Peedi Party

In Pop Smoke’s menacing yet hypnotizing hood anthem “Christopher Walking,” the late east coast rapper savagely questioned the street cred of his ops. Well, one person that certainly isn’t afraid of “going outside” is none other than Peedi. No, I’m not talking about the former Roc-A-Fella records emcee Peedi Crakk (que linda ma!), but like the legendary Philly spitter, the Brooklyn bred hustler is running amok through his respective state like it’s his own property. 

Name any percolating event that’s going down in the greater areas of NYC and Peedi, aka Peedi Piff, is most likely the person that’ll welcome you to the party. Peedi and I initially met at Nigo’s former SoHo hotspot more than 10 years ago where he would frequently slide through with his crew. Believe it or not, we had our first conversation about a month before I eventually dipped from the store in 2015.

Peedi is a massive socialite who is constantly attending the biggest parties so I wanted to check up on him to see how he’s coping with this unbearable quarantine lockdown. Since he’s constantly on the move, this is the perfect time to catch him while he’s literally forced to remain still.

Check out the transcript of our conversation below as we talk about his upbringing, party hopping and future endeavors.

FRENDY: What’s good homie! Is your name really Peedi or is it just an alias?

PEEDI: Alias.  I no longer use my actual name, everyone uses “Peedi” now. So it’s rare to hear any other name. 

FRENDY:  How did you even get that moniker?

PEEDI: Through a close friend of mine. I used to work at his father’s store. He said I look like Peedi Crakk one day and it carried on over into high school. 

FRENDY: Really? *Laughs*. I don’t see the resemblance at all—maybe it was because y’all had similar styles back in the day. If you don’t mind me asking, what is your real name?

PEEDI:  That's a secret *Laughs*.  I’m in the process of getting it changed legally as we speak. 

FRENDY: I respect that.  It’s dope that we’re both BK boys. What’s your background though?

PEEDI:  Mostly Jamaican background. I’ve heard I have Dominican in there somewhere though.  I haven’t met that side, so I stick strictly to Jamaican. 

FRENDY: Nice. I’m Haitian but I’m pretty mixed as well. Have you ever been to Jamaica?

PEEDI: Crazy, I haven’t *Laughs*.  Not as an adult at least. I used to have a fear of traveling alone and I would get asked to go by myself. I wasn’t down for that though *Laughs*. 

FRENDY:  That’s pretty funny *Laughs*.  How was your experience growing up in Brooklyn?

PEEDI: Different.  Growing up there was really aggressive for me. I started off in East Flatbush and bounced around through Canarsie. I loved it though!  Its high energy, fast pace. I got sent to live in Queens midway through school by my mom. She said it would be better living wise for me growing up. 

FRENDY: I totally agree with you on that. I moved to the East New York area of BK when I was seven—and let's just say it wasn’t sweet *Laughs*. Tough areas build character for sure though. Which part of Queens did you migrate to?

PEEDI:  Rosedale, Queens. I think at the age of 10. Prominently Haitian neighborhood. Real quiet—complete opposite of where I was in Brooklyn. That’s where I learned to speak Creole. Not fluently, just enough though. Haitian parents hate speaking English for too long *Laughs*. 

FRENDY: Ayy!  You’re an honorary Haitian then. I’m guessing you didn’t have to worry too much about getting into trouble there. How was High School like for you?

PEEDI:  High School was different from what I expected it to be. A lot of it was violent, mostly due to the crowd I was around. I went to Martin Van Buren. Queens wasn’t as crazy as Brooklyn to me. They for sure carried their fair share though. 

During my sophomore year in High school, I started going to the Bape store after 9th period to catch a pair of kicks. One of my closest friends was gang affiliated in high school.  A lot of the people I met at first were in gangs. Good people (some), the stigma still carries. By the time I got to my senior year I was in school by myself. At first it started out as a group of us that didn’t necessarily know each other in junior high. We just gravitated towards each other due to being at the same place. 

