The great will forever be remembered.
It has been seven years since the world was shaken when the king of pop, Michael Jackson, passed away. You could hear hearts breaking across the globe one heart in particular belonged to nightlife impresario Richie Akiva. He decided to honor the pop star by hosting a tribute with music mogul Andre Harrell. Akiva called DJ Cassidy and asked him if he could spin a Michael Jackson set with a bunch of other DJs at 10ak NY. As soon as DJ Cassidy discovered that they had not booked any other DJs he decided to do a solo set. He wowed the crowd as he preformed an impromptu show from 11pm to 5am with no opener, no closer, no break and no playlist.
“Watching people dance to one man’s music for six straight hours was mind blowing,” recalls Cassidy. “Michael’s music captivates people like no other. The emotion in the room was overwhelming.”
Ever since then this tribute has become an annual thing known as the Remember The Time, Michael Jackson Tribute. Every year Cassidy, Akiva and Harrell team up and make the show even bigger by moving it to 10ak LA in 2014 to coincide with the BET Awards and bringing in co-hosts Quincy Jones and LA Reid for that year. Guests of the annual tribute have included Jay Z, Sean “Puffy” Combs, Chris Rock, Adam Sandler, Usher, Maxwell, Ne-Yo, Russell Simmons, and Robin Thicke, who, one year, grabbed the microphone for an acapella rendition of Jackson’s “Human Nature.” As guests enter the tribute they are handed a sequin glove, which leads to a beautiful sea of glistening hands mid-party while Michael videos and concert footage play from LED walls in front of the DJ booth and around the club.
“Prince is the only artist, other than Michael, whose music can capture a party for hours and hours at a time,” explains Cassidy. “They are simply the greatest. It has always been a dream of mine to celebrate these two icons together, and this year is the year I make that dream come true.”
