On a recent Friday night, nearly 800 people converged on Monday Night Garage for Trap Sushi, a party that blends anime, hip-hop and gaming culture into a vibrant, welcoming event.
Cosplayers and anime fans, some dressed like Mojo Jojo from “The Powerpuff Girls” or Aang from “Avatar: The Last Airbender,” danced as trap music blared across the 22,000-square foot warehouse space off the West End Beltline and a chef made fresh-to-order sushi.
Now, a new partnership between Trap Sushi and Cxmmunity Media, an Atlanta-based gaming and esports marketing company, is helping the party expand its cadence and its global reach.
Credit: Olivia Bowdoin
Credit: Olivia Bowdoin
Cxmmunity has purchased a 15% stake in Trap Sushi, uniting two burgeoning local Black-owned media companies. The deal was finalized at the beginning of this year after about eight months of talks between the two sides. They did not disclose the amount of the investment.
Trap Sushi started small, just 25 people at the first event in February 2020, according to co-founder and CEO Tolden “Troop” Williams. He and his wife Stephanie got the idea for the party after attending an anime convention in Atlanta, seeing the enthusiasm for the event and realizing there needed to be more regular spaces for fans.
“I was just like, ‘Yo, we actually don’t even have a place for this other than this once-a-year thing that happens with these conventions,’” Williams said. “So, I was like I already know how to throw events, let me just, you know, take some of these elements that I already love and then combine them together.”
After the first Trap Sushi in early 2020, the party had to take an unexpected hiatus when the pandemic hit. It came back in late 2021 and from there, grew mostly through word of mouth, regularly attracting hundreds of attendees. Last May was their biggest event yet, with about 3,500 people attending.
Now with Cxmmunity’s backing, Trap Sushi is going from every other month to a monthly cadence and will be hosted internationally for the first time – in early April, Williams is taking the party, fittingly, to Tokyo.
“We invested in the Trap Sushi because of the community and everything that Troop’s been able to build, but also Troop as a visionary,” said Chris Peay, co-founder and chief marketing officer for Cxmmunity.
Credit: Olivia Bowdoin
Credit: Olivia Bowdoin
Word of the party has spread across the country to anime fans and celebrities alike. Actor Khleo Thomas, most well-known for his role as Hector “Zero” Zeroni in the movie “Holes,” flew from Los Angeles to attend Trap Sushi last fall.
Having people come from other states to Trap Sushi made Williams realize what he had created was more than just a party, but a place where people felt safe.
For Quenel Meheux, an anime fan from Lawrenceville who is part of the group Beltline Cosplay, Trap Sushi fills a void in the city for anime and hip-hop fans.
“I love being a part of this community,” Meheux, 33, said. “It’s just been really enriching and it’s good to see, you know, like-minded people coming together to just be a part of something that makes them happy and is positive and isn’t hurting anyone.”
Credit: Olivia Bowdoin
Credit: Olivia Bowdoin
Cxmmunity’s investment in Trap Sushi also goes beyond the financial. The company will provide legal, marketing and accounting resources because the ultimate goal is to grow both companies together.
Cxmmunity has had deals with Twitch, Amazon, Mountain Dew and Spotify, worked with athletes Cam Newton and Chad Ochocinco and rappers like NLE Choppa and Duke Deuce. They are bringing their know-how and connections to Trap Sushi to help build the brand and its intellectual property, according to Ryan Johnson, co-founder and CEO of Cxmmunity.
“I don’t look at Trap Sushi as just a party … they’re an IP holder – their parties will turn into TV shows, their TV shows will turn potentially into movies, this could turn into animated series, we’re creating comic books,” Johnson said.
Credit: Olivia Bowdoin
Credit: Olivia Bowdoin
But Williams, Johnson and Peay’s vision for this partnership go beyond just how far Trap Sushi can expand. Ultimately, they hope to create new standards for how local Black-owned companies can collaborate, for Black nightlife in Atlanta and for Black representation in the media.
“In a lot of scenarios, people would say, you know, ‘Let’s try and defeat or compete with Trap Sushi,” Johnson said. “I think we’re just being very hyper intentional of ... trying to set an example and tone of here’s actually how you support one another and it’s literally not just with words, it’s not just on social media, but it’s actually with financial support.”
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