QotD: Rubbing Elbows
Have you ever met any celebrities? Any interesting stories?
Submitted by Tasha.
Yes. I've met a few celebs. Most notably Busta Rhymes around the time of his first solo album. It was after a Howard University homecoming party at the Ritz DJed by Kid Capri. Someone -- either cops or club security -- opened a container of pepper spray shortly thereafter.
I also flirted with another hot-rapper-of-the-moment that night. For the life of me, I can't remember his name, the duo's name, or the one hit they had. I just remember that he (or maybe his partner in the group, but I think it was him) had been a teacher before becoming a rapper, he had blondish-brown locks and green eyes and I thought he was gorgeous.
I also met Juwan Howard at the Ritz when he was playing for the Bullets (and yeah, they were the Bullets, not the Wizards at the time) way back when. And I met Grant Hill's parents at US Air Arena after a Pistons-Bullets game.
In 1986, I interviewed Mark Lynn Baker, Balky's cousin on "Perfect Strangers" for Kidsday, Newsday's Sunday supplement for kids. If memory serves correctly, we wanted to interview LL Cool J and Run DMC, but we got Mark Lynn Baker ... before he was even famous. I also remember having a byline on like four or five articles in that issue, including the interview.
I've also had quite a few celebrity spottings: Flavor Flav and Dinco D (at separate times) passing through my neighborhood. I saw Toni Kukoc when he was with the Hawks (he was crossing 14th Street and I probably came close to running over his toes. Dikembe Mutumbo walked right past me at the Velvet Room once upon a time (when it was in Midtown). Baby (of Cash Money) was driving a hummer through Midtown hanging his big ugly head out of the window... I think that was during NBA All-Star Weekend. And I have had the honor of spotting The Round Mound of Rebound (that'd be Charles Barkley) twice -- once at a Jezebel magazine party at the Velvet Room when it was in Midtown and again a few months ago at Pricci in Buckhead.
