Unpopular opinion: club culture is dead—at least in New York. The generation that grew up watching music videos and seeing a steamy club scene from the Y2K era, anxiously awaiting the day they got to experience it for themselves, has outgrown it. Today, parties have taken over as the hotspots for nightlife, with monthly events like Beautiful Faces, Everyday People, and the rising function, South House.
Founded by Nashville native Tochi Ukwu, the South House brand didn’t start out as a party or of its name but a successful marketing ploy to promote Ukwu’s clothing line, Southern Yankee. Since throwing house parties from high school to retain funds for tuition, events are not new to Ukwu. The pop-ups of the graphics-heavy streetwear brand established in 2015 were partly impactful in the birth of South House. However, after reaching 600 – 800 attendees in Tennessee, Ukwu needed more space to grow.
“Am I going to be in Nashville for the rest of my life?” Ukwo reminisces. “I’d never lived anywhere else. I went to high school here, and after college, I stayed here, and I just kind of felt comfortable. I made a quick decision and within three weeks I quit my job and moved to New York.”
Just like anyone else who journeys to the Big Apple, moving to the city where over capacity meets your wildest dreams, took a leap of faith in 2019. To build his network and grow the Southern Yankee brand, Ukwo stuck to his party roots and brought his curations to New York. However, this time, he brought southern rap along with him. Mentioning the likes of Meg The Stallion, Future and Young Thug as prominent figures of southern hip hop that weren’t getting much streaming or radio plays in the north. Knowing no one, Ukwo’s quick thinking and hustle led him to begin the South House journey.
“I did the first South House at a little rooftop in Bushwick called The Ledge and 75 people came out,” Ukwu tells GU. “It wasn’t anything big and I lost money on it, but people helped support me which gave me the confidence to say, ‘okay, let’s do it again,’”
The motivation to continue paid off. In the following month, South House’s second party brought 200 attendees while the third event grew to 500. Just as the parties began to increase, the 2020 pandemic caused Ukwo to move back home to reconnect with family and reflect on the ways South House will return even bigger. In 2021, Ukwo moved back to New York and South House took off like it never left.
“I wanted to bring that type of energy to New York, how when your mom sends you down south to live with your auntie for the summer and you’re staying with your cousins and learning what they’re doing there, in their customs and their culture,” Ukwu details. “I wanted to go back to the roots of feeling that intimate yet everyone’s dancing and no one’s on the wall vibe. South House stands for Southern Houseparty and we’ll give you a good time like nowhere else.”
Scroll ahead to as GU chats with Ukwo about the influx of New York functions, the future of club culture and South House’s upcoming Juneteenth party.
Girls United: How have parties like South House, Beautiful Faces and Everyday People reshaped the way millennials and Gen Z party? As opposed to going to a bar or a club?
Tochi Ukwu: Club culture is dead. With social media, we were able to communicate more and share the same sentiments that we’re just not having fun in these sections. Everyone’s getting super dressed up to spend thousands of dollars to sit in a section and just look at each other. No one’s moving. No one’s dancing. South House is the total opposite, we don’t cater to like the most popular influencers or celebrities, and people are going to dance and have a good time because that’s what’s needed right now.
GU: What are the challenges of putting together these functions?
TU: I do a great job making difficult things look easy because this sh-t is hard. I wish anyone could start a business and throw a party for profit so they could see how hard it is to sell one thing or get people to show up. Some of the hardest parts are specifically in curating. It’s one thing when people give you kudos, but there are expectations that every event must be a banger.
GU: Where do you see the functions like South House going in the future?
TU: I think, right now, we’re past just being a hot event, and we’re turning into an institution, and not only in New York but across the country. I think it’ll happen here soon, but I think that’s what will happen in the foreseeable future for us.
GU: How would you describe New York’s party scene?
TU: I moved out here in late 2019, then I moved back in 2020, and then I came back at the beginning of 2021. I’ve roughly seen the last curator’s collectives of nightlife. The party scene isn’t like it used to be. There’s a lot of discourse online, and there’s a lot of discourse in certain communities [from] people who experienced the 2017-2019 [party scene], and the thing is, it’s not going to be the same, and it’s supposed to be different. The event scene in New York right now is exciting. There are so many different types of events right now. I think it’s a perfect time to live in New York and curate events there.
GU: The upcoming South House celebration is on Juneteenth. What details do you have to share about that?
TU: We’re so excited, and what makes the experience so special is the intentionality. Our community sees certain things and gets excited, so the experience is what I’m excited for everyone to be a part of. The theme is Black-owned brands. This is the third year we’re doing this theme and that’s special because it [encourages] people to shop Black and gives people a chance to support another Black-owned business.