Caity Colvard

The scene at Aloft Friday night.

​Last weekend's all-star party lineup was obviously a see-and-be-seen kind of deal. But now that it's all over, you get to sit at your computer and just look at everyone else.

Steven Visneau

Play-N-Skillz

​Play-N-Skillz and Def Jam's All-Star Weekend Finale Party
PM Lounge
February 14, 2009

For Grammy-winning hip-hop producers Play-N-Skillz, Sunday night--the last night of a jam-packed, celebrity- and part-filled weekend--saw the brothers Salinas hosting not one, but two parties.

Earlier in the evening, the brothers welcomed a number of Dallas Cowboys and Mavericks to its main home for the weekend, downtown ultralounge Plush. But, as the night came to its close, and with it the entire weekend, the duo took to the Joule Hotel's PM Lounge to join Def Jam Recordings in bidding adieu the biggest weekend in Dallas hip-hop history.

But unlike the crazy party atmosphere on, say, the brothers' Thursday night event at Plush, this one has more of a reflective feel, as the brothers--clearly exhausted from a weekend filled with the ups-and-downs of the weather--saw things wind down before their eyes.

That's not to say the place wasn't amped up, though--it was, crazily so. Especially when Bun B, right after a live-from-the-DJ-booth performance of "Homegurl" from Dallas' own Bone, grabbed the microphone and dropped a couple of verses over Jay-Z's ridiculous "On To The Next One" beat.

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Kenny "The Jet" Smith

​The 8th Annual Kenny Smith All-Star Bash
Deux Lounge
February 12, 2009

Considering the influx of fliers and Facebook spamming that has gone on over the past few weeks, Kenny "The Jet" Smith's party was relatively word-of-mouth. But that didn't stop the powers that be at Deux from needing a pop-up tent to extend the size of their venue.

Even the early arrivers (where 10:30 p.m. means early) were treated well. Usually, a warm up deejay is average at best, but the cat who opened up for New York's DJ S&S had the bottle service set two-stepping in their booths and waving their glasses in the air.

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Gloria Levario

Model Gloria Velez, Dallas Cowboy Ken Hamlin and Bun B hang in Plush's VIP section. For more photos from the night, check the full slideshow here.

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Play-N-Skillz's Welcome to All-Star Affair
Plush

Seemed it was a late-arriving crowd at Plush, for the first of Play-N-Skillz's four nights of events at the downtown ultra-lounge: The party was scheduled to kick off at 10 p.m., but even after 11 o'clock, there just weren't many people there--aside from the hosts and some club-goers who'd paid their way in to the venue, at least.

But as the night went on, so too increased the crowd--both in celebrity clout and in size. By midnight, the relatively small nightclub space was pretty packed.

"And it'd be ten times bigger right now if the snow wasn't here," Play allowed during a quick aside in the VIP section as he overlooked his party's draw.

He was pleased, though: A number of other hip-hop luminaries who'd planned to throw parties last night ended up canceling their events altogether. And, in the case of Bun B and DJ Drop, each re-arranged their own night's plans to suddenly include attending Play-N-Skillz's bash.

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Mattie Stafford

Alonzo Mourning lines up a shot. For a whole slideshow from this event, click here.

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Zo & Magic's 8-Ball Challenge
Centennial Building in Fair Park

The red carpet walks kicked off at 7.30 p.m., with Mourning's appearance leading the way. Early attendees were held in a "reception area," separated from the pool tables by a blue carpet and curtains. Everyone was pretty much told to hold the line and wait for speeches from the hosts.

The crowd got a restless, though--so much so that Magic had to hush the room for a few minutes so the speaker could finish. As for what was bring said, we weren't really listening. Instead, we were trying to peak behind the curtain to see the paid sponsors do their photo shoots with the stars. Thankfully, that didn't last very long, and, soon enough, all guests spilled into the main room, accosting the open bar and snagging places at the pool tables to compete against their favorite celebs.

For someone easily starstruck, this event could have easily sent them into cardiac arrest.

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