Rihanna visits Play Bar Waikiki

I talk with DJ Judah about his meeting with Rihanna last week at Play Bar Waikiki in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Last Wednesday, May 13, 2009, Rihanna and about 15 others of her entourage showed up at Play Bar in Waikiki to dance the night away.  According to radaronline.com, she had been staying at the Kahala Hotel, taking a break from Los Angeles and the paparazzi.

Play Bar is no stranger to celebrities and has hosted many in its heyday under former name, Scruples Beach Club—last notable visit being David Beckham.  However, when Rihanna walked in with many of her girlfriends, the staff and Head DJ, Judah Oschner a.k.a. Da Lion of Judah, were more than surprised.

“The owner came running up to me around 1:30 a.m. and said ‘Judah, I can’t believe it, Rihanna and a whole bunch of girls are sitting in [the VIP] booth,’” says Judah. “Immediately, I dropped her ‘Please Don’t Stop The Music’ and I saw the group perk up.” Most artists don’t want to hear their own music, continued Judah, but they were happy, and started dancing on the dance floor. 

“Then it happened, the owner asked if I wanted to talk to her.  And, she came in to my booth and bear hugged me from behind.” Local boy, Judah, has been working as a DJ in nightclubs around Waikiki for years. But before that, he worked in 12 music videos as a principal dancer and apparently Missy Elliot had spoken very highly of Judah to Rihanna. “We talked and immediately I felt her great energy emanating out of her…  I asked her about Chris Brown.  I had just heard about the new photos that had come out and was worried about her… She’s good.  She is not going back to him.” Finally, “she asked me, ‘do you have Beenie Man?’”

The rest of the night, Judah played Beenie Man and other dancehall reggae for Rihanna, her group and the usual crowd there for the Dollar Drink promotion.  Security around Rihanna forbade photos of her, but word got out to the people on the streets, to friends by text messages and through Twitter.  Soon, waves of people and fans showed up for this unusual celebrity sighting in Waikiki.  Rihanna stayed till after closing to give her thanks to the Play Bar staff for a great night.