This summer marks 50 years since the Watts Riots.

For six days, the neighborhood descended into chaos. Plumes of smokes billowed in the sky as buildings burned and stores were looted. The unrest resulted in the deaths of 34 people, and more than $40 million in damage.

It was all sparked by a routine traffic stop -- when a white California Highway Patrol officer pulled over a black motorist. 

The events of 1965 marked a pivotal moment in U.S. race relations, and they'll be explored in a series of free events called 'Aftershocks.' It's part of the Grand Performances summer concert series, which begins this weekend in downtown L.A. Take Two will be part of the series, with pre-show conversations  called "downSTAGE with Take Two" about the impact of the Watts unrest. 

Alex Cohen speaks with Leigh Ann Hahn, director of programming for Grand Performances and Karl "Dice Raw" Jenkins from the Roots. He'll perform his hip hop musical "The Last Jimmy," on July 17. 

Click on the blue player above to listen to the interview.