Wale #GiftedWeek, Jake Paul vs Mike Tyson Fight + More Event Recaps… Wins and Losses (Story Time)
Creator of Urban Fashion Sense at The Gathering Spot DC - Paul vs Tyson Fight Night
Before I get into the events I attended this past week, I want to show love to all the Black professionals and creatives I supported. Salute everyone who showed up and made an impact.
Now let’s get into some things as YouTuber Armon Wiggins would say….
Similar to the Jake Paul vs Mike Tyson Netflix Fight, I’ve been seeing promo for Wale’s Every Blue Moon Concert Tour and Gifted Week Events for sometime now via social media.
In celebration of Wale Day, the Hip Hop Artist, launched the 1st Annual Gifted Week, where he hosted a series of events around the DC, Maryland and Virginia area….
I couldn’t find a direct link to the events, until he responded to a tweet from a fan page. This fan page had the link to Wale’s events in the bio as you can see here.
The event links were posted on a TBA hosted gifted-dmv.com site, which led to the full weekly agenda as you can see above.
So although I know anyone can create a fan page, some fan pages are actually hosted by the artist team and most times, reposting or replying to a fan page is a cosign.
So I scrolled the gifted-dmv.com url link and opted to go to The Intersection of Sports & Music Panel Discussion at The Gathering Spot DC. A free after-work event - so no hesitation there. I secured a ticket via the Gifted website and attended the event with a friend.
* Read to the end to find out why I’m detailing this. *
The panel discussion was really good. DC Radio Legend Angie Ang hosted the discussion, which included WNBA Player Brittney Skyes of the Washington Mystics, Donielle White Head of Fan Experience for the Washington Spirit, University of Maryland Coach Locksley, Domo Wells Creative Director + Designer for the Washington Spirit Women’s Soccer Team, College Basketball Player and NIL Ambassador Acaden Lewis, and Wale.
The panelist took us down a DC memory lane, recapping how they came to know each other, their current projects, and what they have coming in the future.
Domo’s recently posted designs of upcoming sportswear and apparel for the Washington Spirit in her Instagram post above.
Here’s some footage I captured towards the end of the discussion…. Love the way she gave Wale his flowers in front of the group and audience.
Funny enough as most networking events; I ran into another friend after the discussion.
More familiar with The Gathering Spot (Collaborative Lounge and Event Space) as she’s a member; she told me about an event happening the next day.
So we decided to go to that event as well. The event produced by Nubian x Visionary or NUVI, was a Networking Summit and Panel Discussion with Ayo Awojinrin Marketing Manager of Bang & Olufsen Luxury Headphones formerly of Hypebeast, and Entrepreneur Venae Breonna.
While I was more intrigued with Wale’s panel discussion, I enjoyed NUVI Experiences event a little more, because it was an older professional crowd, and the producers partnered with Kobe’s 360 Photo Booth activation company for a dope interactive video experience.
Check out my 360 video:
Happy I learned about The Gathering Spot DC through the Wale event though - it’s really a cool upscale space, that supports young black professionals in the DMV area. The space has a huge bar on the first floor, with TVs and a large projector screen for presentations on the lower level. Many of the events include a $40 food buffet. The space also offers a membership package, which provides you with access to their other establishments around the country.
The plan was to stay at the spot and catch the #PaulTyson Fight, however, after we ate and took pictures, we decided to head to MGM National Harbor for Wale’s Every Blue Moon Concert after party.
I was hoping to watch the fight at a bar in MGM, but we left so late, we ended up watching it in a Lyft on the way to the casino.
Shout out Ex-Football Player Antonio Brown for streaming it live via Twitter (X) lol.
According to various media outlets, he provided an outlet to millions of viewers who experienced Netflix issues as he was at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX.
But now everyone is wondering will he be penalized for streaming the boxing event or not?
Not to mention, even with all the promotion and viewership; the fight was underwhelming and disappointing.
Many of Jake Paul’s hits didn’t land and it’s obvious Iron Mike was no longer his prime. Mike lost with the fight ending after eight rounds, but it’s still unclear if that was because Tyson was tired, or if this was in the contract agreement, as there are rumors that he couldn’t perform certain moves.
Paul looked more tired than Tyson in my opinion. Sweating profusely, you can tell it was a workout for him…. YouTuber JAMARI gives a phenomenal recap, watch below.
Now back to Wale, normally I wouldn’t miss a chance to go to a concert, but for some reason, I didn’t purchase tickets to this tour…. I’ve always been a Wale fan. I just think his stance on music has been a little vague recently. Actually the DMV concert date was vague! He had fans thinking he wasn’t having a DC Concert. If you look at the flyer, there aren’t any DC, Maryland, or Virginia dates listed. Maybe that was his way of curating exclusivity for #WaleWeek. But he still seems more interested in sports these days. Whatever the case is, everyone I spoke to said; they had a good time at the concert… and there was even a proposal!
Fans and supporters seemed to enjoy all the week’s events. I can tell they by the video clips and reviews; people enjoyed themselves, and Wale was at every event, which is huge for entertainers today.
So the plan was to go to the after party. The location was also a little vague at first, so I asked Wale’s Event Coordinator at the panel discussion, and she told me it would be at FELT MGM.
My friend and I arrived at FELT, and proceeded to get on the line until they asked about the cover charge. I’ve only been to FELT one time for my birthday a few years ago, and I don’t remember there being a cover charge, however I understand it was an artist event. So my friend asked the fee and started to walk away when security answered….
