Mayor Tony Vauss Opened His Home — Then Treach of Naughty by Nature and DoItAll Dupré Kelly of Lords of the Underground Turned His Birthday Bash Into an Unforgettable Irvington Celebration!

IRVINGTON, NJ — The first surprise was the address.

This was not a concert at a municipal park. It was not a festival at Civic Square. It was not a political fundraiser inside a ballroom.

Mayor Tony Vauss had invited hundreds of people to celebrate his 56th birthday at his own home.

Then you walked onto the property and understood just how seriously he meant the invitation.

Approximately 250 chairs filled the rear yard. Another 250 were positioned in front, along with tables where guests could sit and eat. A giant video screen carried the performances from the backyard to those gathered on the other side of the house.

And even that was not enough seating. More than 500 people stopped through during the day.

For a sitting mayor to repeatedly open the property where he actually lives to that many residents is an unusual form of public accessibility. But the bigger surprise was how natural it all seemed. Residents walked in, greeted Vauss, found friends, ate, laughed and settled into an afternoon that eventually became part cookout, part concert, part comedy show and part community festival.

From children to seniors and everyone in between, the celebration spanned generations. Families, young people, longtime residents and older adults all shared the same space, and the smiles, laughter and dancing made one thing easy to see: they were enjoying themselves.

Then the entertainment began delivering its own surprises.

J.P. Justice handled hosting duties and comedy, turning ordinary moments around him into material and repeatedly sending laughter through the crowd.

Viola Sykes followed with gospel-rooted inspirational house music, bringing a different kind of energy as residents moved from laughing to dancing.

Bells 2.0 added romance, soul and R&B.

Then came the performances many people had been waiting for.

When Treach of Naughty by Nature began working through music associated with the legendary New Jersey group, people who had been sitting suddenly were not sitting anymore.

Naughty by Nature helped define mainstream hip-hop in the 1990s with “O.P.P.,” “Hip Hop Hooray” and “Feel Me Flow,” and Poverty’s Paradise made history by winning the inaugural Grammy Award for Best Rap Album.

The crowd remembered. Hands went up, phones came out and people rapped along.

Then DoItAll Dupré Kelly of the legendary hip-hop group Lords of the Underground followed with another catalog embedded in New Jersey hip-hop history. “Chief Rocka,” “Funky Child” and “Here Come the Lords” helped establish the group during rap’s golden era, with Lords of the Underground earning BET recognition as best rap group in 1993.

The songs were decades old. The reaction was not. For a while, the mayor’s backyard was a concert venue.

Then DJ Antoine Qua of 107.5 WBLS turned it into a dance floor.

Yet the gathering had another level entirely.

Standing among residents were Lieutenant Governor Dr. Dale G. Caldwell, State Senator Renee C. Burgess and Essex County Sheriff Amir D. Jones.

Irvington’s council delegation included Council President Jamillah Z. Beasley; First Vice President Dr. October Hudley; Second Vice President Dr. Charnette Frederic; Anthony A. Vauss Jr.; Darlene Brown; Orlander Glen Vick; and Luis Antilus.

The Board of Education was represented by President Syesha Benbow, Vice President Janelle Lowery, Shante Barr, Annette L. Beasley, John F. Brown, Jordan Geffrard, Audrey M. Lyon, Joseph Sylvain and Joel Wanamaker.

The crowd also included Democratic Chairwoman Annette Beasley; Orange Mayor Dwayne D. Warren, Esq.; Hillside Council President Dr. Angela R. Garretson; Essex County Commissioners Wayne Richardson, A’Dorian Murray-Thomas and Leonard Luciano; and Democratic commissioner-at-large nominees Deb Engel, Christine McGrath and Abdur R. Yasin, as well as numerous other public officials and community leaders.

The crowd also reflected Irvington’s strong civic and fraternal ties. Members of the Divine Nine were well represented, including Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, Beta Alpha Omega Chapter, of which Dr. April Vauss is a member, and Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Incorporated, Chi Sigma Chapter, Mayor Vauss’ fraternity chapter. Members of other D9 organizations were also in attendance, adding to the sense that the gathering had become far more than a birthday party—it was a reunion of community, service and fellowship.

What was missing was almost as noticeable as what was present. There were no obvious barriers separating public officials from residents. People ate together. They watched the same show. They stood in the same crowded spaces. And they waited for the same empty chairs.

At the center of it all was Vauss.

He first became mayor in 2014 and is now serving a fourth consecutive term, making him the longest-serving mayor in Irvington’s history. His victories over the years have repeatedly come by commanding margins.

Election numbers tell one story. Saturday told another. Hundreds of people chose to spend part of their weekend at his home.

And that image becomes particularly meaningful when placed beside Irvington’s past.

The township once experienced 27 homicides in 2003 and 28 in 2005. In 2025, there was one. And in 2026, Irvington currently stands at one homicide again.

The administration has simultaneously pushed redevelopment, homeownership, road and sanitation improvements, recreation, neighborhood services, food-security programs and expanded opportunities for young people and seniors.

None of those facts makes every challenge disappear. But progress sometimes becomes easier to understand when you can see what it produces.

Saturday, you could see families comfortably enjoying an outdoor gathering. You could see seniors sharing tables with neighbors. You could see residents talking casually with elected officials. You could see hundreds of people enjoying legendary New Jersey entertainers at a private residence without the event ever losing its community feel.

And perhaps that was the most unusual thing of all.

Mayor Tony Vauss did not simply invite people to a birthday party. He invited Irvington home.

They came. They laughed. They danced. They celebrated him.

And with Treach of Naughty by Nature, DoItAll Dupré Kelly of the legendary hip-hop group Lords of the Underground, Viola Sykes, Bells 2.0, J.P. Justice and DJ Antoine Qua providing the soundtrack, one mayor’s birthday became an unforgettable celebration of the community outside his own front door.