On a sunny Saturday afternoon in Los Angeles, R&B singer Ciara (born Ciara Princess Harris) was all the buzz at Epic Records’ Epic Moment party, a pre BET Awards event held at the W Hotel Hollywood’s boutique outdoor bar, Hollywood Station. The party, which ran from 2p to 6p, got off to a bit of a slow start as many artists, managers and executives involved in the BET Awards were busy across town at the Shrine Auditorium running through sound checks and working the radio room in preparation for the live broadcast of the awards show the following night. (Also pulling attention that afternoon: Kevin Liles’ KWL Management’s swanky 2nd annual Summer Soiree pool party at a private residence in the Hollywood Hills, sponsored by Adidas and Grey Goose.) But the party turned over as the day wore on.
Guests were encouraged to dress “fashionably chic,” and many signed a large “Epic” card addressed to event planner Patty Laurent and set up near the entrance to the event. Drinks were flowed courtesy of Courvoisier, and snipes were positioned around the plush patio furniture promoting Epic’s roster of up and coming urban talent including singer Leah LaBelle and
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Ciara, whose appearance late in the afternoon accompanied by Epic Records’ Senior Director of Publicity Courtney Lowery would later cause a stir on urban fashion blogs, wasn’t the only artist to make the event. Epic artists Ca$h Out, Astro and Leah LaBelle were all also in attendance. Said one partygoer who left the event earlier in the afternoon only to return, “We were going to go to Kevin Liles’ thing, but it was just too much. This Epic party turned out to be pretty hot, though.”