Tonight was such a dope event. I got off at 7pm in Burbank and head right over to Hollywood for the #WhatSheSaid panel, which also came with a live rooftop performance by Niia. I literally just saw her at The Peppermint Club, and was so excited to see her on the flier. Food, drinks, and vibes on the rooftop of the W? Count me in.
I arrive on the scene and valet my car, because street parking at this hour is damn near impossible. I immediately run into some familiar faces (hi, Cecy!) and we make our way to the elevator up to the 12th floor. We enter the vast space (that used to be Drais) and I couldn’t get over how pretty the lighting was. It was the perfect time of day to hold a mixer.
Run into more familiar faces, including Lamont, whose music I posted on DX when I was running the music section. I seriously love meeting people IRL, so please, always say hi to ya girl. His homegirl Ann actually did this dope mural outside by the pool (yes, summer is lit here). So sick. It took her 8 hours. She covered the box with records, broken records, spray paint… just a collage of dopeness. Plus she’s from the Bay. And she went to UCLA. Automatic friendship. We had a mini-photoshoot outside, don’t mind us.
events with food >>>>> pic.twitter.com/6BcPx7hiaZ
— Shirley Ju (@shirju) May 19, 2017
The food and drinks were lit. Issa vibe. Shrimp skewers and barbecue rib sliders. We get back and find that the panel has begun. All the seats were taken, it was a great turnout. Per the booklet on our chairs, What She Said is a global speaker series hosted by W featuring influential women in fashion, music, design, and fitness, providing a platform for emerging visionaries. Amazing. This was inspiring by the lineup alone. Lori Feldman of Warner Brother Records was the first to spill her knowledge, telling us to show up and focus. These music execs certainly didn’t get to where they are now by being passive. Very inspiring hearing her speak.
.@LeToyaLuckett said she knew she wanted to sing when she was 5 years old. inspiring 🙏🏽🙏🏽 #whatshesaid pic.twitter.com/jV2iW8jX8z
— Shirley Ju (@shirju) May 19, 2017
Lori also made it a point to highlight how much women in the music industry need to speak up, more than the guys. This lead to my favorite guest speaker of the evening: LeToya Luckett. If you guys need a refresher, she was part of Destiny’s Child, and is now focusing on her solo career. It was so inspiring to hear her speak. She said she knew she wanted to sing at just 5 years old, after watching a Michael Jackson video.
This was so humbling. LeToya described what it was like stepping out as a solo artist and how scary it really was. She shared a story of when she was a Girl Scout, and how Beyonce pulled her out from slangin’ cookies on the streets. The whole room laughed. It was cute. She laced us with some much-needed motivation, telling us to take advantage of the social media platforms today. “If it’s really your passion, take advantage and share your gift.” <3
By the way, LeToya has an album out now called Back 2 Life. That deserves recognition in itself. Also on the panel: Sydney Sierota, the lead singer of Echosmith, and Lights. Both were adorable. Sydney is only 20 years old, which made me feel some type of way lmao. Standard. But very cool to hear everyone’s stories. They are all a testament to coming out on top as a female in the industry.
.@niia is bae 💎💎💎 straight vibes at @WHollywoodHotel pic.twitter.com/zFKO1oNjZl
— Shirley Ju (@shirju) May 19, 2017
Next up was Niia’s performance. I was so excited to run into Dana, her publicist, who flew from Chicago for this. She put me on. Tonight was actually the launch of the W’s Sound Suite, with Niia being the first artist to perform on the new stage. She just released her debut album I, which features her “Sideline” duet with Jazmine Sullivan, last week on Atlantic. Backed by a live band, it was all eyes on Niia at this point. She has such great stage presence. Issa vibe.
Huge thanks to Samara for the invite- such a sweetheart. I really enjoyed this.
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