Today we’d like to introduce you to Corey B Washington
Corey B, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
WHAT IS JAMES EVANS?
IN 2012 I had, what I thought was, a crazy idea. I wanted to DJ again! I wanted to be known as Corey B the OLD SCHOOL SPECIALIST. I called my cousin, Atlanta DJ/ICON – DJ M3, and shared my vision. He was supportive, but I don’t think I was quite convinced myself. On the ride home, I was having a conversation with myself, and I asked myself, why don’t I just throw old school parties? Then I tried to come up with a name. This is where it gets crazy. The names that kept standing out to me where George Jefferson and James Evans! I literally drove around 285 having an entire conversation with myself. Then I called my brother Ant Black. Shared with him my ideas, and when I said either George Jefferson or James Evans, we both simultaneously responded JAMES EVANS at the same time!
Once I established the name, then it was time to assemble my team! I reached out to one of my oldest and most trusted friends, Kay LeGree aka Miss Kay, CEO of First Lady Enterprises. Excellent with money, decorations, paying attention to details, and an excellent marketer. Next was Trent Jones. The backbone to our crew. Very well loved and respected. Excellent promoter. Knows music like no other. When I am losing it….he gets a call. Always has my back. Then there is Marc McIntosh aka Marc Mac! Marc is the Yang to Trents Yin! He is logical, and waste no energy on silly things. Always focussed on the bottom line and will do whatever it takes to reach our goals. He is also my second cousin. If no one else ever showed up, Marc and I would be doing a two step in the lobby laughing at ourselves!
JAMES EVANS are themed events that are catered to a demographic of 40 year old men and women, who love 80’s – early 2000’s hip hop and r&b, who love to dance, and have a good time. We often change locations, but the energy is always the same – all love.
Now, for those of you do do NOT know who James Evans is, we aren’t even trying to get your attention. We have a unique niche and we consistently cater to it. At our very first JAMES EVANS event, we had Bernadette Stanis aka Thelma from GOODTIMES host. We’ve had legendary performers and DJ’s such as Kool DJ Red Alert, Chubb Rock, KRS ONE, Big Daddy Kane, Jadakiss, Kid Capri, DJ Kemit, Greg Nice and many others come thru and rock with us at James Evans.
Our signature event is our annual BIGGIE: Celebration of Life. It’s the biggest Biggie Celebration in the country. Each year, we take it back to New York City, circa mid 1990’s. We decorate, create custom Biggie props, and bring in people who were associated with B.I.G. In 2024 we had CJ aka Christopher Wallace Jr co-host our event along side Lil Cease! This year’s Biggie: Celebration will take place on Sunday, March 9th at Opium Night club. Doors open at 4pm. It’s a DAY PARTY!
We also feature a couple other signature events annually. Our Sneaker Ball is always dope. We’ve been doing a Sneaker Ball since 2019 with our partners from New York – Play Da game. The high light of our last sneaker ball was a full performance by none other than RAKIM! We also do an all black party called THE BLACKOUT, that features R&B and live Music. And Later this year, we will be announcing a destination event! So please stay connected – www.jamesevansevents.com
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Let me start off by saying, there are struggles before each and every event! But that is how we know that its going to be a successful event! We get challenged in ways we could never imagine. We panic, freak out, get angry, throw things…but after all of that, we always come back to, this happens to us every event. We’re fine! We will figure it out. Then the calm sets in, and we move forward. This may sound funny but, whenever we hit a creative wall, or are challenged in ways we weren’t expecting, we say out loud, “THIS IS THE FUN PART!” We have adapted that philosophy because, each struggle or challenge that comes at us is an opportunity to grow. Get Better! If it were too easy, we would get bored and then things would slip through the cracks, our attention to detail may lack, or our customers might feel a different energy.
I will say this, probably our most successful event was our Biggie party in 2021. The year after the pandemic. Things were just starting to open up. It was a weird time. But we, as a culture, really needed to celebrate life. I locked in on a venue, negotiated a deal, locked it in, and started my graphic work. I was very excited because we were growing and I needed a large building. We got it! The next day, the NBA announced that the all star game was going to be held in Atlanta, on the SMAE WEEKEND AS THE BIGGIE PARTY! It couldn’t get any better. We had a large venue in downtown Atlanta, we had the dopest theme and hundreds of people ready to rock. I had just gotten off of a conference call with my partners and told them, YOU SEE THIS? ALL STAR IS COMING HERE……I was on my way to get a haircut in my boys garage. Then my phone rings. It is the venue owner. He say, “Hey. I got some bad news. I can’t let you have that date. I have a buyout offer from the NBA. I GOTTA take that deal! ” BOOM…Just like that. My location was GONE. Now I am about 36 hours behind everyone else after the ALL STAR announcement, venues are drying up. I remember getting into my barbers chair looking crazy. Stomach was hurting. Started stressing. Then I heard myself say out loud, “Watch Me Work!” My barber was confused, because I hadn’t said anything since I got there. I turned to him and told him what happened, then said, “This is the fun part! Watch me work!”
That event was CRAZY! We sold out Monticello’s. We had performances by JADAKISS, LIL CEASE, FREEWAY, DJ SNS, & THE WORLD FAMOUS BRUCIE B, We had amazing sponsors. And more importantly, we had a safe, extremely fun event, that is still talked about to this day.
THAT, was truly the Fun Part.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am a true creative. I am a photographer, videographer, event planner, tv production, professional, director, and I just happen to throw the dopest events for a mature crowd in the city, JAMES EVANS.
I am known for my professionalism, dedication, customer service, attention to detail, and being relatable….reachable.
I am most proud of the fact that people trust me and my team. They trust us with their most valuable commodity, their time. They support us and in turn, we provide a service and produce a product that they continue to return to. I am proud of the fact that some people don’t come outside until there is a JAMES EVANS. I am proud of the relationships I have built. I am proud that two of my good friends met at one of my parties, and now are planning a wedding. There are so many things I could name…..I am proud to be here and still doing what I love after 14 years,
What sets me apart from others is the fact that what you see is what you get! There are a lot of selfish, evil, hating, tone-deaf, money grabbing, lying, BS’ing individuals in this game. Dealing with them almost changed me…….Almost. But I know who I am as an individual and how I feel about people. I imagine that its ME on line waiting party. How would I want be treated. So I try to treat them as such. I just wanna hear my music, and get home safe.
What was your favorite childhood memory?
My favorite childhood memory is my moms throwing my 14th birthday party. She rented a huge, 44 passenger bus, and took me and all of my friends and on the bus, and some family to a huge park and we had a cookout. Nobody’s moms was doing that! Shoutout to Ms. Bailey!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.jamesevansevents.com
- Instagram: jamesevansatl
- Facebook: jamesevansatl
- Twitter: jamesevansatl
- Youtube: jamesevansatl
Image Credits
FORTE PIX/VIDS
RF VISUALS
DYNAMIC PREMIERE IMAGES
IMAGES IN MY EYE
