Introducing Cedrick Pierre: The Party Man

By Souleo When the biggest and brightest celebrities from the urban entertainment scene want to party one of the people they call is party promoter, Cedrick Pierre. As the CEO of Elite Entertainment Marketing Group, Cedrick has hosted all kinds of parties from holiday themed ones to extravagant birthday parties and in the process has partied alongside the likes of Jay-Z and Beyonce. With his drive and marketing talent he is definitely one to watch since his party doesn't seem nowhere near its end. Read on to discover how this young entrepreneur impressed Jay-Z, how Trey Songz put him in his place, dealing with the aftermath of the Haiti earthquake crisis and more.

On getting props from Jay-Z:

My favorite one would have to be a party I did with Jay-Z. It was last Halloween at the 40/40 club. I met him and I met Beyonce. Jay-Z shook my hand and said, "Thanks, you made me a lot of money today." I just found that to be something that stuck in my head for quite some time and he's never forgotten me since then. So I kind of like that.

On learning that he can't compete with Trey Songz:

The second party I did at the 40/40 was on the day before Thanksgiving which is also Trey Songz' birthday. So I had to learn the hard way that I can't compete with Trey Songz and I failed pretty hard that night. Only 500 people showed up to my party that night to a club that can hold 2,000.

On how his young age has been an obstacle to overcome:

A lot of clubbers don't hire a promoter my age because they'd rather hire a guy that has been in the game 20 or 30 years. It came to a point where you have no choice but to give me a chance and once you give me a chance, I'm not going to let you down. So I've managed to build a reputation for myself.

On the international party scene:

We've done the Dominican Republic, Acapulco, Aruba and Jamaica. For this year's Spring break we actually went on tour with MTV. Overseas they are crazier because you don't really have to worry about laws, where people can't do this or that. Everybody is free and they can do whatever they want. I'd have to say they're definitely crazy.

On how the Haiti earthquake affected his family:

I had my sister, my cousins and nephew out in Haiti and they were affected pretty bad. My nephew is actually living with me now and hopefully my sister will be coming over soon, but they managed to pick themselves up. We do our best everyday to maintain and to get by because by nature we are a strong people. But to know that your own flesh and blood is suffering-I don't think you overcome that until they are okay. So it has made me a little more motivated. Sometimes I forget how many opportunities I have in this country and it's crazy not to make the best of it.