After 40 years of cutting-edge music and cultural coverage, SPIN celebrated its milestone birthday in style at Back to Basics’ debut event — a bespoke concert headlined by hip-hop luminaries Clipse and CeeLo Green at the SCOPE Art Show on the sands of Miami’s South Beach.
The Dec. 4 Miami Art Week party was thrown by Back to Basics, a cultural platform dedicated to re-centering art, music and connection through immersive concepts. The Back to Basics crew built a lineup that honored SPIN’s mission to highlight emerging talent and legendary acts on the same stage. It featured a vinyl disco set by Kaz James, an acoustic serenade by Chiara Parravicini, live drumming and electronic improv by Kaelin Ellis, sultry Caribbean heaters by Amanda Reifer, closing vibes by DJ Dee/Ma and house DJ interstitial sets from underground club queen Suzi Analogue. Of course, the pièce de résistance were headline sets by Green and Clipse, the latter of whom recently earned multiple Grammy nominations for their comeback album, LET GOD SORT EM OUT.
The event was sponsored by Topo Chico and RA Travel, with a portion of proceeds benefiting Playing for Change Foundation and Noah’s Arc Foundation. Event sponsor 260 Sample Sale was also on hand to offer deals on fashion, home and beauty products from Marc Jacobs, Balmain and ACNE STUDIOS.
“Back to Basics is our reset — our reminder of why culture matters in the first place,” says Patrice Delva, who co-created Back to Basics with Christian Cedras, Melissa Aldana and Alyssa Kane. “In the chaos of Miami Art Week, we wanted people to feel the moment, not watch it through a screen. Kaz James on vinyl set the pulse. Clipse and CeeLo Green carried the weight of legacy. Chiara, DEE/MA and Amanda Reifer pushed the energy forward and showed us where the future is going. Bringing SPIN into the fold made it all feel complete — a bridge between what came before and what is coming next.”
Miami-based agency Numbers Only, which was founded by Cedras, oversaw the event’s production. “As an agency, Numbers Only lives at the intersection of art and commerce — where vision meets execution, where ideas become impact,” she says. “We build moments that move people and brands with equal force. Back to Basics was born from a desire to tap into something truly rooted in culture at its core.”
The party began with chic sophistication from James’ sunset selection of funkadelic, disco-tized wax. Attendees walked the sandy runway to the SCOPE art fair gates, where just beyond awaited a surfside garden of earthly delights. The tent space was transformed with large art installations, vendors and activations. At the entrance, a golden Mayan pyramid made from rolling coolers represented immigrants across America who earn a living as street vendors, while around the corner was a full-on dive bar, complete with a pool table, foosball, a vintage arcade video game machine and a Touch Tunes jukebox.
Partiers noshed on artisan pizzas and ice cream delights while sippingLalo Tequila and Manojo Mezcal cocktails. The art world’s best dressed mingled under the stars as James handed the stage over to Argentinian talent Chiara Parravicini, who brought a hush over the crowd with her intimate performance. Armed only with an acoustic guitar and her angelic vocals, she cast a spell with her single “La Luna,” breathing a moment of romanticism into the night.
After a house break from Analogue, the Miami Dolphins cap-clad Ellis worked the crowd with witty banter and multi-instrumental improvisations. “I’m from Tampa, but this is my second home right now,” he said. “I’m winging it at the moment, but I’ve got something up my sleeve.”
It’s easy to see why event partner TuneCore chose Ellis for its Push promotional program. He masterfully moved between his sequencer and drum kit, riffing jazzy rhythms and rock-infused beats that matched the tropical heat. It waa followed by Grammy-nominated Amanda Reifer’s Barbados-bred blend of pop, reggae, hip-hop and R&B. Analogue served as DJ while Reifer worked through hits such as “Woman Now” and a version of Sister Nancy’s dancehall classic, “Bam Bam.” From there, Analogue kept the party rolling with high-energy house and reworks of fan favorites from Doja Cat and Missy Elliott.
At the stroke of midnight, Green hit the stage in an all-pink, diamond-studded hoodie sweatsuit, and his affable hypeman and DJ rocked matching pink tones. He worked the stage like James Brown, wiping the sweat from his brow as he belted out the Miami classic “In Da Wind,” “I’ll Be Around” and a cover of Michael Jackson’s “Don’t Stop ‘til You Get Enough.” He led the crowd in call-and-response chants, ripped his hoodie off and hit the highest falsettos before finishing with a big singalong with the Gnarls Barkley classic, “Crazy.”
“I’ve never seen CeeLo live,” said attendee Gary Seals, who owns the West Chelsea Contemporary Gallery in Austin, Tx.. “This party seemed like the one to go to. The others all seemed a little stuffy.”
Clipse arrived quickly onstage next, as the VIP crowd rushed to the front for a set comprised entirely of material from Pusha T and Malice’s first album since 2009, LET GOD SORT EM OUT. Songs such as “Chains & Whips,” “P.O.V.,” “F.I.C.O.” and “So Be It” were met with huge reactions, as the sibling rappers boasted “album of the year!” between songs.
Attendees like Ruerob Jackson, who works with the Houston-based BIPOC Arts Network & Fund, were energized by the performance. ““Clipse has hands-down created the best album of the year,” he said. “When I tell you it has transformed communities from microcommunities across the South to the boroughs, the Bronx and the projects in ways we’ve never seen — it hits hearts and homes and it’s not only touched me, but entire communities.”
It marked the perfect celebration of SPIN’s 40 years in music and media—and a fitting end to another beautiful day of business and pleasure at Miami Art Week 2025.
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