This story contains language that some might find offensive.
When the rent is due, what do you do? You throw a party.
Two years ago, Elgin Reese II, also known as 5LAPHOUSE, was homeless and sleeping on other people’s couches. Today, he runs one of the hottest parties in Indianapolis.
You can’t miss him — platinum blonde beard and eyebrows. He sports a high-top fade and neck-length locs.
He’s one of the first people I see when I arrive at Healer around 9 p.m. on a Saturday in January. The DIY music and art space is in an idle shopping plaza on the southside, next to a warehouse and near McDonald’s. It’s 25 degrees out, but according to my Apple weather app, it feels like it’s 15.
Inside, there are about 25 people. Some are in line waiting to get their $10 tickets scanned. Across the room, others are dancing or watching 5LAPHOUSE spin. House music ricochets off the walls at 120 beats per minute, creating a distinct sensation in my ear canal.
In 2023, 5LAPHOUSE founded Club Cunt, an emerging underground club in Indianapolis designed for queer folks over 18 to come together, celebrating music, dance and community.
The 27-year-old says his club offers a nonjudgmental and safe atmosphere. He wants people to feel like they’re in Erykah Badu’s “Window Seat” music video, where the singer walks down a street and strips nude in front of other pedestrians.
“They’re going to have clothes on, but I want them to feel naked in the space,” 5LAPHOUSE says.
Across the world, there is a resurgence of rave culture among Generation Z. Club Cunt is just one in the constellation.
“It cracks me up because people look at Club Cunt as a big thing. They really like it and are really doing something with it,” he says.
Dance like no one’s watching
The club hosted its first party of 2025 on Jan. 18, “H*’s Don’t Get Cold,” with an all-white and fur theme, including a $300 costume contest.
5LAPHOUSE charges $10 for advance tickets and $25 at the door. He said he is mindful of the age group of people attending his club. He remembers how hard it was to keep a job and how unaffordable Indy nightlife can be for young people.
“There were some days when I wasn’t eating. All of my money was going to my damn car note,” he said.
At the door, the staff is checking IDs. Everyone who is 21 and up is given a wristband for entry into the bar room that sells only wine and beer. I take two orange ear plugs from the coffee mug beside the iPad kiosk to lessen the potential hearing loss of being too close to the booming noise operation.
The dance floor is a mix of grass rugs and old gray carpet. Its neon lights make it so you can barely see each other, which encourages people to dance however they want. 5LAPHOUSE kicks off his set with tracks that are older than most of the attendees.
I can make out a few songs, though: Britney Spears’ “I’m a Slave 4 U,” Beyonce’s “Tyrant” and Donell Jones’ “U Know What’s Up” featuring Left Eye.
First-timers and friends Cee and Santina, who did not want their last names used, told me that they were ready to have fun and “let loose.”
“I love it here. Beautiful energy. I’ll definitely come to another one,” Cee says.
Unlike the carefree vibe inside Healer, 5LAPHOUSE handles the party with care behind the scenes, from set-up to clean-up. Though he has no club management experience, he creates the flyer, picks party themes, books the different venues where his parties are held, DJs and also runs the Instagram. On event days, his friends help where it’s needed.
Like Jessica, his roommate and friend of 10 years. Her role is hospitality. She helps the party run smoothly so 5LAPHOUSE can do his job of DJing and playing socialite.
“I’m in disbelief. The attention that it’s gotten, the community it’s created takes me by surprise,” she says.
The club moves between three venues: Healer, Black Circle and Blind Tiger. After his third show, 5LAPHOUSE knew his creation could be lucrative.
Before the club was conceived, he worked as a part-time DJ, at clubs and events including, Indy Gay Market, Turntable Indy and the Vogue, as well as at other clubs that are more secretive and anti-marketing.
He was inspired to start Club Cunt after living in Atlanta in 2021. He was immersed in the city’s underground rave scene, which is dominated by its Black LGBTQ+ community. He describes the main sound at the parties as, “Atlanta bass,” a perfect combination of Southern raunchiness and sex appeal.
“I saw people that looked like me that were DJing and wearing outfits that I’ve always wanted to wear and showed up in the world the way I wanted to. Living comfortably, making great money and being young and gay,” he says. “If I can do that in my city, I can do it anywhere but I gotta do it first.”
5LAPHOUSE got the name for Club Cunt from a friend who threw a birthday party with the same theme.
He says the word is a term of endearment used within the LGBTQ+ community that means “fabulous.”
