In the same 1990s gangsta rap era that birthed the likes of Snoop Dogg, Wu-Tang, and Mobb Deep, a mild mannered trio called Digable Planets quietly emerged on the scene and, for a short time, burned bright on that acid-jazz vibe. Looking like the younger cousins of De La Soul and A Tribe Called Quest, the group consisted of Seattle rapper and producer Ishmael “Butterfly” Butler—who named the group while reading though volumes of Jorge Luis Borges—along with East Coast MCs Mary Ann “Ladybug Mecca” Vieira and Craig “Doodlebug” Irving. Read more....

Philadelphia’s Johnny Popcorn is a five-man rock band comprised of Lloyd Alexander on guitar, Rah Sungee on bass, Clayton Carothers on drums and vocals from Hezekiah and Jani Coral.

Initially, Johnny Popcorn was founded by producer/bassist Tone Whitfield (Me’shell Ndegeocello and Zap Mama) and songwriter/emcee/producer Hezekiah after several late nights working on Bilal’s Air Tight’s Revenge album. Their early works were pet studio projects released causally to music fans at live shows and digital downloads. Read more....

“If there was no Lady B, there would be no me” – Will Smith – August 2011

A Legend is born. Starting out in hip hop fresh out of high school, hanging out at Kim Graves (Philly’s top night club at the time) she befriended the late great DJ, Lawrence Levan. She used to pick up the mic and mock Darryl Dawkins and Lloyd (World B.) Free and the other “toasters”, as rap was known at that time.  Read more....

In 1998, I was managing Brave New World on 7th and Arch. That's where I met Ahmir aka Questlove. He was chilling one night, I think on Tiffany Bacon's night in the Red Room which was the smaller side of the venue. We became friends and started to hang out... Shortly after, Jam from KBA HQ (remember all of the cigarette promotions and parties?! That was KBA) came and offered me a Program Manager position. I was looking to get out of being at BNW til 3am every night so I took the job. EVERYONE worked at KBA. Sao, Jenn Bragg, Tony Allen, Wayne, Yameen and more... Me, Yameen and Ahmir started to hang out a lot together. Going to parties, going to Tower Records every Tuesday - literally every Tuesday in my VW Bug, lots of memories at The South Street diner and more. The South Street Diner is where our future was kind of born. At the time, we had been talking about how there was something missing party wise in the city and we were itching to do a party... Our friend Jack Boogi at the time was working with a new place called Filo's which was at 2nd and Pine. He offered us Saturday nights which he was running with DJ Train. So, we said yes! It was the The South St Diner in 2000, where we dreamt up Tastytreats, Jawn Tshirts, Tastykakes at parties, and a little company called Squarebiz..

At the time, I lived at 455 Fairmount, and remember us in my living room on my computer making our logo. We had no idea what was to come. We launched Tastytreats at Filo's with DJ's Questlove and Train in May 2001. And it was an instant hit. We packed that place every Saturday night for almost 2 years. Even had legends DJ Jazzy Jeff and DJ Cash Money guest DJ a few times, if you can believe that with as small as it was. One night, our great friend Oronde (RIP) came one night and could barley get through crowd it was so tight. I often would camp out in our tiny DJ section because it was so crowded. Lol. At the time, he was doing security over at Fluid. He was like, "Yo, you wanna move this shit?"  He offered us Saturday nights and we knew it was time to expand so we said yes! At the time, DJ Mike Nyce was spinning at The Palmer. I think it was Yameen that suggested we bring Mike with us for the move. We reached out to Mike and ironically, he was looking for a change so he accepted. We made the seamless transition and never looked back.

13 years later, in 2014 when Fluid closed, we looked back at a weekly event for 13 years that changed nightlife culture forever. We booked DJ's that weren't being booked in Philly and gave them a home. A home that wasn't centered around Top 40 music. They were able to come and spin the music they loved al the while folks singing all of the lyrics at them dancing the night away. No fights, no issues, just people enjoying the vibes. I'll never forget one of the times I booked Biz Markie. I booked him for being Biz. Spinning Classics, Hip-Hop, etc.... He spun a few Wu-Tang songs and the crowd, in true fashion, sang word for word and Biz was hype. So hype, that he spun nothing but Wu-Tang for his entire set! Ha! I was mad but the crowd loved it. Over the 13 years, we booked DJ's (Questlove + Mike Nyce), DJ Jazzy Jeff, Q-Tip, Premier with Guru (GangStarr), 9th Wonder, Ali Shaheed Muhammad (ATCQ), DJ Scratch (EPMD), Biz Markie, Kool Here, Luvbug Starski, Da Beatminerz, Rich Medina, Spinna, Bobbito, Pete Rock, Beverly Bond, Mr. Sonny James, Ultraviolet, lil' Dave, Afrodjiak and many more. We've even had some guest hosts like Phonte of Little Brother, GrandMaster Melle Mel, Lady Alma and more. I feel so blessed to look back and see such a legendary list of talent that really, genuinely loved what we were doing.

It's almost hard to explain how special those years were to those who were to young to remember or the folks that just never knew. But if you know, you KNOW! It was classic. It was special. It was a moment in time. It was years of memories that I will never forget and will forever feel blessed to have done what we've done, to share what we've shared and to have met so many of you. Tastytreats and Squarebiz brought folks together. There are so  many people that met at our party and continued to raise families and businesses together. Or have formed lifelong friendships. Shout out to the Squarebiz Message Boards! Haha.

So, Philly, we thank you. We thank you and invite you to come enjoy our one night reunion with us on Thanksgiving Weekend in Philadelphia on Saturday November 25, 2017 at Tastytreats with DJ's Questlove + Mike Nyce plus, host Yameen Allworld. You can find us at Mousai at Cibo on 1227 Walnut St. Doors open at 9m with drink specials plus, discounted parking above the Starbucks at 12th and Walnut Sts. 

Please tell a friend and we'll see you on the dancefloor.

Submit your email address above to get info when it's released on creative classes with Flygirrl for her Summer Session. Classes will vary in the subjects of Art, Graphics, Event Planning, and DYI for both adults and kids. Stay tuned!

Rest in Peace and Paradise, my dear #Prince.

The countdown is on to our 4th Annual Philly Loves Dilla night! Saturday night, we gather on Dilla's 42nd birthday and the 10th anniversary of his passing. No better way to honor him than to gather and soak in all he's left us musically. DJ's Mike Nyce, Jay Ski and Mr Sonny James are spinning 3 for 3 on 4 turntables all night! With a tribute video and live and exhibited Dilla artwork by Flygirrl, Ameerah K Art, Son Art, JRuggs and Oronde Kairi Johnson. Some prints available and a portion of all proceeds will benefit The J Dilla Foundation. Doors at 9pm, $10 at the door. See you on the dance floor!

Enjoy this Dilla For Life mix by DJ Mike Nyce to get warmed up for Saturday and pass it on....
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It's The Life sat down with Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter for a live chat at Inside The Studio in Philadelphia. Posted in 2 parts, you'll never hear Riq like this again. Open, funny, vulnerable and informative. Enjoy the very first guest we had at Inside The Studio, Tariq Black Thought Trotter from a few years back...

Ps, don't miss our ITL Weekend with Dj Afrodjiak and Lean Wit It plus a live performance by AAries! Check it out!

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