The West Coast Hip-Hop Story (And Other Headlines)

When did you fall in love with hip-hop?

The 50th anniversary of hip-hop

Well-known names in the genre like Jermaine Dupri, Black Thought and Common answer that question in the introduction of the classic ‘90s movie, Brown Sugar. 

I fell in love with hip-hop when Nickelodeon shows like All That and Kenan and Kel featured the hottest rappers of the day: Ice Cube and Coolio. The bold, explosive personality of Tupac. Then there was the experience of watching Soul Train.

We’ve come a long way since Aug. 11, 1973. That was the day two teenage siblings — DJ Kool Herc and Cindy Campbell — had a back-to-school party in the Bronx and changed history forever.

So, we know this history … but do you know the origin story of hip-hop on the West Coast?

Just in time for hip-hop’s 50th anniversary, my colleague Brian De Los Santos spoke with Los Angeles-based historian Tyree Boyd-Pates about the roots of hip-hop in L.A. It all has to do with the Great Migration, the Watts Rebellion and Black Angelenos’ desire to tell personal stories about growing up here.

“The Black community was still kind of wrestling with what is its identity underneath an experience that still was rife with police brutality that mirrored the Watts rebellion and several of their experiences on a regular basis,” Boyd-Pates said.

Boyd-Pates explained that hip-hop is rooted in revolution and the socio-political climate of the 1960s and ‘70s. Specifically in L.A., the 1965 Watts Rebellion gave musicians and poets a lot to talk about.

“Naturally through avenues of poetry or disco in rap, then hip-hop and funk in the 1970s, it was an opportunity for Black people to speak truth to power, but with a beat,” Boyd-Pates said. "What the West Coast took hold of — especially from the descendants of the Great Migration who came to the city of L.A. — it gave the whole world, especially through gangsta rap in the 1990s, a journalistic view of what it meant to be Black in L.A.”

Listen to the rest of this conversation between Brian and Boyd-Pates in this HTLA podcast episode.

Stay safe and cool, L.A. There’s more news below — just keep reading.

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More news

(After you stop hitting snooze)

• Dozens of Barrington Plaza tenants protested their potential mass eviction outside of their landlord’s corporate office in Santa Monica on Thursday. Some tenants said they think the landlord, Douglas Emmett Inc., is misusing the Ellis Act. 
• Today the Writers Guild of America could revisit negotiating with the Association of Motion Picture and Television Producers. According to the WGA Negotiating Committee, AMPTP reached out to them to meet. WGA is hoping for a response to their proposals. 
• The Hollywood industry strikes are having an impact on people outside of California. NPR’s Tilda Wilson wrote about the dual strikes’ nationwide impact on industry workers.
• Speaking of the strikes, the 75th Primetime Emmy Awards have been rescheduled to Jan. 15, 2024 as a result. This is the first time the Emmys show has been delayed in over two decades. 
• Medi-Cal may cover gender-affirming treatment for those who seek it, but their health care plan can be limited. KFF Health News’ Bernard J. Wolfson has more. 
• A Native American tribe may soon have a national marine sanctuary in the continental U.S. Read more about how the Chumash people could make history with this effort from NPR.

Wait... one more thing

What you should do this weekend

Celebrate the release of a new documentary that focuses on the indie label and collective the Elephant 6 Recording Co. Its roster included the Olivia Tremor Control, pictured above.

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Jason Thrasher

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Courtesy of Elephant 6 movie

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If you’re a fan of the psychedelic pop of the 1960s, you’ll definitely want to check out The Elephant 6 Recording Co. L.A. Premiere Event at the Barnsdall Gallery Theatre tonight.

Blow some steam at Dancing Therapy: Perfect Kiss, a new wave, post-punk party at the Songbird Cafe tonight.

Are you excited about the third season of Only Murders in the Building like I am? Solve some mysteries and experience moments from the show with three of your friends in the new escape room at Westfield Century City Mall this weekend and Aug. 18.

There are so many cool things to do this weekend. Check out the rest of the list here.