A new sound rocked the Ace Theatre in downtown Los Angeles on Wednesday night as musical trio Chris Moten, Devon “Stixx” Taylor, and Cassius Jay unveiled Andscape’s “Trap Jazz” documentary to the auditorium with a visionary performance including a surprise visit from Chrisette Michele.
Directed by Sade Clacken Joseph, the Hulu documentary follows the three musicians on their five-year journey to develop and produce their own sound — a cultural meld that blends two major elements of their backgrounds as Atlanta natives: Trap and Jazz music.
“I feel like what we’re doing, we’re able to bridge all the generations, from the young people, to the older, to the middle — it doesn’t matter. It’s something that everybody can get with,” said Taylor.
Viewers lined up down the street as they waited for the theater doors to open at 7. At which point, they were greeted by a red carpet and popcorn snacks before they went inside the theater. For the VIPs, guests in the upstairs balcony were treated to an open bar and upstairs seats for the show.
As theater guests filed into their seats, celebrities like Machine Gun Kelly made appearances backstage as they congratulated their friends and former band members. In each person’s careers, the three musicians have worked with a host of popular artists including Cardi B, Migos, Usher, Justin Bieber, Kelly Rowland. Bieber and Post Malone were expected to attend, but ultimately didn’t make it for the premiere or after party. Also among the attendees was Omarion and Hayley Kiyoko.
The screening was punctuated by a performance from the Trap Jazz trio with Rashad Marschall where they performed several singles for the audience like “We Started This” and an interesting rendition of “Somewhere Over The Rainbow.” But the big surprise was held for the end of the show as Chrisette Michele joined the band on stage for the Trap Jazz version of the Jazz classic, “Summertime.”
Shortly after the performance closed, guests moved next door to the Ace Hotel rooftop where they mingled with the documentary stars and director as well as “Power” universe actors Mekai Curtis, Gianni Paolo, among other names.
