Getty/Tiffany Rose / Stringer
On Wednesday night, friends, fans, and some major music industry players gathered to celebrate the launch of Ciroc Studios in Los Angeles. The Hollywood location houses the celebrated Record Plant, a studio that has run for 50 years and gave the world hit albums from Britney Spears, Chris Brown, Justin Bieber, and Guns N’ Roses just to name a few. DJ Khaled was brought in later in the evening to inaugurate the space — intimate, modern, and evidently sacred for music fans.
Khaled walked in wearing a gray sweatsuit and laid low before introducing the new studio, which is also powered by VH1s “Save the Music.” When he was finally introduced to the room at the end of the evening, he gave a quick speech that began with his signature, “Bless up.” He then dove into a major goal of the new studio — letting new talent grow there. “I’ve actually recorded a lot of hit records in this studio and what I’m excited about is Ciroc and Record Plant is giving opportunities to new artists, young artists,” he said. “That’s what it’s about, giving opportunities to be great.”
He stuck with this message, hyping on the idea that it will be a space for new talent. “But you know what is so beautiful about it is that the young world gets to experience studios that maybe they can’t afford to get in, or maybe have access to get in. While they’re recording I’m sure they’re going to bump into somebody that’s going to be inspiring and motivating.”
Perhaps a sign of things to come, The FADER bumped into another well-known attendee at the event, pop star Ashlee Simpson. “I’m here tonight to support the opening of the Ciroc Studios,” she said. “It’s super special that emerging artists have a place to come and be creative.” She also noted that she recorded her third album, Bittersweet World, in the space.
As Khaled was closing out the night, he brought attention to some other notable guests including Simpson, Justine Skye, and Teyana Taylor. Khaled gave one last thank you before concluding with a joke. “This is amazing. This is historic. And Ciroc, I got my studio in Miami, can you all make my studio look like this?”
