Don't mean to blow up the blog, but especially in case you couldn't make the hip hop tour last Saturday, here are some photos to give you an idea.
We began our tour in the Arts District, downtown.
Mike the Poet showed us how the area excels at making something out of nothing. Vacant lots turned dog parks and empty walls filled with this...
We got back on the bus and rode over the LA River (trickle) to Boyle Heights. We got off at Mariachi Plaza and went to the family-owned, community space, Libros Schmibros, a lending library and bookstore, right by the train station.
Then we took the bus over to Leimert Park and met one of Mike the Poet's former students, Dante. We made our way over to Project Blowed and heard about the wild stories and experiences of Ben Caldwell, the founder and protector of the space.
We had the pleasure of watching Dante and Mike recite spoken word poems as Ben Caldwell filmed. His advice was to document, document, document, because in five or ten years, footage will have more value since that time has come and gone.
We were right around the corner from Malik's uncle's shop, so we took a peek inside and he graciously gave us all some water and posters of the African Art and Music Festival that happens in Leimert Park during Labor Day weekend.
We ended the trip at The Last Bookstore in downtown LA where there was an open mic event going on. With arms full of cheap books and minds newly understanding some African American, Latino, and hip hop subcultures of LA, we headed back to Redlands.
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