Shunn Gunn Reminds Us Of The 'Good Ol Days'

By: Brink Young

October 26th, 2022

MEMPHIS,TN - OCTOBER 23RD: Fabo Performing On Stage During The "Collar Shirts & Mini Skirts" Day Party Presented By Shunn Gunn At Echelon Bar & Grill On October 23, 2022. In Memphis, TN (Photo by Brink Young/BrinkTV Show)

There is an old saying that reads “Heroes get remembered, but Legends never die”. That particular saying encompasses Legendary Memphis Party Promoter Shunn Gunn. Shunn dominated the “no id required” party scene in Memphis for over a decade merging high school organizations with youthful crunk stars. His events are etched in Memphis history producing step shows, citywide talent shows, concerts, & of course the infamous parties. It is now 2022, and many of Shunn Gunn’s patrons are in their thirties. We all love to reminisce about the ‘Good Ol Days’ when our biggest dilemmas were trying to find an outfit for the Spring Break Extravaganza , or getting a ride to the Citywide Talent Show at Whitehaven High school. Life was much simpler then, and the adulting responsibilities were on our parents. But now, we’re the parents! Lol (Parents need love too). With all of this in mind, Shunn Gunn decided to treat the city to one more party celebrating the 2000’s with performances by Fabo, Pastor Troy, Zed Zilla, Lutinent G, CME Eastside, & Cannible.

Pastor Troy & Brink Young/BrinkTV At Shunn Gunn's "Collar Shirts & Mini Skirts Day Party (Echelon Bar & Grill) Memphis, TN

The Atmosphere

Echelon Bar & Grill (Winchester rd) was the location for the themed Collar Shirts & Mini Skirts Day Party. (Homage to one of the popular SG party themes). This was my first time attending Echelon under the new owner and renovation. If my memory serves me correctly, I previously interviewed 8-Ball & MJG in this building in my early years of journalism. That seems to be the common thread in the Memphis night life scene, venues are often remodeled and given a fresh coat of paint. For me, the vibe stays the same as I have many great memories of interviews, concerts, and impactful networking at Memphis’ various venues. Echelon offers an awesome VIP Experience. Their waitresses look amazing, & the two stripper poles on the dance floor are a nice touch. (Never know who might put on a show). DJ Pablo kept the party active playing timeless classics from the 90’s & 2000’s. LLE & PGK were in attendance reminding us how prevalent high school organizations were in our era. The 360 photo booth on the stage provided lots of entertainment throughout the night. At one point, I saw Fabo randomly walking around the club being greeting by fans and taking photos. Fabo was extremely down to earth, and approachable. He acknowledged me as soon as we crossed paths. (Not sure if he knows who I am, but our hair color was the same lol) CME Eastside’s VIP Section is where I chose to post up all night. My relationship with CME Eastside spans over 13 years, so it wasn’t odd for us to kick it in VIP together. J. Salat (formerly N’Sane) and I met back stage in 2009 as his group at the time “The Preps” opened up for Soulja Boy. N’Sane & I not only worked together several times over the years, but also kept in close contact about business ventures, life, etc. Speaking of CME Eastside, let’s get to the performances as they were the first to grace the stage.

Zed Zilla Performing On Stage At Shunn Gunn's "Collar Shirts & Mini Skirts Day Party (Echelon Bar & Grill) Memphis, TN (Photo by Brink Young/BrinkTV)

The Performances

CME Eastside brought that East Memphis flavor back with songs like “All I Do Is Get Money” & “Eastside”. N’sane began with his verse from The Preps single “White V” which was shown on BET back in the days when BET played music videos.. Next up was Cannible 901, an artist who I remember grinding all the way back to the Myspace days. He performed and assortment of bangers including a tribute to Young Dolph. The next performance came without warning, when all of a sudden I heard the familiar sounds of Lutinent G. Now I gotta say Lutinent G definitely raised the bar for performances and breathed more life into the audience. Ladies rushed to the dance floor to drop it low to “Mangula”. (A cult classic among southern twerk songs). People were excited to see Lutinent G, as he admitted of his lengthy but purposeful truancy from music during his 2021 BrinkTV Interview. Many held Lutinent G as one of the next to blow in that era. His music was trendy, street, and twerk friendly, all of the components to making the ultimate artist. While Lutinent G’s performance raised the bar, Fabo popped a few bars & took us all into outer space. The face of D4L, & the Indisputable King of Snap Music took us on a musical journey. He delivered the performance of the night with songs like “Tatted Up”, “Betcha Can’t Do It Like Me”, “Laffy Taffy”, & “Geeked Up”. He also paid tribute to Shawty Lo. He instructed the dj to play “They Know” and the crowd went crazy. Its funny how certain songs from that era seem to jog your memory and give you that same energy you had back then. One thing about Fabo, he’s gonna give you a show! Also, do not sleep on his singing abilities. Bo can sing!! He closed out his performance with “Geeked Up” a song that he’d been teasing the whole set. He even stopped the track and went into the remix featuring Young Jeezy which caused the crowd to erupt once more. The next performer was Zed Zilla, and he definitely had the audience in the palm of his hand. The South Landlord actually started the performance from his VIP Section maneuvering from there to the stage. It was a magical moment & almost seemed like he was levitating to the stage as his classic song “In the club” played. Everyone walked with him towards the stage from fans, to entourage, to camera men, as the lyrics to the song stated “I Feel A lot Of Love In The Club”. Zed has a tremendous catalog and a Verzuz Battle would be a challenge for any formidable opponent. He performed a medley of his most know tunes including “Feels So Go”, Zilla”, “That’s How I Be”, Fire That Bitch” & many more. There was also a tribute to Snootie Wild, Young Dolph, & J Money Trulla before the end of his performance. The headliner and main event was none other than Pastor Troy. I have been a fan of his for many years. I remember watching UGTV (Underground Television) on Comcast ch 17 a little over 20 years ago and seeing video footage of a Pastor Troy concert in Memphis. During the video, while performing “Aint No Mo Play In GA” a fight broke out in the crowd. Unfortunately, that was an example of how the Memphis club scene got down during the 90’s-2000’s. On a more positive note, tonight during Pastor Troy’s performance of that song there was no fighting. (We all grown now & got families now). Pastor Troy is one of Atlanta’s vigilant generals who waved the flag for Georgia during the days where the south didn’t receive the love that it gets now. His battle cry rang for years and propelled more industry attention on the south. Before Jeezy, T.I, Gucci Mane, Ludacris, Migos, Lil Baby, etc. There was Pastor Troy. His performance was more intimate. PT wasted no time leaving the stage and performing 90% of his show in the middle of the dance floor. He’s every bit of the people’s champion as he dawned his signature title belt while dropping hits like “Aint No Mo Play In GA”, “Vice Versa”, & “Throw It Up”. Memphis really appreciates PT Cruiser.

Thank you to Shunn Gunn for bringing us back to the ‘Good Ol Days’.