“It’s about beautiful black and brown skin that is shinning that you don’t get to see everywhere, particularly in nightlife where party flyers are just, like, very stripper-oriented bodies.” The party illustrations are part of Mohammed’s larger practice, “w Grace,” a site specific work he created for the Queens Museum’s 2016 Queens International - the biennial exhibition highlighting artists throughout the borough - which, through portraiture, centers on the story of Grace Lawrence, an undocumented trans women of color. “It’s sexual and sensual at the same time.” Mohammed has made the last 22 party flyers, many of which are vibrant digital portrait approximations of people that attend the Brooklyn bash. “You can imagine his skin being dewy,” Mohammed said of the flyer, laughing. The flyer for the party is symbolic of the group's signature aesthetic: a bearded queer black man with a high top fade wears sunglasses that reveal a “papi” in his underwear. Adam and Oscar will also play short sets throughout the night. “Summer Honey” - the third-anniversary party slated for June 25 at Baby's All Right during New York City’s Pride Weekend - will feature a lineup that includes Juliana Huxtable, DJ MikeQ, False Witness, and singer Princess Nokia. At one point during his set, the crowd erupted, belting, Buh buh buh buh body ody ody as the East New York rapper stalked the stage in a white cotton tank top and powder blue jeans.
At January’s gathering - titled “Papi Pollo” - for example, hip-hop artist Jay Boogie performed his underground hit, “Body,” a strutting and rebellious ode to queer black and brown femininity. In their place, at Papi Juice, acts like Byrrell the Great, Njena Reddd Foxx, and Maluca take the stage to mirror the experiences and fantasies of those who fill the dimly-lit dance venue. Though Papi Juice has grown into a platform for artists of color, it has also functioned as a micro-liberation movement against the white gay scions of Manhattan’s club kid circuit typified by Amanda Lapore, Susanne Bartsch and Lady Fag. “Adam and I bonded over our frustration with traditional gay spaces and how there was a lack of representation of gay men of color, people of color, and also diversity in gender representation and gender identities. “I had DJ’d once at Azúcar, which was another queer party at the time,” Oscar said, interrupting.
“ were gallery hopping and Oscar was like, ‘We should throw a party’ and I was like ‘That sounds pretty cool,’” Adam, 29, explained of the party’s origin. Since 2013, the tight-knit crew of queer boys - three of whom identify as cisgender men Mohammed, 25, considers himself femme - have organized Papi Juice, a monthly party that serves as a safe space for queer and trans people of color (QTPOC) in New York City’s dwindling and mostly white gay nightlife scene.