FO·MO
ˈfōmō/
noun
informal
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- anxiety that an exciting or interesting event may currently be happening elsewhere, often aroused by posts seen on a social media website.
- “I realized I was a lifelong sufferer of FOMO”
Urban dictionary definition: The fear that if you miss a party or event you will miss out on something great.
My definition: DON’T MISS THE EVENT.
Luckily, I’m here to provide you with all things you’ve missed, in this popping city of Los Angeles. My name is Shirley Ju, and I live, breathe, sleep Hip Hop. Coming from the Bay, I grew up to the hyphy movement. That being said, turning up is all I know. This will be a weekly recap of the dope events that I myself felt like I couldn’t miss, and you guys wish you were at.
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Thursday, February 9
Today is Thursday of Grammys weekend, which means let celebrations officially begin. I’m not going to lie, I wanted to hide and lay low after my car got towed last night at the Janelle Monáe/Jidenna show, but I knew I had to man up. After a long day, the evening started with a special V-Day taping of REVOLT Sessions featuring Jhené Aiko. Shout out to Chloe for the invite, always down to see bae.
I was lead upstairs to the VIP area to find many familiar faces, including Andrew Barber, the founder of Fake Shore Drive, whom I recently interviewed. The liquor in the VIP area meant the turn up had started. The taping was supposed to start at 6 p.m., but you know how that shit go. When bae finally came out 45 minutes later, everyone rushed over to the balcony, which gave us a bird’s eye view of the stage.
The stage was set-up exactly like a living room, just like her at last show I attended in L.A. It’s as if Jhené was just chilling in her living room singing, with her homies just posted, chilling on the couches. She graced the stage with her trademark long, sheer cardigan. I always say she’s an angel sent from above. The live audience, who I noticed were all dressed rather trendy, was actually part of the experience. I enjoyed people watching as they walked through to their spots.
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I didn’t stay long enough to say who all the special guests were, but I did see and feel Gallant’s magical presence. His show blew me away. I really enjoyed it overall. I know a few heads at Revolt and they’re all really good peoples. Of course, I find out Big Sean comes through shortly after I leave, but I had to mob to Core Power Yoga to feed my soul.
After a quick shower, I head out to the celebration of Anderson .Paak’s birthday, presented by Empire. Holy shit, we had no idea it’d be this lit. We pull up to this spot called The MacArthur in Koreatown, which turned out to be this glorious, spacious venue. It was like a Hollywood club, but ten times bigger. Before we get there though, I have to tell you what happened. Because I’m hurt.
Before we had even approached the front door, we find out they weren’t letting anyone inside because of the fire marshall. They were at capacity (typical). I see Melissa and Problem walking over to the side, and had to follow suit (thanks guys). I see Wale as they turn the corner and decided to introduce myself. “Hey Wale, I’m Shirley from HipHopDX” and then bam. That triggered something I knew nothing about. We were mid-handshake and when I said “DX,” he literally retracts his hand.
He proceeded to go off, saying he don’t fuck with us and blasé blasé. Apparently, we had written an article earlier that day he did not appreciate, which resulted in some petty Twitter exchange and him blocking us. I told him I had no idea what this was about, but that I was a huge fan of his. He literally goes, “You’re lucky you’re a woman. . .” Excuse me? Or what Wale?
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It’d be okay if he wasn’t so fucking rude, but he was rude to me. His whole squad was around us. Prob is such a sweetheart. He actually came up to me later to apologize on Wale’s behalf. That meant a lot to me. Like, I wasn’t just tripping off nothing. My boss told me to let it go and would speak to him so here we are.
Anyways. When we finally get inside. . . cue French Montana’s “Ain’t Worried About Nothin.” Like I said. This venue is lit. I was laughing when Anderson got on stage later and told everyone to stop acting boujee and start dancing. It was so true. This was totally an industry party. The VIP was more crowded than the floor. Like why? Ha. They did get free drinks, though. My poor girls thought they were free but the bartender dropped a bomb on them!!!
We spotted Anderson .Paak out in the VIP, and was excited to see him take the mic up on stage. I loved the big Happy Birthday letters behind him. It was lit. This dude is so amazingly talented. I kept joking that my goal is to have a birthday party this lit. He definitely deserves this. He also announced he just got his first BMW. That was cute.
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He did perform a couple tracks, but I thought this video was more sentimental to post. BJ The Chicago Kid joins Paak on stage and sings him “Happy Birthday.” You could just feel the love at this point. We were lit.
Also can’t get over Aishah gifting me with these THC goodies! I had to give Problem the edible portion because I knew he would appreciate it more than me.
