Deep Sang and I got the assignment to entertain the staff of the W Hotel on January 15th. We brought along our good friend and frequent Sol Power guest Leroy “Boogie” Greer to accompany us on percussion and add that extra element of flavor to our set. Photographer Denis Largeron captured great moments over the course of an evening that went from elegant to wild. Heartfelt thanks to Stacey Colescott, Patricia Gill, and the entire W staff!

The hotel did it up big to celebrate the folks who keep their operation going day in and day out, including a vast spread of cocktail and dining options as well as turning the rooftop terrace and POV Lounge into an indoor ski slope playground, complete with flurries of artificial snow. Everyone was dressed to the nines and in high spirits.

The W Hotel staff is very diverse, representing a wide variety of backgrounds and we were prepared to rock them all. R&B, hip-hop and neo-soul set the mood early on, from A Tribe Called Quest to Brand New Heavies. Over the course of the night we covered current pop hits, throwback party rap, disco, merengue, bhangra, dancehall, classic African jams and Latin house bangers.

Once the guests were warmed up from socializing and imbibing, it was time for our three man squad to put in work as the centerpiece of the evening. The dancefloor simmered gradually and then exploded and we went beyond our agreed upon ending time.

A small selection of massive records that smashed the room that night include Awilo Longomba‘s classic “Karolina” (shoutout to the Central and West Africans and francophones who were in the building), Sean Paul‘s “Temperature”, TI‘s “Bring ‘Em Out”, Britney Spears‘ “I Wanna Go” and even Mase‘s “Feel So Good”.

We hate to kill a party when it’s really rocking but eventually we had to wrap up, at least for the sake of all the hardworking servers who made sure everyone was taken care of. Our final record brought the house down as a fitting crescendo, Mambo Sauce‘s “Welcome To DC”. I love playing go-go in my hometown.