On Wednesday, July 19th, the City of Houston became the epicenter of the entertainment world as it played host to an exclusive screening premiere event for HBO's hit shows Ballers and Insecure at White Oak Music Hall, one of Houston's most buzzed about new venues. Talent from each show, London Brown (Reggie) and Jazmyn Simon (Julie Greane) from Ballers, and Amanda Seales (Tiffany) and Natasha Rothwell (Kelli) from Insecure, attended the premiere and conducted interviews with local media outlets in advance of the screenings of the first episodes of each show's new season.
White Oak's Upstairs was transformed into an adult playground as Houston influencers, athletes, artists, and trendsetters mingled prior to the screening portion of the evening. Cordua Catering provided exquisite cuisine in the form of fried chicken and waffles, an avocado bar, spinach empanadas, and other light bites. Houston-based artist Ange Hillz created two live paintings that were presented to Houston's Children Charity at an appearance by all four cast members at the HCC Closet the day after the event. Additional activations included screen-printed Insecure t-shirts and Ballers jerseys from DGTPrintLab and a pop-up "Pucker Up Station" for makeup styling by House of Uni.
Downstairs, TRAP Karaoke guests filled the main performance hall in anticipation of the episode screenings and TRAP performances. The episodes of season two of Insecure and season three of Ballers played to tremendous reactions from the audience; both episodes garnered extensive laughs and applause, which set the stage for a raucous sequence of TRAP performances.
London Brown helped kick off the TRAP Karaoke with several hilarious jokes before turning it over to the TRAP crew, who announced the performers for the evening based on submissions prior to the event. The ladies of Insecure got in on the TRAP fun as Amanda Seales performed a popular Three Six Mafia song while Natasha Rothwell made a cameo appearance during a different performance to hype up the crowd.
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HBO + TRAP Karaoke Post-Event / Page 2
The highlight of the TRAP portion came in the form of a surprise appearance by hip-hop icon Bun B. during a performance of the popular UGK song "Int'l Players Anthem (I Choose You)" by The Suffers' Kam Franklin, Bun's wife Queenie, and Daphane Fisher. The rendition brought the proverbial house down and capped off a scintillating evening of entertainment to celebrate the return of Ballers and Insecure to airwaves on Sunday, July 23rd.
Notables seen "balling" throughout the evening at White Oak included Bun B. and wife Queenie, The Suffers' Kam Franklin, former Houston Texan Owen Daniels and wife Angela, SPHERE trainer and former Houston Dynamo Michael Chabala, Chijioke Akujuobi, hairdresser to the stars Cerón, White Oak Music Hall's Will Garwood and Will Thomas, Sydney Brooks, Matt Johns, KHOU-TV's Chita Craft and Mia Gradney, KTRK-TV's Miya Shay, Taylor Hudgins, Caroline Starry LeBlanc, Amanda Abiasi, Derek and Jessica Rosales, Meredith Johnston, KRIV-TV's Ruben Dominguez, Neera Patidar, Adrian Duenas of BeDESIGN, fashion designer Hunter Bell, Kevin Cooper, and House of Harper's Caroline Harper Knapp.
BALLERS season 3 premieres July 23 at 10 PM ET/PT with INSECURE season 2 following at 10:30pm ET/ PT.
HBO Premiere Party for BALLERS and INSECURE
HBO Premiere Party for BALLERS and INSECURE
HBO Premiere Party for BALLERS and INSECURE
HBO Premiere Party for BALLERS and INSECURE
HBO Premiere Party for BALLERS and INSECURE
HBO Premiere Party for BALLERS and INSECURE
HBO Premiere Party for BALLERS and INSECURE
HBO Premiere Party for BALLERS and INSECURE
HBO Premiere Party for BALLERS and INSECURE
HBO Premiere Party for BALLERS and INSECURE
HBO Premiere Party for BALLERS and INSECURE
HBO Premiere Party for BALLERS and INSECURE
HBO Premiere Party for BALLERS and INSECURE
HBO Premiere Party for BALLERS and INSECURE
HBO Premiere Party for BALLERS and INSECURE
Alonya and Audreece Dickson
Amanda Seales (performance)
BALLERS star Jazmyn Simon (Julie) mingling with media
BALLERS stars London Brown (Reggie) and Jazmyn Simon (Julie) (1)
BALLERS stars London Brown (Reggie) and Jazmyn Simon (Julie)
Chelsea Van Voorhis, Ali Sifflet
Dr Erik Shultz, Dr Anu Shultz
House of Uni (pucker up station)
INSECURE stars Natasha Rothwell (Kelli) and Amanda Seales (Tiffany)
INSECURE stars Natasha Rothwell (Kelli) and Amanda Seales (Tiffany)
Mia Gradney, BALLERS Jazmyn Simon, Chita Craft
Mia Gradney, BALLERS London Brown, Chita Craft
Nathaniel James, Kimberly McNair
Nyisha Bostic
Ray Dinunzio, Janu Orega, Michael Miller
Weston Ball, Brandon Fontenot, Adrian and Marcelo
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