Friday, February 10
Hello, Bape. This was something I did not want to miss. I’ve been waiting for the dopest Bape hoodie to swim around in, and my brother knows he still owes me a birthday present. But anyways. Tonight was Distortedd’s Inspired by Bape Art Show at Dom Gallery. This was the spot I came up on when I failed trying to hit Kanye’s pop-up shop in L.A. This is also where Karl Kani held his 90’s throwback party.
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I actually wasn’t planning on pulling up until my girl Nechelle at Warner hit me. She works with the artist’s manager. Now I had to support, and I’m glad as hell I did. I pull up around 8:30 p.m. to a long line of art thirsty people waiting outside the closed doors. . . in the rain. Smh. Shout out to Nigel, the man who runs shop, for allowing me to enter to get some footage. It was a party up in there, equipped with liquor and a DJ throwing down all the slaps.
He introduced me to the artist, who was busy prepping her artwork to put on display. Wow. Just wow. Her pieces were too dope. You could literally feel the Bape inspiration. I look up to find 24Hrs enter the building. I had to double take, but then we both realized we knew each other. I have this bad habit of calling him Royce Rizzy still, ha! I feel like I’m the only one.
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This part blew my mind. I asked him what he’s doing here and it turns out Distortedd is Madeintyo’s wifey. They literally just had a baby together, congrats to them <3. That connection was nuts to me. I know I say this every time but: the industry is so small. Tyo came thru shortly after to support as well. By the way, this Bape chair cost $700. I asked.
I stayed for too long and was late to my next destination. In my usual fast pace attempt to escape the premises, a car speeding by claims I clipped him on the side. Tbh, I was blasting Big Sean’s I Decidedway too loud to even notice. But these two guys proceeded to stop all traffic and cause a scene and, all so they could examine the tiniest scratch on their whip. I still don’t think I hit them. What do you do when both parties think they’re right? Serious question. . .
My next event was a comedy show my babe invited me out to. Comedy InvAsian presents: Paul PK Kim at the Japanese American National Museum’s Tateuchi Democracy Forum. This was a live HBO taping, so I was scared they wouldn’t let me in after my girl texted me they closed the doors. I pull up to Little Tokyo and realize this is the same courtyard as MOCA, which I visited recently. Sick.
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They were totally fine with my tardiness, and I actually was able to catch some of the openers. This was a super nice theater, and the perfect size for a taping for a stand-up comedian’s set. So, yes, Paul Kim is Asian. Represent. The support was real tonight. You could tell the homies were out for Paul. The dude next time was literally dying at his jokes, as was I, but my laughter was outshone by his. For sure.
Gotta love the Asian-themed stand-alone doors on stage, or what I like to call room dividers. When my brother crashed with me for a month, he wanted to cop one off Amazon but it was like $200. A little bit of privacy wasn’t worth two bills. Paul’s entire stand-up set lasted about an hour. He’s actually a regular at The World Famous Laugh Factory in Hollywood, so you know he’s legit. To me, that means you’ve made it.
By the way, PK also stands for Preacher’s Kid. I love that. He’s a Christian and I definitely noticed how he incorporated that into his jokes. He joked about so many real life situations that we could all relate to. I really genuinely enjoyed this show. He closed out his set by rapping all the Bible chapters in one go, with only a few breaths in between. It was impressive. Huge thanks to Koji for allowing me to attend. I’ll definitely be back for more.
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Go home, shower, do some work, and pull up to Zaytoven spinning at Avalon in Hollywood. We found out his set wasn’t until 1 a.m., so we planned accordingly. Shout out to V for driving, I’m starting to think I don’t belong on the road. We walk into a decently filled venue right when Zay gets on the turntables. It was lit. He was definitely throwing down the hits.
Huge shout out to Matt, who pulled us to the back and onto the stage. I saw Too $hort yet again. Out of all the Grammy parties tonight, he chose to be here. That’s love. Then Zaytoven played “Icy” by Gucci Mane and we died. He produced that track. That was legendary. I also ran into the homie E. Mills as well. He stays lit.
Saturday, February 11
Today was the 48th NAACP Image Awards at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium, which was broadcasting live on TV ONE (today) at 9:00/6:00pm ET/PT as a two-hour special. Huge thanks to Freddy, who approved me for the red carpet and media center. This was such an honor. This is a preeminent multicultural awards show, from an African-American point of view. Perfect timing for Black History Month.
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This year’s telecast was hosted by Anthony Anderson from Black-ish. I didn’t see him on the red carpet, but I did run into Miles, the little boy from the show. He is the absolute cutest, especially in his little suit. His date was his big sis. I wonder how he’ll turn out 20 years down the line. Cause he’s already a star, for sure.
I pull up to the unfamiliar city of Pasadena around 3:30 p.m., when the red carpet opened up. This was the real deal. Designed spots for all media outlets, and no space in between. I literally swooped People’s spot because it was the only opening. Press, photographers, publicists, crew, security, it was mayhem (in the best way). On my solo stroll to the media tent, I overheard Nas was in attendance. (Wya though?)
