RIP Rev. Jesse. Man I hate to start off so heavy again, but I would be downright lousy if I didn’t pay my respect to Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. I know he faced all kinds of health challenges in the past several years and is no longer in pain – but that doesn’t make losing him any easier. When he said “I am somebody,” I believed him. The same goes for when he would say, “Keep Hope Alive!” Y’all, feel the same as I did when I lost my favorite granddaddy. Not surprised, but still super sad. I don’t even know where to start when it comes to giving Rev. Jesse his flowers for a life well served. I also would need the rest of Partyline – the whole paper if we are keeping it a buck – to finish. So what I will say is that the whole world owes him a debt for how he fought to level the playing field for not only Black Americans, but people in throes of disenfranchisement across the whole globe – Black, white, brown and other. I will leave it at that – and by asking y’all to please tell this girl 2026 to stop breaking my heart.
A skip in the Valentine’s Mixtape. In case you are wondering, the answer is “yes.” I am in fact writing this Partyline from my seat in Chaifetz Arena – still waiting, after all these days, to see if K. Michelle and Plies are gonna pop out and give me the rest of the show I came for. While I can’t speak for Plies, I can at least say that K. Michelle was in the building. How do I know? Because she was perched up on the Gram showing us. I even so her with my own eyes turning up back stage and vibing during Cuddy’s set – like the rest of us. I was excited, ready to do a lil two step to “V.S.O.P.” and sing my heart out with the crowd. I’m still waiting. The anticipation was real. Every time the lights dimmed or the DJ switched gears, I just knew that intro was about to hit and we’d hear her voice float through the speakers. But nope. Nothing. Cuddy cleared some things up for us about why K. Michelle didn’t give us at least a sip of some songs. I can’t say I blame her for not trying to power through if the sound wasn’t giving what it needed to give. What happened to you, Plies? But I won’t dive too deep into that, because as big granny used to say “celebrate the folks in your face instead of crying about who didn’t show up.” I’ll tell you who did show up – and showed out – Cuddy and BJ The DJ. The night would have felt even longer had they not been doing what they do. I had time to cook a nice hearty brunch in the time between Lloyd and Boosie’s sets. When he did come out, Boosie gave us a sample instead of a full set. It hyped me up though. By the time Trey and Ashanti made their way to the stage, Valentine’s Day was looking us in the face. I got my life from Ashanti, especially when she brought Nelly out.
Eternal love for Tina. St. Louis City SC, St. Louis Symphony Orchestra and Purina did us a super solid when they put on Eternal: A Tribute to Tina Turner Sunday night at Powell Hall. The concert was held in connection to the launch of their new kit (that’s jersey for the non-soccer folks – and by non-soccer folks, I mean me) designed in Ms. Tina’s honor. There is a whole line – and St. Louis City SC might get my whole refund tax check. But anyway, back to the show. It was absolutely everything! We know Kennedy Holmes has the voice. And she showed Sunday night that she also has the legs to carry Ms. Tina’s legacy forward. And can I tip my bun to Brittany Howard’s black and gold caftan. I feel like she gave me my Salute 2026 style inspo. And her hair was serving too. So imagine the joy I felt when I learned that my girl Marie Simone was the one who made that magic happen. Okay, back to the show, for real. Seeing singer Tamika Lawrence work that stage left me with one question: Why wasn’t she the star of that Broadway musical? Because baby, she got all the way into her assignment of embodying one of the best to ever do it. It was official that she had the sauce when she had a man who looks like he does taxes for a living turning all the way up to “Disco Inferno!” And when she got to body rolling around that conductor booth and hit the floor with kicks and twists…I was like, “No shade, but were you a private dancer for real?”
Soggy Gras. If you’ve been a nervous wreck for the first part of the work week wondering if that one coworker who does the most at every work holiday party or happy hour is trying to give you The Rona or nephew norovirus, you can go ahead and relax. I’m willing to bet a winning Powerball ticket that all that hacking, sniffling, sneezing and coughing is a result of them saying “what’s rain got to do with it,” and powering through Mardi Gras in Soulard on Saturday afternoon. It wasn’t as packed as it usually is, but more people than there should have been considering how the rain and wind decided to cut up. I wasn’t out there, but I saw all the footage, and a time was clearly still had. There were ponchos, rainbows and umbrellas out there, but not as many as there should have been. I guess they said, “The alky-hall will keep me nice and toasty.” While I was glad to see that St. Louis folks won’t always let the weather rain on their parade. Wait…y’all get what I’m saying. Anyway, those same folks had urgent cares across the St. Louis metro region filled to capacity Monday morning. I don’t have any reports to prove as much, but I know I’m right about based on the one near me. Hopefully the weather will cooperate with our Mardi Gras moment next year – but at least we know that even if Mother Nature decides to set trip there will still be some Mardi Gras ride or die folks on deck.