7 Songs with neighborhood history & 7 questions

Dream More Stay True Official: Instagram | Linktree

Billie Holiday - East of the Sun and West of the Moon

In the 1940's the Black population of L.A. doubled, but newcomers were restricted to 'Black Belt' neighborhoods due to racist housing "covenants." Soon, many of these areas became hotspots for jazz music. In order to increase employment for its military industrial efforts, the U.S. had eased racial restrictions in manufacturing.

Billie recorded this song in 1952, the same year as her residency at Club Alabam, a famous integrated club at 4215 Central Avenue. The club closed the very next year after increased police crackdowns, with an LAPD police chief bent on squashing the booming integrated nightlife scene.

What brought you or your family to this neighborhood and when? Where did you come from and under what conditions? 

1. What brought you or your family to this neighborhood?

Sam Cook - Nobody Knows You When You're Down And Out 

Mississippi-born and Chicago-raised Sam Cooke was a regular at the California Club on Santa Barbara (now MLK Blvd) and Western. Cooke was active in the civil rights movement, using his influence in arts communities to advocate. He was friends with Muhammad Ali and Malcolm X. Cooke was shot and killed at the Hacienda Motel on December 11, 1964, with much controversy surrounding his death.

What is your biggest struggle around being community? Is it finding time outside of the grind? Past experiences? Lack of spaces? 

2. What is your biggest struggle around being in community?

'Round Midnight (Live at the "It" Club, Los Angeles, CA - Oct/Nov 1964)

The legendary Thelonius Monk recorded a live album in 1964 just steps from this building, at the famous "It Club" at 4731 Washington, across from today's Nate Holden Performing Arts Center. By 1971 Monk would disappear from the music scene.

What is your perception of jazz music today? What are your favorite kinds of music? How do you like to experience music, art and culture and in what spaces? What is your experience in those spaces?

3. What is your perception of jazz music today?

 Village Dance - Horace Tapscott & The Pan-Afrikan Peoples Arkestra

Following the Watts riots in response to police brutality, and the incursion of the National Guard, curfews, and checkpoints in Black Los Angeles—which crippled local clubs and musicians—Horace Tapscott gathered many young musicians into his Pan-Afrikan Peoples Arkestra, which he'd formed in 1961. The It Club on Western and many other venues had closed for good, and white patrons and money no longer came to Black clubs. The unofficial dividing line between Black and white L.A. deepened. Linked is the People's Arkestra performing 'Village Dance' live in 1979.

After SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee) published statements on Black Power and on Palestinian liberation, the civil rights vanguard organization largely folded and lost funding. During the 1970's the Black radical tradition largely shifted from a civil rights focus to a Black Power focus.

What has changed since the Black Power era? What hasn't? What is your perception of the Black Power movement? 

4. What has changed since the Black Power era? What hasn't?

Workin' Day And Night - Michael Jackson (prod. Jackson & Quincy Jones)

The 1980's saw the devastation of government counterinsurgency and drug-pushing into Black and Brown communities, as well as new forms of art, culture and resistance. Further into the 1990s and the economic growth of the capitalist economy, relying on exploitation of working class communities, this area saw the rise of gentrification. Many of the same embattled communities became sites of development for newcomers.

What causes gentrification and what is lost in the process? What is your reaction to the word 'gentrification'? What is your role in the pattern of gentrification? What is the difference between gentrification and community development?

5. What causes gentrification and what is lost in the process? 

Question in the Form of an Answer - People Under The Stairs

Mid-City natives Thes One and Double K formed People Under The Stairs in 1996, influenced by West Coast rap like Freestyle Fellowship, The Pharcyde, Jurassic 5, and The Beatnuts, Other cited influences include DJ Jazzy Jeff & Thes One raps, referencing music history, cultural divides and the loops of time:

"With soul in our ears, we hear loops they can’t
And free the lost rhythms of indigenous chants
We hip-hop enhanced like banging on lunch tables
Ransacking Radio Shack for RCA cables
Hats with your name sown on at the Swap
Yo, it’s all in our blood, pulled out through red drops
Until we stop, we claim a separation that always has been
Since when Hard Bop broke from Cool Jazz
From the West and manifest the style like Hampton Hawes
As yet, Thes rap-like Gods and show flaws on others
I went from pause loop tapes to twenty-four crates
Discovered: history repeats, so I looped beats."

What forms of community are you craving the most? Who and what can help you get there?

6. What forms of community are you craving the most?

Tongva and Chumash Songs, Dance and Stories

This land always has been and always will be indigenous land. Indigenous elders & culture bearers Joe and Tina Calderon represent the Tongva, Chumash, Yoeme and Mexica nations and share songs, stories, and dances in this 2020 video.

What is the deep future of this land in 100, 200, 500 years? Who should decide? How can we move towards those systems of decision making? What culture can help us get there? What forms of community can help us get there?

7. What future do you imagine for this neighborhood in 100 years?

Dream More Stay True

Enjoy 30 days of Hulu for FREE

Claim 10 free meals* from HelloFresh

Get 60% off Sitewide

Sip your way to stronger health with 30% off at ARMRA

Save 10% at Omnilux LED

Save 10% on Ritual Multivitamins Subscriptions

You've scored 50% OFF Factor 🤤

Join now and get 50% off a Club membership

Get your first box FREE with Curology!

Claim your $20 bonus with Acorns

Sign up for Headspace Today and get a 14 day free trial!

Get AAA membership for half the price!

Get 30¢/gal cash back on gas at major stations

Get 15% off at Equip Foods

20% Off the at FabFitFun with code INSIDER20

Get 80% off your first order when signing up to be a VIP!

Get 15% off for cleaner skin at CLEARSTEM

Get your first box FREE with Agency!

50% off + Free Shipping at Purple Carrot!

Power Up with Daily Harvest's High-Protein Smoothies

Save $100 with Gobble

Save 10% on your First Maev Order!

15% off your favorite non-alcoholic spirits at The Zero Proof

10% off JLab’s award‑winning audio gear

Get help with or without insurance. Use code SPACE80 for $80 off.

Start speaking a new language in just 3 weeks

Dream More Stay True

7 Songs with neighborhood history & 7 questions

About this account

More from Linktree