[title]
"Out Late" is Time Out's nightlife and party column by DJ, Whorechata founder, and Staff Writer Ian Kumamoto, which will publish every other Tuesday. The previous edition was a practical guide to staying safe while partying in NYC.
When can a party claim that it’s “underground,” and at what point is an event too popular to shed that term and transition into mainstream status? That question was at the center of a conversation I first had with Christofer Medina—one of the leading members of the Black and queer-centered party Dick Appointment—who wasn’t quite sure where exactly on the underground-to-above-ground spectrum Dick Appointment fell (and thus, whether it was even worthy of coverage as an underground party).
It makes sense why he’s confused: If you’re a queer Black person living in New York, you’ve almost definitely heard of Dick Appointment, a fashion-forward function that mixes techno and club beats with the likes of Sexxy Red. It’s collaborated with HBO Max and Telfar has DJed for them (yes, he does that). And yet, it retains a certain rawness and energy that is so quintessentially New York that it would be impossible for anyone to argue that they aren’t the source from which a larger culture is being born, the root of a new queer Black nightlife movement. And roots, by definition, almost always exist below ground.
Dick Appointment was founded in 2019 by DJ Kenni Javon, an Ohio native. The party's provocative name was its initial draw, but it was the community that formed around it that allowed it to grow. "When I started Dick Appointment, I was trying to fill a void," Kenni tells me. "I like ghetto music, and I like techno music, so I wanted to merge those into one." He describes the vibe of the party as "medium ghetto," which he explains as mixing "untz untz" basses with the type of music Black people in other parts of the country might hear at predominantly Black events.
Every step is really intentional.
But just as important as keeping Dick Appointment Black is making it inclusive for all corners of the Black queer community. Libby Brothers, also known by her DJ name Pinkyy, runs Dick Appointment’s marketing and social media, and points out how they make sure that everyone they work with is also a part of the community they throw parties for. “Not just even with the lineups but behind the scenes too, we make sure we’re working with people across the LGBTQ spectrum when it comes to design, when it comes to lighting, when it comes to people who are actually taking photographs,” she says. “Every step is really intentional.” Their stance on creating an explicitly queer space has been clear in the marketing from the beginning, which leans heavily on replicating the interface of hookup apps like Jack’d and porn sites like RedTube, with their talent displayed as users on grids. It sets the tone for a party that is supposed to be sexy but safe, consensual but raunchy.
There’s a rawness and anything-can-happen attitude that many commercial parties lack.
I think it's safe to say that for better or worse, Dick Appointment is an underground party. There’s a rawness and anything-can-happen attitude that many commercial parties lack. “People can hop on the mic or the CDJs and just do their thing,” Medina tells me. "There’s elements of playing with range and volume." Bit its undergroundness is also the reason that the party is not always taken seriously by the establishment—They've been lowballed by sponsors and venues they’ve tried to work with. Kenni, Libby and Chris are keeping their crowd Black and queer, and that’s not something they’re going to compromise on, even if that means limiting how fast they can grow and how seriously they're taken. Still, despite the many barriers they’ve faced while throwing the party, they’re excited about the future—a future where I predict they’ll be calling all the dibs. “A lot of people don’t see it for us,” Kenni tells me. “A lot of the people we’ve tried to work with, they don’t see it for us, but we’re gonna make them see it.”
On August 30, Dick Appointment had their fifth-year anniversary party at the expansive nightclub Good Room. Here's how it went.
An hour-by-hour account of an evening at Dick Appointment
1:02am
I pull up to Good Room in Greenpoint with some friends and there's a line out the door. We run into our friend, Armana Khan, who is an up-and-coming DJ in the scene. We get escorted in.
1:10am
We go up the stairs and the venue is packed. We start out in the main room, the Good Room, and it's all high energy. A Beyoncé remix plays and everybody sings along. Then, we make our way to the other room, The Bad Room, where LITNEY, a Dominican DJ based in Toronto but in town for the weekend is tearing it up on the decks.
2am
We take a break from dancing and on our way to the bathroom, we run into the Busy Boys, a group of queer podcasters who are hosts for the night. I end up seeing a lot of people I know while waiting in line—old friends, new friends, former friends, and an ex—and it’s clear that we’re amongst community, for better and worst.
2:30
At this point, I dissociate and just feel the music. Mazurbate, who is known for producing the soundtrack for countless fashion shows, is spinning.
Seeing so many familiar faces makes me feel like this is a real community affair. There’s a sense that everyone is included and everyone has an unspoken role to make the vibes good. There are people dancing in the VIP area and around the DJ, and I know for a fact some of them don’t have backstage passes, but no one cares. It really feels like a family function that has gone off the rails—once the people are lit, all rules go out the window.
3:30am
I would say the peak of the night happens at this point, and I'm saying that because people are dancing on tables.
4:30am
There's so many people past the regular closing time that the venue lets Dick Appointment stay open until 5. I don't usually stay out this late anymore, but the energy and the vibes of everyone surpass most parties I've been to all summer. People compare Dick Appointment to GHE20G0TH1K, the party that defined NYC club culture in the 2010s, and it's a comparison I can agree with. It's late though, so I call my Uber home.
How to catch the next Dick Appointment
Where: Check Dick Appointment's Instagram to get its next location.
When: Keep an eye on its Instagram for upcoming events.
Cost: $20+
How to get in: Buy a ticket from the link in bio whenever it announces an event.
The vibe: Clubby, fashion-forward and sexy.
What to wear: Whatever you would wear to an actual Dick Appointment.