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The buzz about Shine started months in advance. Its going to the biggest and baddest soca event of the year, hands down! Especially with the hype around the first ever VIP section for the big dogs who could splurge on celebrity treatment and all-inclusive access. Shine has always been the biggest day fete to hit Brooklyn and it never seems to disappoint. . . TJJ got the exclusive access and caught every single moment of it, down to the last drop of action.

My twitter time line was unbelievable as people primed for weeks for Shine. Who trynna get tickets, who hype they goin to make it in VIP, who island reppin harder this year. Boy was it crazy, it did add some extra excitement to the weekend...something promising to look forward to!

We arrived at the Village, and parking wasn't a hassle! The event got pushed back to 12pm due to the rain storm earlier that morning. No scene...we weren't awake anyway. We arrived about 2:30pm and the party was already rockin'. We watched from the outside for a very long time due to some issues with the guest list. Small ting. DJ d'Bandit sort us out real easy and as quick as possible. We walked the red carpet into a lap of luxury.

Greeted with champagne by some lovely ladies, we entered an all white realm, called VIP! We can tell it was a completely different scene on this side of the barricade. We loved it! We limed with the artist, our favorite promoters and our bess party-goers. TJJ couldn't ask for more. DJ Back 2 Basics greeted us with lots of love (as usual) and apologized with total sincerity for earliers mishap. We couldn't hold malice. So we laughed it off.

VIP had unlimited drinks in every possible corner. If you didn't go to the drinks, the drinks came to you. All top shelf stuff and some new 'ish we never even heard of! The wild ones took shots of Grey Goose and Johnny from the ice sculptures while the less adventurous headed over to the mojito bar. Hungry bellies dined in the very back, eating oildown, cook-up rice, curry chicken, stew and lots of flavorful foods that would make ones tummy smile.

The wilder ones were on the other side of the fence, and boy did we step out into the jungle. We were unarmed with tranquilizer darts, but we surely made it out alive. We maneuvered the crowd with our cameras, head-nice and all. Bodies grinned against each other, even unintentionally...the place was packed!

The music was all awesomeness and the lineup of DJs did their thing, playing an array of music that mixed well and played smoothly. DJs came from all over to represent for B2B. The artists came out as well, and made sure to touch the stage for a quick set. Benjai hit the stage for some madness, followed by Lyrikal and tiny tot, ball of cuteness, lil Devyn, Yankey Boy and Tallpree touched the mic for a moment of crazy vibes. Masqueraders showed off costumes of all colors, that would parade the parkway later on this year for Labor Day.

We had an awesome time, even though it was shutdown a tad bit early. No complaints! We must give Ricardo aka B2B, the party rocker, lots of love as always. Much love to Natural Freaks and the entire crew that made Shine a success. Synergy TV for showing TJJ love, and catching all the action at Shine! We must mention, decor was done by Wayne Ramsey from Rango! We loved it. *thumbs up*

-Cocoa Juice

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>> View SHINE: Outdoor Edition 2011 Gallery