Although the party had a 9 p.m. start time, the crowd didn’t pick up until 90 minutes later. For over three hours, Rock Steady’s small venue transformed into an epic African celebration where space and time became obsolete. Movement and music prevailed.
Attendees led impromptu dance routines with aplomb. Others stopped and stared — as if they were in a trance. An amapiano mix of Keyshia Cole’s 2005 R&B classic “Love” blared through the speakers. The bass thumped so loud that hearing anything else outside of it felt like trying to…