Downstairs at the Regent Theater on Friday night, just days after the 20-year-old Brooklyn rapper Pop Smoke was killed by gunmen in the Hollywood Hills, hundreds of young fans moshed and circle-pitted while the Atlanta hip-hop artist Thouxanbanfauni performed. With face tattoos, punk-inspired productions and anime visuals behind him, he fit right in with the wave of young rap acts pushing the genre into volatile, thrilling new directions.
Upstairs, however, Victor Lorenzana wondered who might be the next MC to die.
"Pop Smoke was the same age as me and he was shot just because he was getting money," the 20-year-old said. Lorenzana, who lives in South Gate, is an aspiring hip-hop manager, and he admitted that the wave of deaths that hit the genre in the last two years — Pop Smoke, Nipsey Hussle, Mac Miller, Juice Wrld, XXXTentacion, Lil Peep, all stars cut down in their ascent or prime — has started to weigh on him and the scene he loves.
"It does make me think," he said. "I don't wanna end up like that."
Hip-hop has long been stalked by the same issues of violence, drug abuse and mental health that affect young people of color everywhere in America. But if you're a fan today, and your social media feeds are flooded with memorials to young rappers every few months, it's hard not to feel weary and depressed by it all. Over the weekend, at the Regent show and along the streetwear nexus of Fairfax Ave., young rap fans were both mourning those deaths, and slowly getting numb to them.
"It's depressing to say that it's not surprising anymore, but it's not," said 16-year-old Sophia Mena, who lives in L.A. and came out to see Thouxanbanfauni. "We're desensitized to it. Kids think it's a cool image now."
The music to come out of this recent generation of hip-hop often emerged on streaming platforms like SoundCloud. The tone was dark and beguiling for millennial and Gen Z fans: it often fetishized dying young, abusing drugs and succumbing to depression. For many fans, it was cathartic to hear rappers more or less their same age talking so openly about their own fears. It'd be naive to think that that hip-hop was introducing kids to drugs and violence, rather than reflecting what was already a fact of their lives.
But the constant stream of death is making them re-assess their own lifestyles, and what they want out of the music that's on constant replay around them.
"It's definitely made me more aware of what I'm doing, that it's not a game," said,18-year-old Amanda Castro at the Regent. "People shouldn't glorify drugs and violence."
Cierra Barnett, 24, was similarly existential about all the murders and overdoses that have plagued the music scene she loves.
"It's definitely made me more aware of my surroundings, and the meaning of life," she said. "Life is short, reach out to your loved ones because you're here today, gone tomorrow."
Authorities are still working to determine the motive and suspects in Pop Smoke's murder. "We are not ruling out a robbery, but that doesn't appear based on the evidence to be the motive," Robbery Homicide Division Capt. Jonathan Tippet told the Times.
It's important not to conflate the suspected drug-related deaths of Lil Peep, Mac Miller and Juice Wrld with the violence that claimed Nipsey Hussle, XXXTentacion and Pop Smoke. But for fans, the means of death doesn't change the impact of so much loss.
Julius Woods, 20, manages the rising producers Dilip and Otxhello. In the upstairs bleachers at the Regent, he spoke about his scene with haunted undertones. He does his best to encourage friends and peers to look past the nihilistic images on social media and in lyrics.
"Working in this industry, I'm grateful to do it but you can't take it for granted. When people get into drugs, it's hard to watch," Woods said. "I know a lot of people who got close to dying and then they woke up. We need to not get to that point."
Out on Fairfax Ave., the nexus of the hip-hop fashion industry with stores like Supreme and Tyler, the Creator's Golf Wang, fans were thinking about the industry's structural problems that make so many young artists vulnerable.
Jen Elizabeth, 34, works in development for several streetwear labels, and lamented how the hyper-speed culture of rap fame leaves kids so unprepared for the downsides of getting too much too soon.
"It's really sad. The internet has created a situation where people can go from very young and not famous to pretty much famous overnight with no support system and everyone there to take advantage of them," she said. "A lot of them come from places where there's gang violence or issues they get wrapped up in, and still they're not that far away from it all."
