Franklin what I said about the spray painted bag of stretched out mini slinkies perched on Serayah’s head in “Ruth and Boaz?” I have a feeling that me telling the truth about that poor unfortunate wiglike item has everything to do with why I never got an invite to the “Soul on Fire” premiere last week. The inspirational movie based on St. Louis’ own John O’Leary and the future motivational speaker’s relationship with St. Louis Cardinals’ iconic announcer Jack Buck is Franklin’s latest project and it was filmed right here in St. Louis y’all. And even though I was uninvited…okay, never invited…I was able to catch some content as I lurked through a few folks’ feeds on social media. First of all, was I the only one who thought it was happening in Hollywood because of how the new Jack C. Taylor Music Center upgraded the aesthetic of Grand Center Arts District. I was like, “These can’t be the same streets I used to frolic around when waiting for that 70 Grand bus back to my Baden headquarters after a full day of doing hoodrat stuff in the Blumeyer!” It is! It legit looked like it was the Academy Awards up in there. At least from the outside. And by outside, I mean Facebook and Instagram. And y’all know The Black Rep’s Ron Himes is in “Soul on Fire,” right? And “Soul on Fire” isn’t the only STL premiere with the red carpet treatment for the month of October. Alamo Drafthouse will be hosting St. Louis’ own bestselling author-turned-filmmaker Brenda Hampton for the red carpet experience of “Who Ya Wit 2” on Saturday, October 11. Links to purchase tickets are easy enough to find through Brenda Hampton’s social media bios. Brenda, girl, make sure I’m on the list. Please and thank you.
Ain’t no party like a 90s Normandy party. Okay, 70s and 80s too…but I had to use the decade that sounded the best in the subheading. I’m saying this out loud so all the baby Stoney Jacksons and Ola Rays can stand down! Word on the curb is that class of ’94’s own DJ Nune, or Lamar Harris as he was known back then, was a silk-press and twist out assassin because of how he was slaying on the tables for the Normandy Homecoming House Party Saturday night at The Jewel. Tell the truth, how many of y’all were up in church wishing y’all could have worn a “Tam?” It was a few of y’all that probably went ahead and logged in virtually. The decision was not only because y’all’s hair was giving “all my life I had to fight,” because you wore yourself down with the turnup. When I tell you the experience was a throwback to peak, primetime clubbing at the Galloways’ spots, understand what I’m talking about! Y’all already know how the Vikings get down. Their vibe was as official as when I used to take the 74 Natural Bridge bus all the way from Goodfellow just to crash y’all’s games and parties.