The NAACP Image Awards celebrates the accomplishments of people of color in the fields of television, music, literature and film, and also honors those who promote social justice through creative endeavors. (This made me glad I saw Hidden Figures LMAO.) Shout out to Taraji P. Henson for winning outstanding actress for Empire, I saw her when I was roaming the premises (I get bored). She quickly posed for a herd of photographers before running off.
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It’s always hard because the publicists that bring their clients through the red carpet usually ask you if you want an interview or to speak with them. HipHopDX being a Hip Hop focused media outlet means we, unfortunately, have to pass on a lot of the actors/actresses that are eager to be heard or seen. But anyways. I saw Lil Mama and had to speak with her. She was looking absolutely stunning in that gown. We chopped it up about her upcoming film titled Hit a Lick. She was honestly so sweet.
Shout out to Maldonado from Black-ish coming through the red carpet. We met during a 12 Rounds with the Cast of Ringside work out class. He was a riot. I knew I had to be his friend. I didn’t get to stay for too long, but was excited to see Xzibit coming through the red carpet. Salute.
Next stop: an entertainment mixer for the ladies only, hosted by none other than Migos. Now that I think about it, they couldn’t have picked a better host! The event was called Bad And Bougee, and it couldn’t have been more fitting. This was exclusive, and they released the location only after you RSVP’ed. (Shout out to Sylvon for spilling the juice early because I was nosy and wanted to know LMAO.) It was 1Oak on Sunset in Weho. I actually rang in my 24th birthday here.
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I walk inside at 8:20 p.m. to find the cutest balloons lmao. I’m so easily amused. I actually ran into all my babes tonight, which I really enjoyed. Open bar and fancy hors d’oeuvres. We’re talking mac and cheese balls. It was turnt. Girls were looking Bad And Boujee too. Grammys weekend in L.A., you gotta do it big.
We hear Migos come out right when we got done with the photo booth downstairs. You know an event is lit when they got a photo booth. And even more so when there’s a damn line for the photo booth! We rush upstairs and find two of the Migos just kicking it on stage. If you only knew my struggle in finding out who was the missing member. I first thought it was Quavo, then find out it was Offset. Later, my girl tells me it’s Takeoff … I give up lmao. “Kelly Price” is my shit, though.
The song of the century: “Bad And Boujee.” Still not 100% who’s missing. Shout out to T.I., who walked right by me. I wanted to say hi but he was looking real serious lmao. He was with some chick too. Man, I miss Tiny. Also sighted Karrueche in the building as well. Bae.
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I had to pull up to El Rey to see Big Baby D.R.A.M. I missed Ari Lennox’s set, again. So damn salty coming here right after I got my car towed lmao. Smh. The turnout was incredible tonight. Everyone was genuinely there to see D.R.A.M. perform. You guys probably know him for “Broccoli,” but this fool can sing too. The dude next to me was so juiced when he performed “WiFi.”
I loved this. He literally blew out money out into the crowd with this handy dandy device. I was in my secret spot to the right of the stage, and I see Bas come through from backstage. I had to say hi. That’s one of my favorite rappers on Dreamville.
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I can’t believe he brought his pup on stage. That was the cutest. D.R.A.M. looks like a super fun dude to hang out with. He’s just always smiling and looks happy to be alive.
This was more precious. Homegirl flew from Atlanta just to present D.R.A.M. with this 4x Platinum plaque for “Broccoli.” Congrats DRAM. You deserve it.
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The next move was to the homie Thurz’ Party In My Living Room 2 Year Anniversary Party, presented by Jordan Peele’s Get Out. I sat in my whip and Google mapped the address in Baldwin Hills, and saw it said 25 minutes. This was my fourth event of the day, so I hit my girl who had just pulled up and asked if it was worth it. Her exact words were: “Lit lit.”
This sign was so fitting to walk up to lmao. I pull up to the most extravagant mansion party. This was far beyond a party in anyone’s living room lmao. This was legit. First off, having an event sponsored by a film in theaters is so dope. Shout out to Tracey with Cashmere Agency for the ticket that gave me a free Get Out t-Shirt and beanie inside. Yasssss. I love merch. There were posters available, but my girl convinced me I didn’t need one. Good call.
I walk into an over-packed mansion and see many familiar faces. This was a turn up with nothing but good vibes and energy. I got to say hi to Thurz, who curated this whole concept. He started these PIMLR parties in Inglewood two years ago, and look where they are now. I would definitely call this a W.
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Of course, another photo booth. Don’t mind if we do. We wandered to the back patio laced with heaters and dope artwork. As I was heading out, my homies stopped me to point out O.T. Genasis had just walked inside. I didn’t stop. I need rest.