He describes the party in one word: raw. Outfits, people, but especially the house music. It’s the basis of 5LAPHOUSE’s DJ name — a type of electronic dance music created by Black DJs in Chicago starting in the late 1970s.
At the party, I can’t Shazam most of the music that is playing; 5LAPHOUSE’s set has a mixture of R&B, jungle, hip-hop, reggae and disco. And he speeds up every single track.
“You’re getting real house music from a Black gay man. The true roots, I feel like, of what house music represents and you can’t really get that from a lot of places here,” he says. “I don’t want to hear the Top 40 when I go out. I want you to come to Club Cunt because the music that I’m playing, you’re so enamored with it.”
In a sense, the club is a revival of centering Black queer nightlife. Stephen Lane, a librarian at IU Indianapolis, researched the presence of Pansy Balls in jazz clubs along Indiana Avenue in the 1930s. They were advertised as female impersonator shows to keep it underground. Similar to Club Cunt, the attendees were from diverse backgrounds.
“The Black community was supporting the formation of queer identity along Indiana Avenue and gave gay, Black and trans performers stable employment in the entertainment industry,” Lane says. “My work really kind of challenges the stereotype that somehow the Black community is more homophobic than other communities.”
A little commotion for the dress
At 11:35 p.m., the crowd grows to about 100. The temperature outside is slowly dropping, but that hasn’t stopped partygoers’ show-stopping looks. The creativity is playful, from polar bear white platform boots and prosthetic fairy ears to a glow-in-the-dark cape.
5LAPHOUSE has spent the majority of the party shirtless, wearing white jeans and black Dr. Martens. But not everyone takes advantage of this “freedom to dress.” Kenny, a local visual artist, says next time he’ll dress up. This is his fourth time at the club.
“For a party to be fun, people need to feel comfortable and I think Club Cunt is one of those places,” Kenny says.
As things wind down, the party ends with the long-awaited costume contest. 5LAPHOUSE added this feature to the party to celebrate and pay guests for going all out with their costumes.
“People don’t understand how creative gay people are. We show up and we show out and we create,” 5LAPHOUSE says.
The crowd and four judges, Jessica, Kaila Austin, Pook and Aria, decide the night’s winner. It’s ballroom-esque. Two rounds and judges choose who makes it to the final round by rating a costume a 10 or a “chop.”
5LAPHOUSE queues the first runway song, “Back that A** Up” by Juvenile, while local rapper Keaven Hoe emcees the contest. Out of more than a dozen finalists, Henry Waddell, a fashion design student at IU Bloomington, takes home the $300 grand prize.
The 19-year-old is dressed like an ethereal bird. He took a Greyhound bus from Bloomington to Indianapolis. He only started upcycling the costume, including the newspaper pumps, six days before the party.
“I didn’t draw anything. I got the wings from Joann. I designed them with feathers and fur. I had the idea to put the veil over my shorts to kind of give a flowy or flying look, like a bird,” Waddell says. “The corset was originally red and I put feathers all over it.”
Safety, first
I step out of the party to go to my car to leave, and there is an Uber to my right. I see a young woman vomiting outside, being consoled by her party companions.
Before the party, Eric Robinson, 21, told me it is not unusual to see people helping each other when they party too hard.
“There were a few instances where I drank too much and people looked out for me. Everyone looks out for one another. You could be purple and be accepted,” Robinson says.
It’s hard to know what substances people use to heighten their mood before going to the party. But safety is at the forefront of 5LAPHOUSE’s and Jessica’s minds at all times.
Jessica says she is First Aid and CPR certified, but the duo also lean on the different venues for security — and access to Narcan.
“We are in the process of getting Narcan-trained but we have it at the parties. We’re also looking to get an additional door person,” Jessica says.
5LAPHOUSE feels the gay-coded music can also deter folks with bad intentions from attending. He also knows that all the notoriety given to him and Club Cunt could disappear.
According to data from the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting Program, anti-LGBTQ+ hate crimes made up about 18% of reported hate crimes in the U.S. in 2023.
5LAPHOUSE says he has watched the LGBTQ+ club scene shrink in Indianapolis, but he is unbothered.
“We gone ride this mtherfcka til the wheels fall off,” he says. “Why would I stop what I’m doing because other people are uncomfortable with what I’m doing?”
Mirror Indy reporter Mesgana Waiss covers arts and culture. Contact her at mesgana.waiss@mirrorindy.org.
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.
