Brunch 2 Bomb Is Not Your Typical Brunch Experience
It's no secret that Los Angeles is filled with transplants who often frustrate natives with our numerous complaints about LA culture. Being a New Yorker, I find myself often underwhelmed by the brunch experience in Los Angeles - that was until I attended Brunch 2 Bomb.
Brunch 2 Bomb describes itself as a "day party and brunch combined" that offers an "opportunity to celebrate success without subscribing to traditional club standards like bottle service, celebrity status, or dress code requirements."
Held at Free Play in Los Angeles, Brunch 2 Bomb was not your typical LA brunch experience. For starters, each experience contains a specific theme. The theme for their April 15th rendition was You Got Served. Hip Hop and R&B music blasts throughout the venue, while guests enjoy unlimited mimosas and a buffet-style brunch for a small additional cost.
"Brunch 2 Bomb is an accident. I founded it with one of my best friends from college, DJ Benjamin Walker. We threw a birthday party a year and a half ago. I turned 32 and my friends wanted to do something," co-founder Adrienne Reed told xoNecole.
Brunch 2 Bomb
"There's no music out here [in LA]. It's just bottomless mimosas and hoity toity foods. That was a gap for me…so we did it, and because I had this whole venue, I invited my clients, friends and family, and about 185 people came out."
When I arrived to the event, improperly dressed, expecting your "typical brunch," the line was around the corner as the place quickly filled with 200+ people. As an attendee, I immediately noticed how different the energy was in the venue. Brunch 2 Bomb felt like a safe space for Black men and women to express themselves freely. It was refreshing. According to Reed, that's no accident.
"We just wanted a safe space for Black people to exist. I don't need to have 80 people over my house to have fun. I should have a place I can go and do that without being subjected to bottle service to sit down…or you know…good music."
Brunch 2 Bomb
Among the attendees were a few familiar faces, including, Emmy winner and producer CJ Faison and dancer and choreographer Ashley Everett. Everett is most known for serving as Beyonce's dance captain. She was most recently featured in Beyonce's Homecoming documentary on Netflix.
"I love Brunch 2 Bomb. This is my first time here. My friend, Mr. Ray from Love & Hip Hop, his birthday is tomorrow. He's my Aries sister. His birthday is tomorrow and he invited me," she shared. "I love it [Brunch 2 Bomb]. It's not a Hollywood event. It's not like the typical LA party that you're used to."
Brunch 2 Bomb certainly wasn't your typical LA party. There weren't a bunch of influencers. We danced. We did the choreography from Beyonce's "Everybody Mad," which Everette quickly tapped into.
The reality is that my experience in Los Angeles has been that you have to actively seek to be in spaces with and for Black people and people of color. It's not always easy. It was refreshing to attend a Brunch created for us and by us. It's also refreshing to know that there's more where that come from.
Brunch 2 Bomb
"We're working on some really cool things. We will be at Yacht Week East Africa. We'll be back at AfroTech in November. We'll be recreating Wakanda with a Coming to America floor," shared Reed. "We're just trying to do the things that we deserve. We deserve an activation. We don't deserve just a party with a hand stamp and bottles. We deserve more effort than that and we're trying to put in more effort."
To find out more information about Brunch 2 Bomb, visit their website.
Jaleesa Lashay is a film reporter and TV host in Los Angeles. She focuses on engaging in conversations that challenge representations within Hollywood. For more, follow her on IG @JaleesaLashay.
ItGirl 100 Honors Black Women Who Create Culture & Put On For Their Cities
As they say, create the change you want to see in this world, besties. That’s why xoNecole linked up with Hyundai for the inaugural ItGirl 100 List, a celebration of 100 Genzennial women who aren’t afraid to pull up their own seats to the table. Across regions and industries, these women embody the essence of discovering self-value through purpose, honey! They're fierce, they’re ultra-creative, and we know they make their cities proud.
VIEW THE FULL ITGIRL 100 LIST HERE.
Don’t forget to also check out the ItGirl Directory, featuring 50 Black-woman-owned marketing and branding agencies, photographers and videographers, publicists, and more.
THE ITGIRL MEMO
I. An ItGirl puts on for her city and masters her self-worth through purpose.
II. An ItGirl celebrates all the things that make her unique.
III. An ItGirl empowers others to become the best versions of themselves.
IV. An ItGirl leads by example, inspiring others through her actions and integrity.
V. An ItGirl paves the way for authenticity and diversity in all aspects of life.
VI. An ItGirl uses the power of her voice to advocate for positive change in the world.
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ItGirl In Motion: Paige Shari Addison Shows Us Why She's The Hostess With The Mostess
Paige Shari Addison is the epitome of an ItGirl, which is why she is one of 100 ladies on xoNecole's inaugural ItGirl 100 list in partnership with Hyundai. Hailing from Atlanta, Georgia, Paige started her journey as a host in high school by hosting parties. Since then, she has made a career in hosting, from parties to big-name events, and she launched Strictly RNB, a platform for new artists and R&B lovers. Paige reflects on her creative path in the limited video series "ItGirl in Motion."
“My first curated event at Criminal Records was incredible. It was all for up-and-coming artists,” she says. “I needed a platform for us as a collective to be able to give ourselves the platform instead of asking for it, instead of looking for it. I was like, I want to make sure I let people get this experience that I would give as a performer but enjoy the experience with them. It was a dream come true.”
The Atlanta native also has her own line of acai bowls called Soulfull Bowls. She started it during the pandemic after events and parties shut down. But it was her love for eating acai bowls and the reactions others had to them that made her want to make it her next business move. Being open to creating new ventures in the midst of uncertainty is a bold move and one of the reasons why Paige has the “it” factor.
“Being an ItGirl means you’re just authentic. There’s an air to us. We have confidence that exudes from the way we speak, the way we put our lip gloss on, the way we walk, the way we talk. I show up as myself everytime I walk into a room. I’m hospitable, I make sure everybody’s good,” she says.
Get to know more about the hostess with the mostess in the video above.
See our ItGirl 100 list in full here. Click through the gallery below for some BTS moments of Paige and our partnership with Hyundai.
Director: Mikkoh @mikkoh
Production company: @polly___studio
Producer/AD: Samuel Cho @choboi90
Producer/Tech: Paul Nguyen @paul__winn
DP: Cristian Bernal @cristianbernal
Editor: @30inthemorning
2nd Cam: Paul Nguyen
1st AC: AJ Paug @ajpaug Gaffer: Dennis Albert @dennisalbert_
Audio Mixer: Victor Chavez @vic_the__
PA: Rick Carreno @ispeakrick
PA: Tiffany Do @tivani.doee
BTS Photo: Prime @theartofprime
Car Detail: @sud_studs @slugglobal
Creative Director @hellobosco
Team Lead @kevgumbo3000
Project Manager @zakk_jullot
Creative Producer @iamkingsheyla
Designers @miacolemxn @noelspiva
@xoNecole
Director, Integrated Marketing @_vang
Campaign Manager @kingchachiii
Talent Lead @kaylawalker
Feature image by Prime/ @theartof prime