So, I asked “What happened, how much is it?”
The friend said it was $40, so I’m thinking, “That’s it?? You act like it was $400!”. But they didn’t want to pay. So we went upstairs and get something to eat.
Most of the spots in the food court were closed or closing down. Something I could never understand about entertainment venues. Why are food places closing down before 12AM in the morning at an all night casino and event venue?
Anyway, I really wanted dessert, and got a slice of Cherry Upside Down Cake from Bread + Butter. While in the food court, I recognized Entertainment Manager Cortez Bryant and Power 105.1 Breakfast Club host Loren Lorosa. I introduced myself to Loren and we chatted for a sec.
My friend and I then got into a debate about the dynamics of male and female relationships, before we decided to take some flicks and call it a night.
* Side note * Hit the photos to view brands I’m wearing including my new favorite designer AFRM.
Although the day didn’t go exactly as planned, it was a cool way to end a Friday after a long work week.
According to the gifted-dmv.com, Wale, was hosting one more event on Sunday.
The site promoted a Washington Wizards Game + Sneaker Suite on Sunday, November 17.
Washington Wizards Game + Sneaker Suite
Now this is where things really get disappointing…. Because when you click the link for the event, it takes you to Ticketmaster to purchase a ticket for the Wizards basketball game, but there isn’t any information on the “Sneaker Suite”.
So I debated all day on Sunday about going to the event, while I didn’t mind attending the game, I was more interested in the Sneaker Suite (event), ‘cause Wale is a huge sneaker-head and there was mention of a possible giveaway, for a pair of his new DMV x Cherry Blossom DMV Foamposites a collaboration with Nike mentioned during the panel discussion.
So, I thought maybe there would be some cool activation, conversation, or giveaway for Wale’s fans after the Wizards vs Pistons game.
I finally purchased tickets around 2PM Sunday afternoon, but couldn’t help but think; is this ticket gonna give me access to the sneaker event? Are they tracking link purchases via the gifted-dmv.com website? Initially, I told myself to buy the cheapest ticket, in the 400 row, however I opted for a row in the 100 section with pretty good seats. It wasn’t that expensive and came out to $70 with taxes…
After finally deciding to wear my Adidas ZX 8000 Atmos G-SNK 3 Neon Green Kicks, with an all black fit, giving 90’s girl vibes; I headed to Capital One Arena and arrived around 7:15 PM.
I missed the first half of the game and someone was sitting in my seat, but I didn’t care because I was already annoyed. Upon entering the arena, I was told my empty water bottle had to be discarded because it was metal. Not that serious, but I could’ve left it home.
Anyways, once I got inside the building, I immediately went to speak with security, the box office, and guest services, about the “Wale Sneaker Suite”. To my surprise, most of the staff, had no knowledge of the event. They kept telling me that it might be something Wale was doing separately, and had nothing to do with the NBA Wizards or Monumental Sports.
Meanwhile, I found a better seat to sit in - in my 104 section, while Wale posted clips of himself at the game on social media. I began replying to his posts while also DMing his event producer, asking about the “Sneaker Suite”.
I didn’t receive a reply from either, but ended up linking with some other fans, including Tiana, the woman who runs the Wale Twitter Fan Page! Not realizing this was a full circle moment! She was with AL3KAT a local DMV artist I met a few months ago at New Balance Day ! They were a crew of 4 who said they became best friends 10 years ago after meeting at a Wale concert.
So we all hung out for a bit. Sadly, she didn’t have any information on the “Sneaker Suite” either, and was just as upset as I was.
Not to mention the Wizards lost to the Pistons. Really disappointing. Out of everyone we asked about the event, one security guard said; “Wale had a suite, but it was for his special invited guests”.
Wait, huh? Well, that’s not cool. Was there some miscommunication? Did someone not sign a contract? Like who dropped the ball? Because it clearly said Wizards Game + Sneaker Suite on the gifted-dmv.com website.
Which gives the impression that; if you purchase tickets to the game through this link, you would also have access to a Sneaker Suite with Wale.
It’s giving gimmick. Just a way to get fans to purchase tickets to the Wizards game. Wale didn’t even address the crowd….
The text could’ve just read; “Wale will be at the Wizards Game. Purchase tickets here”.
As a Media / Event Coordinator for sponsor and partnership experiences, I would never promote something so misleading. Wale’s team could’ve easily worked with the Wizards/Capital One Arena/Monumental Sports to make something dope happen.
If they wanted to keep the suite private, they should’ve kept it off of the publicly shared gifted-dmv.com website.
I’m hoping this wasn’t a fake. It would be nice if Wale and/or his team reached out for an explanation or provided fans with a statement regarding the event.
My lesson from all of this; is take fan pages and social media with a grain of salt, trust your instincts, but also make the best out of every unfortunate situation.
UPDATE:
After more review, it looks like Wale collaborated with EQT, a Music Management/Entertainment company, on the events. I see EQT’s branding on all the event marketing.
They’re most likely the team who produced the events, and it looks like there was a private “Sneaker Suite” according to Wale’s recent story post.
As previously, mentioned, much love to everyone who worked on these events. This post isn’t about throwing shade or putting anyone on blast. Just a factual recap of my timeline.
Overall it really was a good week!