Inside 424 on Fairfax, a trendsetting boutique and label that's collaborated with YG and The Weeknd, the shop staff was similarly melancholy and reflective about the dark tide that's washed over their culture.
"It's a tumultuous time. The precedent's been set where your acclaim is posthumous," said Jasmine Wood, 26. "It's become part of the culture now in a sad, sadistic way."
But she also saw a sort of silver lining in the fact that, given all the publicity around overdose deaths and gang violence, it's opening up space for young people to confront these challenges in their own lives.
"If you listen to Pop Smoke or Juice Wrld, they rapped about real struggles," Wood added. "Rap has become a more vulnerable place, and rappers, especially young black men, have had more space to express that."
If the sheer scale of death to hit the genre makes fans care for each other and re-evaluate their own lifestyles, that may be a ray of light amidst all the tragedy. But rappers have a role here too, said David Diaz, 22, who moved to L.A. six months ago.
He's a lifelong rap fan, and behind the desk at 424, he's at the heart of the culture. But fans soak up the messages that artists offer in lyrics, he said. Especially for younger fans, it's important for them to also hear from artists that life goes on past 21, and that it's worth it to stay alive.
"Rappers have a huge platform," Diaz said. For young audiences to absorb so much imagery of drugs, violence and depression, "it's affecting all their fans. They should consider that there's a lot of people looking up to them. I have younger siblings who have gone through depression, and music is one thing gets people out of that."
Jayson Tatum stars in loss to Lakers
Los Angeles was the scene of the second of two games on the season between the two most storied franchises in basketball. Out of respect for the late Kobe Bryant and his daughter, Tatum, Smart, Brown and others all wore purple armbands for the clash. With the Celtics blowing out the Lakers earlier in the season, the long front line of the Lakers paid early dividends as the Celtics got off to horrible start falling behind 9.
Los Angeles reeled off 12 quick points behind JaVale McGee and Anthony Davis as Boston looked sluggish in the early afternoon clash. As the quarter progressed, Jaylen Brown found his way into the paint as the C’s attacked the Laker bigs. Gordon Hayward was outstanding drawing a few defenders into the middle to thread a pretty pass to Marcus Smart.
With the starters resting, Rajon Rondo entered the game and expertly picked apart the Celtics flailing D as LA finished the quarter on a 8-0 run to close out 26-19. Marcus Smart received what appeared to be a shot to the thigh late in the quarter as he hit the exercise bike.
In possibly one of the most egregious refereeing displays in living memory, LeBron James talked all three Refs into overturning a blatant and clear as day goal tending decision on a certain Rookie Romeo Langford 2 points.
The Celtics remained within striking distance through the second behind the aggressive and determined play of Jayson Tatum who had 18 points in the 2nd quarter. With the ball on a string, Tatum was working both inside and out with aplomb. As the Lakers sent in Caruso to guard Tatum, he expertly went into his bag of tricks and carved up the Lakers poster child with this spin cycle move....
and then this patented side-step triple in ADs face.....
Daniel Theis sacrified his mid section taking the brunt of a LBJ drive into the digits and drew the offensive foul. The Cetlics really flipped the switch to end the half down two, 56-54.
Opening up in the 2nd half Theis stepped into a three pointer after receiving a neat pass from a driving Hayward. Smart then followed suit from the land of plenty with consectutive triples and Tatum unleashed a thunderous dunk on the break over a retreating Danny Green as the Celtics built a mini lead answering the Lakers challenges.
With Rajon Rondo being the ever present thorn in the side for the Celtics, the former C was super active on D and troubled the Celtics with numerous deflections. His passing was also on display throwing a huge lob to Anthony Davis as the Lakers crept back into the game. With Kemba Walker still out, the Lakers pressured the Celtics ball handlers and forced a bevy of turnovers.
The careless play predominantly by the bench was a big factor in handing the Lakers a lead late. LeBron James started to get going as the Lakers crowd sprung to life as the teams traded buckets. Jayson Tatum returned to the lineup and Jaylen Brown took on the challenge of sparking the Celtics late.
An Anthony Davis triple under two minutes to go saw the Lakers go up 3, not to be outdone a quick 2 point baseline jumper by Hayward then a stop and Hayward found JB who hit a huge corner three at the 1:18 mark.
