Your Favorite Rappers Can Skate! Inside the Epic Party Opening Flipper’s Roller Boogie Palace

I did not have Usher, Fabolous, Meek Mill, and Jermaine Dupri roller skating together around Rockefeller Center on my 2022 bingso card, but boy am I glad to have witnessed these music legends living their best lives on four wheels.

On the first 80 degrees day of the year, Liberty Ross, co-founder and creative director of Flipper’s Roller Boogie Palace (and daughter of the OG Flipper), Kevin Wall, Usher, and Rob Speyer, CEO of Tishman Speyer, brought their heavy-hitting network of friends to one of New York’s most beloved monuments to open Flipper’s Roller Boogie Palace. The rink is a reimagination of the late 1970s Los Angeles hotspot of the same name, founded by the elder Ross. 

Usually flooded with tourists and avoided by locals, Thursday night it teemed with the likes of Alexandre de Betak, Q-Tip, Gayle King, Floyd Mayweather, and music visionaries Dr. Dre, Jimmy Iovine (who donned a T-shirt with the words “Married Flipper’s Daughter”), Mary J. Blige, Patti Smith, Atticus Ross, D-Nice, will.i.am. Also in attendance were fashion It kids Ella Emhoff, Hillary Taymour, Coco Gordon Moore, and Ruby Aldridge.

Across the street, Le Chalet at L’Avenue at Saks welcomed those of us not wearing wheels for espresso martinis and mini sliders under their two disco balls, inviting in the nostalgic and youthful vibe of the rink below. A testament to the contagious energy nine floors below, Usher arrived at midnight after over three hours of skating and a performance of the 2001 redemption banger, “U Don’t Have To Call.” 

Flipper’s partnership with Saks Fifth Avenue goes beyond the disco decked windows along Fifth Avenue. Through October, one dollar for every skate rental at Flipper’s will go toward the Saks Fifth Avenue Foundation, advocating for mental health awareness and services in every community. The relationship made perfect sense to both Liberty Ross and Stephanie Maher, SVP of brand marketing for Saks Fifth Avenue—as many of us picked up a pair of roller skates during the pandemic to combat the blues of being stuck inside. Take the night as proof—even in light rain—because everyone was all smiles from ear to ear.