I can’t believe I waited a year to write this…

Last year, I was blessed with the opportunity to accompany my husband to the White House! BET hosted Love and Happiness: A Musical Experience to celebrate the Obamas. There were star studded performances and a huge after party. The show aired a few weeks later. It was such a surreal experience. I don’t think I’ve ever fully processed it.

The Invite

Brandon, my husband, informed me that the group he manages, De La Soul, had been invited to perform for the Obamas at the White House for BET. The guest list was strict, high profile, and since the group had plus ones, there was a HUGE chance I wouldn’t be able to attend with him. I was disappointed AF, but seriously happy that one of us was going! Seriously.

It was about 4 days before the big weekend and I was sitting in a meeting with my team at work when I got an email notification. I could not believe my eyes when I realized I’d received an invite! My eyes welled up with tears (I know that sounds really corny but, it’s the truth!) I was beyond excited and distracted. I interrupted the meeting to share the news, because…priorities!!!

Stay Ready!

The next few days flew by as I tried to figure out what I was going to do with my hair, what to wear, etc. I’d definitely missed the boat on the term, “stay ready so you don’t have to get ready.” I’ll know for next time. I knew that Brandon was going, and even though I didn’t think there was any possibility that I would go as well, I should’ve KNOWN to prepare anyway. Lesson learned.

I must’ve shopped for each of those 4 days and nothing seemed to feel presidential enough. After countless trips to to so many stores. I decided on 2-3 black dresses from Bloomingdales. All of which I didn’t end up wearing because when I got to DC, I did some last minute shopping at Zara and scored my final outfit. Go figure.

Arrival

Brandon and I met the group and their wives in the lobby, along with their longtime road manager and our good friend, Smiles. We all hopped in a SUV and headed over to the White House which was literally only a few feet away. We could’ve walked! However, protocol was to be driven and checked in.

When we got to the check point, my name was not cleared. Just so happens that Tina, Mase’s wife, was also not cleared. So we had to exit the car to let the group proceed, because you don’t want to be late for a performance for the President. Brandon and Mase got out with us, but the process took so long that they eventually went in to avoid any further delay.

It seemed like we were out there for an eternity and I had a sinking feeling that we weren’t going to be allowed in. I was freaking out on the inside, but kept a calm. I was not trying to fuck this up! I felt a little better when I saw Jesse Williams, Angie Martinez and Samuel L. Jackson also on the side of the road with us. I was in good company with the celebrities that had also not been cleared. LOL

We eventually got cleared to proceed to the White House, but we had to hurry. We were on the list to take a photo with the President and Michelle Obama. I DIED INSIDE… Brandon surprised me just before we left the hotel when he told me that he got me on the list to take a photo with the President and Michelle Obama. He’d been so caught up in the details and looking out for me that he’d forgotten to put himself on the list as well.

When we entered the building we had to hand over our cell phones which were placed in a brown paper bag. They would be returned once the evening was over. After our phones were checked in, Tina and I were rushed to the room where people were waiting in line for their picture with the Obamas. We entered and attempted to get on the back of the line, but were brought to the front where De La Soul were waiting. There were knots in my stomach, because I felt like we were jumping the line. As we approached, Mase was having a conversation with none other than Angela Basset and her mom. He introduced us and we shook hands. Behind Angela was Usher and his wife Grace, who I’d had the pleasure of meeting earlier that year at a wedding. Grace and I briefly reconnected. I also spotted Anika Noni Rose, and the group members of BBD (Bell, Biv, Devoe,) my childhood favorites!

The Picture

The Obamas entered a room connected to where we were all standing and the line started to move as they greeted each family and then took pictures. When it was our turn, my legs felt like jelly. Michelle was the first to greet me. She said I looked lovely, gave me the warmest hug and thanked me for being there. I really lost it in that moment and could only muster up the words, “Oh my God” as we hugged. She looked stunning in a black lace dress, with heels, and beautifully curled hair. She towered over me and I felt so welcome in her presence. When I turned to my right, President Obama was there ready to greet me. He took my right hand and arm, leaned in and gave me a kiss on my right cheek. Very respectful and welcoming. He told me he appreciated me. Smooth. We then grouped together to take the photo. IT WAS SO FUCKING AMAZING! I almost took Dave’s arm off from jumping up and down after we exited the room. Everyone was in awe.

The Show

After the picture we waited to be escorted to the tent where the show would take place. As we waited Janelle Monae approached De La and told them what a big fan she was of theirs. I wanted to shout, ummm…you’re amazing too! We proceeded down the stairs to be bussed over to the tent and ran into Dave Chappelle, his wife and…who even knows, I couldn’t keep up. LOL I knew I should’ve wrote this the day after it happened!

Dave reached over me to dap Usher, who I didn’t even realize was behind me. Realizing his mistake, he apologized to me and introduced himself as “Dave” and shook my hand. Usher then greeted me with a “hey, how are you?” and gave me a kiss on the cheek recognizing me from the wedding a few months ago. This was too much. Disclaimer: I’ve worked in the music industry and have been around a number of stars and I never trip. I try not to because honestly, while stars want to be acknowledged, they also want to be chill. However, that night…I was overwhelmed.

The show was amazing. Everyone performed perfectly. Regina Hall was hilarious. I loved her as a host.

After the show there’s the afterparty

OK…nothing that I’ve written before these next few words can fully describe the magnitude of the party that went down at the White House that night. For the most part, the Obamas were not present where a majority of us were, but they made an appearance later in the night once most people cleared out. The party was DJ’d by D Nice - and it was epic.

After grabbing a few rounds of finger food and giving my feet a rest from my heels (I took those bad girls off), Brandon and I decided to spend some time on the dance floor. Heels back on, we solidified a space to the left of the DJ booth where George Washington’s picture was adjacent to us as he looked down on the crowd. We remained in that spot for most of the night. We rested our drinks on the mantle (which felt kind of mischievous, like our parents were going to pop our hands for possibly ruining the furniture) in between dancing. D Nice played it safe for a while…and then he went off script in the BEST possible way. I pretty much lost it when M.O.P.’s Ante Up came on. I was immediately put into a state of surrealism when I imagined how America’s forefather’s would feel to see Blackness permeating through the White House. It. Was. Fucking. Awesome. The music progressed with more hits that you would expect to hear at a dope ass house party or club. The crowd even swag surfed. SWAG SURFED! There’s a video out there with proof of that. (Terrence J joined D Nice at the booth and made sure to secretly capture it.) At some point in the night, our small section by the booth became crowded with more celebs. Naomi Campbell was so close to me her long tresses brushed my face…she turned and apologized, but it was all good.

Oh and I almost forgot to mention how I was approached by Bradley Cooper, who had been engaged in a conversation with Gayle King. He stopped to come over and congratulate me on my performance. Yes, that happened. He’d mistakingly thought I was one of Janelle Monae’s dancers from the show who had the same hair style and red lip as me. When I corrected him, he apologized and gave me his hand and said his name was Bradley. Ummm, dude…I know who you are. I politely shook it and said nice to meet you, but I’m sure my face said something else.

We ended the night walking back to our hotel which was a few feet away. I was carried back on Brandon’s back because my brain forgot about my numb feet as I danced to EVERY song that played during D Nice’s set.

All in all, it was a night of epic proportions. I’m sure I’m forgetting some details because you know…a year later, and…I’m over 40. I’ll probably update this as I remember.

Thanks for reading this through. I really wanted to write this down somewhere in case my children, and their children’s children ever wanted to know what it was like to visit the White House when the first black president was in office.

My President is Black.