A Brad Stevens challenge on a Daniel Theis errant foul call meant the Celtics flew blind into the final 30 seconds of regulation as the clock and 50-50 calls conspired against us. LA managed to hold on desptie everything the Celtics threw at them.
Seguin scores winning goal in 2nd, Stars beat Blackhawks 2-1
The Stars’ Joe Pavelski opened the scoring in the first period.
Blackhawks rookie Dominik Kubalik tied the game in the second period on the power play.
Seguin’s goal came at 16:29 of the second. He outmaneuvered Chicago goalie Corey Crawford, whose 31 saves included stopping a second-period penalty shot by Mattias Janmark.
Dallas goalie Anton Khudobin also stopped 31 shots. As the backup to Ben Bishop, Khudobin has a 15-7-2 record, including 4-0-1 in his last five games.
"He was outstanding,” Dallas coach Rick Bowness said. “There's a lot of teams in this league that would love to have the duo that we have.”
Khudobin’s saves included a shot by the Blackhawks’ Jonathan Toews from the right faceoff circle with an extra Chicago skater on the ice in the final minute.
“We played to the end and we had our chances,” Blackhawks coach Jeremy Colliton said. “They have tremendous defensive awareness and that’s why they’re a good team.”
Dallas Stars forward Tyler Seguin (91) reaches for the puck as Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Connor Murphy (5) and goaltender Corey Crawford (50) defend during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Sunday, Feb. 23, 2020, in Dallas. less Dallas Stars forward Tyler Seguin (91) reaches for the puck as Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Connor Murphy (5) and goaltender Corey Crawford (50) defend during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Sunday, ... more Photo: Brandon Wade, AP
Seguin scores winning goal in 2nd, Stars beat Blackhawks 2-1
The Stars remained third in the Central Division. They were coming off a 5-1 loss to division leader St. Louis on Friday.
"That's much more like Dallas Stars hockey today,” Bowness said, “not giving them the odd-man rushes and limiting their chances."
At 15:14 of the first period, Crawford smothered a point-blank attempt by Pavelski, who was spinning around from the left goalpost. Six seconds later, after the Stars won a faceoff, Pavelski took a pass in front from Alexander Radulov, put the puck on his forehand and sent it into the right corner of the net.
Kubalik scored at the end of a 4-on-3 power play, taking a pass from Patrick Kane and firing a slap shot from the right faceoff dot past Khudobin at 7:06 of the second period. An interference penalty against the Stars’ Radek Faksa ended just as Kubalik took his shot.
Chicago (2-6-2 in its last 10 games) was 1 for 5 with a man advantage. The Blackhawks had a power-play goal in each of their last two games after going 0 for 17 in their previous six.
“Our power play generated some scoring opportunities,” Colliton said. “We get a goal, and we get another that they called a penalty on.”
The 1-1 tie lasted until 16:29 of the second, when Seguin took a pass across the slot from Corey Perry. Seguin waited as Crawford slid across the goal mouth to confront him, and the Dallas center then put a wrist shot past him to a vacant spot in the right of the net.
Just 31 seconds later, the Stars’ Mattias Janmark earned a penalty shot when Chicago’s Duncan Keith hooked him on a breakaway. The shot went off Crawford’s blocker and over the net.
“I have one route that I usually take whenever we do it in practice, kind of go high blocker,” Janmark said. “He came out towards me, so I've just got to get it up a little further."
Chicago defensemen helped stop two odd-man rushes in the third period. Slater Koekkoek hustled back to break up a 3-on-1 advantage with his stick, and Duncan Keith kept Denis Gurianov from scoring on a breakaway with 3:45 to play.
NOTES: Kubalik leads all rookies with 26 goals this season. ... Kane’s assist on Kubalik’s goal gave him 61 points (29 goals, 32 assists) in 51 games against Dallas. ... Chicago D Lucas Carlsson made his NHL debut. He blocked a shot and had three hits. “When you’re playing up here, you have to do everything quicker,” he said. “You just have to keep it simple.” ... Stars D Esa Lindell played in his 300th game.
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