FRENDY:  As they say, “birds of a feather flock together.” I’m glad you didn’t end up in any serious jam. And yeah, I do remember you coming to the shop with a bunch of fly guys back in the day. I could tell y’all were “up to no good,” but still cool people though *Laughs*. Are you still close with the old crew?

PEEDI: Yeah, I think you are referring to when I would come there after high school. I used to go more frequent before then. I met those guys towards my senior year and transitioned into a new group of people to surround myself with. I still speak to them though.

FRENDY:  Besides the fact that you were the only one left in HS, What inspired you to kick it with a new group of cats that wasn’t as “troublesome” as before?

PEEDI:  I was focused on income always and... females. So that was huge and I got with like minded people.  We started to throw events together. 

FRENDY: Financial abundance and beautiful women, name a better duo? I like where your head's at.  Would you say that your new set of friends introduce you to the party scene?

PEEDI:  Yeah, exactly. And they did for sure!  They had me sneaking out of the house on school nights to go to “18 for girls, 21 for guys” college parties. Then I would sneak back home to shower, and go straight to school. 

FRENDY:  Was your partying interfering with school? As far as keeping up with HW and projects due?

PEEDI:  Not really.  Senior year I kind of breezed on through. I only had 4 classes and lunch so I was out before noon. I was being lazy that year. I passed everything though.   By that time I was over school and on a different type of time mentally. 

FRENDY: It was time to turn up and get it! How was your relationship with your parents during that period? Did they instill that go-getter attitude as a youngin’?

PEEDI:  No, most of the things I know have been self taught. 

FRENDY: Interesting. Well, that just shows you were aware enough to know where you wanted to be in life (no Donell Jones).  How often were you partying senior year in High School? Did you carry on the tradition throughout College?

PEEDI:  Not much.  A Thursday here and there. When I graduated I started throwing my own. 

FRENDY:  Nice, so freshman year of college you started throwing your own events. Do you remember your very first one? Were you nervous about the turn out? 

PEEDI:  Yeah, the first one we were more anxious than nervous. We knew people would come; we didn’t expect it to have as big a turnout as it did. 

FRENDY:  Pleasant surprises are the best.  Did you throw the event in Queens or the city?

PEEDI:  [In] Long Island at a place called Rapture Lounge at the time.

FRENDY:  Let’s run it back a little. So during the latter years of High School you started heading out to Bape. Was that your first introduction to Soho or were you aware of the glamorous downtown area before?

PEEDI:  I’ve been to Soho before that in high school.  We would go walking around looking for garments.

FRENDY: I must admit, you were fresher than most since I saw you the very first time at Bape. We never had a full blown conversation but I felt the cool vibes. Soho has changed so much, from the stores all the way down to the type of individuals that kick it over there. What do you miss most about the area?

PEEDI:  Man a lot—Bar 89 for one . So much has changed in fashion and social media. I believe it was only MySpace and Facebook back then. I miss going to SoHo and eating at Wendy’s over by Broadway, I miss Atrium. There’s a bunch of experiences that have been taken away changing the aesthetics of the vibes of soho. Running into random people. 

I miss the old Bape squad, a lot of them went to Old Westbury. So I met them there, a few of my partners went there so that college was like a hub for us.  We spent a lot of “Thirsty Thursdays” at Old Westbury. Attending a few of their parties. A lot of our core came from there. I had to use that college back when you had to go to college to be on Facebook.  Now I’m just in and out of Soho.  I spend most of my leisure time in the LES. 

FRENDY: I hear you.  Which college did you attend? Or did you decide to skip it altogether?

PEEDI: I didn’t have the at home support it took to get to college. Long story. I tried York [and] they owned my pockets. I was too popular by then to focus so I stopped going. 

FRENDY: Trust me, I know exactly what you mean. I couldn’t finish school [Brooklyn College] because of financial reasons. The only thing that matters is one’s motivation to succeed and persistence. All things are possible when there’s belief. When did you first realize that you could utilize your popularity into a business opportunity?

PEEDI:  Out of high school.  That’s the first thing I used social media for. That’s why people knew me. 

