The young male artist was a mix of R&B and country. The songs that were played and performed featured minimal effects from electronic instruments. His sound consisted mostly of guitar, drums, keyboard, organ, and a couple of live horns. It was eclectic but I enjoyed it. The artist, Ragee, spoke a lot about the sounds of the singles and inspiration behind the lyrics in between tracks. It was like being at an intimate concert.
Ragee sang a cut about being blissfully in love and not knowing why. The lyrics blended so well with the horns that accompanied it. It struck a chord. At one point during the performance I looked up and found Azmir's searing eyes. I didn't know why he was staring at me. Perhaps I swayed a little too hard? I didn't think I did. But then out of nowhere, he shifted closer to me and draped his arms around my waist as I was perched on a barstool. He bent down and softly kissed me behind my ear. That good ol’ current flashed through my body. It was so powerful that I had to steady myself by using his arm. I'd missed him so much. It was as if I'd been there in the Big Apple with an entirely different man.
It was a good moment. So good that my heart had urged me to say so much but I lacked the gall to tell him how much I needed his balance and affection. Perhaps later.
In the middle of that thought a brown skinned, medium build guy with well-tailored clothing and noted jewelry approached Azmir.
“Divine!” he called out. The song had ended.
“Money Mike. What it do!”
“I'm surprised to see yo ass here. When the event coordinator mentioned your RSVP I was like this dude ain't coming. He never shows!” Mike shouted in excitement while giving Azmir that manly hug and dap.
“I never RSVP and not show, man. You know that.”
“True...true. Where you been? Niggas been tryna touch you for the West Coast love and ain't heard from you in damn near a year.” Even with his sheer excitement and pleasant surprise of running into Azmir, Mike was cornering him.
“I've been grinding, man...switching up my shit.”
“Yeah! I heard about your born day party a couple months back. I got my invite but I had to prep my artists and shit for the BET Awards. My bad, man! I heard that shit was off the fucking chain. I ran into TyTy and he told me Jay, Ye, Common, Mo, Black and all 'em niggas was there representing!” Mike screeched as he was amped up at the news.
Azmir’s tone wasn't as spirited. He had his one arm wrapped around me and eventually slipped his other as well. Talk about PDA.
“Yeah, that shit was proper. My right hand, Petey Crack, went all out...even threw in some surprises that still got me feeling blown away.” He ended lowly and squeezed his arms around me as if he were speaking directly to me.
“Oh, Money M, this is a good friend of mine, Rayna Brimm. Ms. Brimm, this is Mike Brown. He’s the top A&R from the label. I go back with this dude since grammar school. I remember you following Stacy Bronson home. Had her scared of your pissy ass and now look at you. You the man up in the industry now. Proud of you, duke,” Azmir said sincerely.
A face-splitting smile eclipsed upon Mike’s face. “I appreciate that, Divine. Nice to meet you, lady.” He gently flashed a generic flirtatious eyes toward me. I only nodded because it was obvious that he was not interested in meeting me. He was all up Azmir's butt.
“You've always had that buttah taste in the ladies, D. This one is really fly.”
I didn't find that comment appropriate but somehow didn't feel the need to become offended because Mike struck me as heedless; I knew he wasn’t attempting to be offensive.
“Really? I don't think I've ever come across anything as beautifully rare as Ms. Brimm,” Azmir cleaned up though it was unnecessary. I knew that this Money Mike character had put his foot in his mouth. His facial reaction to Azmir's remarks confirmed it.
“Yup, you right, D! Y'all hitting up Marqui tonight. A lot of heads gonna be there. I heard it's off the damn chain right now. Jay and all 'em headed over there.”