VMA party week kicks off with Diddy
If Diddy’s party on Monday night was any indication of what VMA week holds in store, don’t expect to see many stars out walking around during the day. They’re going to need plenty of sleep, because the nights are already getting pretty wild.
Diddy hosted the week’s first major jump-off, celebrating the launch of superstar stylist June Ambrose’s book, “Effortless Style,” which comes out on September 26. Ambrose, of course, has helped just about all the big names in hip-hop and R&B get fly. Held at Tenjune (get it?) in Manhattan’s Meatpacking District, the party’s guest list included hip-hop and R&B’s two most famous power couples, two of the genres’ greatest producers, and also the rocker who brought sexy back almost 30 years ago. Who’s that? Sing along now: “If you want my body and you think I’m sexy …”
“Rod Stewart is in the house!” called out MC Frank Jugga as his partner in crime, DJ Goldfinger, spun Jay-Z’s “I Just Want to Love (Give It to Me).” “Yes, I said Rod Stewart is in the house!”
Meanwhile, the Jiggaman and Beyoncé sat in the VIP section with Kanye West. Timbaland, dressed to the nines in a flashy suit, came in moments later to join his pals.
Then it was Diddy’s turn to take the spotlight. He grabbed the mic and let everyone know that his group Danity Kane will be coming in on the top spot of next week’s Billboard albums chart. He also congratulated the crowd on being invited to the party, for which the dress code was “Sexy & Flawless.”
“If you were chosen to be here, it means you exude ‘Effortless Style,’ ” he said, adding that although the evening was a celebration of opulence and decadence, no one should take it all too seriously.
“Ladies and gentlemen, report to the dance floor,” he commanded.
Soon, the floor was packed to grinding-room-only status as Goldfinger threw on Diddy’s “Come to Me,” which he brought back several times.
“It feels good to be back,” Diddy, still holding the mic, said. “I missed you. Just rock now, don’t stop now. We Bad Boy baby, you ain’t gotta play the wall. You can dance again. Ask a young lady, ‘Would you like to dance?’ ”
As the night progressed, more stars trickled in and the partygoers got more uninhibited. You could see New York Knick Stephon Marbury on the dancefloor, Janet Jackson and Jermaine Dupri standing on the sidelines and a woman who was so amped to hear Justin Timberlake’s “SexyBack” that she jumped on top of a table in another VIP section, dancing over a bottle of vodka and carafes of orange juice and cranberry juice. A man in her entourage was unfazed and continued pouring drinks. Just then, another man in her entourage grabbed the lady by the waist and hoisted her up on his shoulder just like pro wrestler Randy “Macho Man” Savage did to Miss Elizabeth when he won his first world championship at Wrestlemania IV.
More hits, more stars. As “Promiscuous” blasted out of the speakers, the hulking Busta Rhymes was seen walking in the crowd wearing a rope chain thicker than Wonder Woman’s magic lasso.
During the old-school section of the set, Diddy jumped on the dance floor and got down to Bobby Brown’s “My Prerogative.” Even the usually reserved Timbaland got up and danced with his hands in the air to Guy’s “I Like.”
Earlier in the night, Jermaine Dupri hosted his own get-together at Show in Times Square. It was a showcase for So So Def singer Johnta Austin, whom you may not know by name, but he’s been one of the most prolific R&B songwriters of the past few years. Besides his work on several songs from Mariah Carey’s Emancipation of Mimi, he’s penned Mary J. Blige’s “Be Without You” and Chris Brown’s “Yo (Excuse Me Miss).”
With people like Janet Jackson and underground MC Red Café looking on, JD introduced his artist who sang several songs from his upcoming LP, Ocean Drive.
Catch all the star-packed VMA action direct from New York on August 31. MTV News’ preshow kicks things off at 6:30 p.m. ET/PT, followed by the big show at 8 p.m.
