Redeye August 14 2003

Having a ball-ah: Crescent Avenue traffic slowed to a double-crawl last Tuesday, when Vision offered the “official after-party” to the “Roc the Mic” concert. It seemed everyone and their Escalade was clamoring to flirt with fame — or at least the idea of being in the same location as Jay-Z, 50 Cent (a no-show) and assorted other hip-hop celebrities.

So how large, in hip-hop terms, was this party? Let’s compare: Big Pun (R.I.P.)? Not as large. Notorious B.I.G. (R.I.P.)? Lyrically quite large, but otherwise not large enough. Fat Joe? At large, but nowhere near as large.

A good indication of the event’s potency came in the form of a cavalcade of Hummer H2’s nudging through the throngs considering the $100 or so cut line. Usher jumped out of one, making his way into another Hummer to ride with Jermaine Dupri. Later, they’d almost cause another collision as their bodyguard caravan cut a direct track through the dancefloor to VIP.

Not everyone could pull such luxury to maneuver, however. Those looking to enter the circular centerpiece housing the raised VIP area — home to guests of honor including the Dungeon Family’s Big Gipp — had to have the bankroll to treat champagne like a communal water bottle. But then, what’s $400 worth of Cristal when you have the chance to stand near Jay-Z’s bodyguards’ bodyguard?

Quite often, there’s trouble when hype and cash are thrown around freely in a room where there’s little room to move. But this night, the party went off, no shots went off, and plenty of people got off before they got out.

Wid dem riddims: For those not in the mood for ballin’, another event a handful of blocks away offered a night of rollin’ ... beats, that is. Encore — host of the long-running drum ‘n’ bass event, Format — was celebrating two years at the event’s West Peachtree home, 2wins. Every Tuesday, the hollowed-out concrete shell is transformed into prime real estate for catching the metallic shudder, rounded rumble and gritty, grinding breakbeats of the urban jungle. Now the Versus crew has joined forces with Fyah Burnin’ at the same location to offer a second weekly, Forward!, playing more reggae-and-ragga-derivative rhythms. Expect international guests aplenty — but most important, these evenings showcase world-class local talent.

Xanadu: DJs Grant, Gnosis and Masevo. Roller-skates. 1+1 = 2 Good 2 Miss. Aug. 16. 780 Old Roswell Road. $5 includes skate rental. A retro-rink party that ain’t rinkie-dinkie.

Until next week, keep one RedEye open. And send all comments, questions, observations and invitations (with the event/date in the subject line) to redeye@creativeloafing.com