FRENDY: What did you usually post? Your outfits or just the events you attended? Were you strategic about them…

PEEDI: I only promoted our flyers. There’s always a formula you use especially when something is good.

FRENDY:  That's a fact. You hardly post on Instagram now. What caused you to suddenly shift it to mystery mode?

PEEDI:  The content on the internet [is] flooded with garbage. Lies. The internet just got nasty....I also noticed when people miss you they pay attention to you more. You can overflow people with your thoughts, opinion, style etc. if you give it to them in increments, it hits harder. It’s like when you are always with your family vs when you’ve been away from them for a while, the love that is shown is different. People appreciate you more when you are not as accessible.

FRENDY: What do you consider as nasty *Laughs* ? 

PEEDI:  Just an overflow of nothing going on. Borderline porn in some cases.  Not knocking it, I just don’t want my sauce mixed in with that.

FRENDY:  Although you aren’t posting as much, those who personally know you are aware of your infamous party hopping.  How many events do you go to on a given night?

PEEDI:  Not even sure, it can vary honestly. I’ve had nights I’ve gone to three events and four clubs, and even done after parties. I started drinking red bull with whatever I drank after a while to keep up.

FRENDY:  What is your most memorable party thus far?

PEEDI: I would say between Kevin Durant's birthday party of 2019 and Rihanna’s Fenty after party Fashion Week the same year.  Both [were] crazy!

FRENDY: Sounds bananas, for sure. How do you get into these exclusive shindigs?

PEEDI:  Knowing where it’s at.  Whether it be through email, friend, or word of mouth. A lot of the time I know the people at the door through networking or they remember me from my past when I’ve thrown events. I connect with many different people. I've done so many different jobs and been in different situations in life.

FRENDY:  How are you dealing with all of the social distancing that’s going on right now in New York due to the COVID-19 pandemic?

PEEDI:  It’s calming.  It’s also slowing money—especially for those seeking new employment and other business ventures. I rather us be safe, but I am also ready for it to be over and continue on with our lives.  We are due for an intervention. 

FRENDY:  Facts! Speaking of money, how does one go about actually making money from throwing events? The amount of tickets sold or profit from the bar?

PEEDI:  It just depends on what you negotiate like my man Lenny S. says *Laughs*.  There’s always a contract involved.  You negotiate it. 

FRENDY: Diddy is notoriously known for throwing the most popping parties on planet earth. Has he influenced you at all in the way that you run your business?

PEEDI: Not at all. I have noticed how he host his events and seen similarities in the way I conduct myself when people are around people.  The live energy. Honestly, the party thing occurred because we were capitalizing on our popularity. The use of the women we had around us. 

FRENDY: I feel you. Effortlessly doing what you do best to make ends meet. Are you still throwing parties with your core group of friends or are you now working with marketing agencies?

PEEDI:  Right now, I’m aiming to get into film. Everyone has their own thing going on. I am hoping to curate my own events in the near future with some brands I have created relationships with. 

FRENDY: Producing films or actually acting in them?

PEEDI:  Mostly producing them. This first project I will play a role in it. I like off screen titles. One thing I’ve learned from back then the attention from people is a lot and can be overwhelming so I’m aiming for behind the scenes. 

FRENDY: Some people crave attention, but don’t know how to act when it's sizzling under the microscope. 2020 started off a bit shaky. What are you doing to remain focused during these trying times?

PEEDI: Man!  Honestly, the world is shaken the way I see it. We both have grown up and, I mean, if you look back at how vast the world has changed and the ups and downs. This will be corrected. 

I am always creating mentally. Keeping myself sharp. A guy I met recently that works for Disney said something to me that stuck. He said to never not keep your mind busy. Even if it’s not your field. Get it on a platform and create. Once you do that it’s evidence to show to companies. So I am mindful of what I put out. I joke a lot that helps me too. I know what I want. Also I have done a lot so remaining focused isn’t even a task. When I’m out I’m usually working a room. One thing I’ve noticed in the entertainment field [is that] a familiar face will always be in 1st place.