10 years of PARTYNEXTDOOR 🎉
Pahaaaaa...happy birthday Jahron!
The year was 2013. There was no pandemic, no paying for extra services on apps, no Trump presidency--we didn’t even have Beyonce’s self-titled yet. Vine was TikTok’s shorter, less complicated and arguably funnier predecessor.
I was following a dancer, Meechie—who goes by the username ShelovesMeechie. He posted a video of himself dancing in a house, somewhere in Atlanta to lyrics that played “I’m outta your league, baby. The bitches I seen, baby”. I didn’t pay the song much attention, but it would all come back to me in early 2014.
Back in the day, SoundCloud was the perfect way to discover smaller artists and really niche mixes, songs and mixtapes. In February 2014, literally--everyone on my Twitter timeline kept tweeting: Partynextdoor x Persian Rugs. I didn’t know which was the artist or the song. But I guess it didn’t matter. Of course I was listening on the trendiest headphones (BeatsbyDre) which made the production of the song sound 1,000 times better. I was shocked. A slow piano intro with a heavy bass tempo, paired with a voice and lyrics I became addicted to. The art for the song also made Partynextdoor seem mysterious, which was the most attractive thing to me as a 14-year-old girl.
And that’s when I fell down the rabbit hole to become PND’s biggest fan. And his favorite.
Party, PX, PND, Wave God, Fiesta, Jahron Anthony, The Biggest. It doesn’t matter what you call him when you’re familiar with his sounds and lyrics. He’s honest, confident, clever, a tweeter & deleter, emotional, Jamaican—but my favorite thing about him is his sun sign, which falls in Cancer.
Gotta love (hate) water signs.
PND 1 captures the feeling of classic R&B tales with a sound that combines hip-hop, techno and R&B. At least to me. Because let a young 20-something P tell it, he doesn’t do “experimental R&B or any of that weirdo shit.” His first mixtape is infamously known for Break From Toronto or Wus Good/Curious.
Partynextdoor’s music was a huge part of my teenhood and self confidence as a young lady. And I wouldn’t realize how impactful it was outside of the times until I was in my early twenties. A lot of men in the hip-hop spaces weren’t making music to uplift women the way he does. Throughout his impressive career, he’s continued to prove that he makes music for THE LADIES.
My favorite lyrics include:
“You the baddest in the game right now, you could have the whole thing if you came right now. Quit fuckin’ with them lames right now, I could put you on some game right now.”
We all know that Partynextdoor has also become it’s own entity. It’s a vibe. You can shake your ass, feel melancholy, horny, smoke, and redefine your self confidence all in one. He’s absolutely proven his range with the PARTYNEXTDOOR trilogy, Colors 1 and 2, Seven Days and Partymobile.
I’m so fucking sure of myself when I say we wouldn’t have Caribbean/Jamaican influenced music after Rihanna’s Work if it wasn’t for PND. Of course he wasn’t the first, but he sure as hell reinvented the wheel with that record in 2016.
Let it be known that Party is an artist AND producer. His writing credits include Drake, Kanye West, Beyonce, Rihanna, Ella Mai, Kehlani, Summer Walker and too many more to name.
Party was my first concert. For his second solo tour, he was coming to Orlando for PND Live. My sweet father bought myself, my sister and my three friends tickets and rented a van to take us. Now this was back when he had the couch and I couldn’t stand weed or being near it. Nonetheless, I had an incredible time and wish I could see Party live again. I haven’t been able to since.
During my senior year of high school, I kept tweeting Party and making mutual connections with his other big fans. At some point he followed each of us back until Julia’s crazy ass put us all in a group chat and we’ve been there ever since. #FerinaGyaldem #PXisOutside
That was 2017. Since then, I’ve made some sweet ass internet friends and conversations with Party a few times. It means so much to me that he continues to interact with our very crazy asses. I can’t believe it.
Happy birthday Jahron! I’m so thankful that you shared your art with us in 2013. People don’t give you enough credit for how vulnerable, innovative, creative and instrumental you’ve been in the music of today. No one else could’ve created what you have. Cheers to 10 years of PARTNEXTDOOR!
I asked for some sweet words from other Party fans below :)
“This is so crazy I was just listening to Party yesterday. I love love love PND2 & 1. It was such a great time in life & those albums just make me feel nostalgic & like a careless teenager again. When life was simpler & everything made sense fr. There’s so many quoteables & the beats. I love.” - Simone
“Not gonna hold you but dude is a sick ass producer and his voice is literally an instrument. 98% of the shit he touches turns out gold. He just needs to get back to his prod. bag and clear the industry bc if my guy was consistent he’d be unstoppable.(more than he already is) believe that! 10 years in the game(mainstream), more to come! P1 is a fantastic introduction of a body of art, a new sound and the artist. “Welcome to the Party” itself sets the mood. BFT & WG/C are beautiful songs but then you have Over Here, Ballin’, TBH, Right Now, RWM, Wild Bitches & MAM which, not only has their on spotlights but also have divergent sounds, tempos and melodies. One of the best 10 tracks run ever. Jahron songwriting skills and ears are delightfully exquisite and innovative. The man is a genius! One thing about me, Imma stick beside my man, my man, my man, but #WheresP4Jahron?? Fér4Ever 🤧❤️” - Júlia 🫶🏾
And if for whatever fucking reason you’ve never indulged in PND’s music, here’s my top ten!