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Arts & Entertainment

Pencil This In: Freestyle Rap Battles, LA Improv Comedy Festival, Meredith Baxter at Skylight Books and Street Art on the 'Fringe'

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Work by the artist Smear. (Image courtesy of The Site Unscene)

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RAP BATTLE
Red Bull EmSee: Los Angeles hits the Echoplex tonight to choose LA’s Freestyle King. The invite-only competition challenges eight emcees to freestyle battle against each other and the clock in three rounds. They have to test their mind and their rhyming skills. Spontaneous cues throughout the night will help induce the the emcees’ flow. Guest judges and performers are Kurupt, Chali 2na and Supernatural. Inka One spins the tunes throughout the evening. Doors at 9 pm and show at 10. Tickets: $10 / 18+.

COMEDY
The LA Improv Comedy Festival continues at IO West tonight. Hundreds of improv and sketch performers from LA and elsewhere take to iO West’s three stages, including cast members from Community, Parks and Recreation, The Office, Saturday Night Live, Conan, Funny or Die and many other shows. At 8 pm tonight, the Armando Show features Community's Danny Pudi, Jim Rash Yvette Nicole Brown. ($25). The festival runs through June 11.

BOOKS
Tonight at 7:30 pm Skylight Books welcomes Meredith Baxter who reads and signs her book Untied: A Memoir of Family, Fame and Floundering (Crown Archetype). The actress, best known as her role as mom Elise Keaton on Family Ties, discusses her life onscreen and off.

ART
As part of the monthy Downtown Art Walk, The Site Unscene in conjunction with The Loft Salon & Gallery, opens the street art show Fringe, featuring the work of LA-based artists Smear, Leba and Gregory Siff. Fringe is a “curated collection playing on the concept of 'marginalized' society in it's various forms.” There’s an opening reception tonight from 6-10 pm at The Loft on Main Street.

*Pencil pick of the day

Want more events? Follow me on Twitter (@christineziemba).

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