Welcome back to GTFO LA!, your guide to the very best stuff to do in Los Angeles every weekend, designed to get you out of the f*cking house. This week we have the best of LA's hip-hop scene, some lucha libre, space stuff and a couple of panels that will get you talking.
Thursday
Don't Come to L.A.
Los Angeles is the birthplace of many rap legends and continues to push out some of the best rising talents out there. Online music magazine The Passion of the Weiss and L.A. Hip-Hop blog Rosecrans Avenue have teamed up to create a party that brings you the most talented rappers, DJs, and producers under one roof. Don't Come to L.A. proclaims the new golden age of L.A. rap with the best of the thriving local rap scene once a month. Their latest edition will bring out Inglewood's Rucci which Noisey calls " the heart of Los Angeles' Rap Renaissance." Others include South Central's very own AzChike, Westside trio Warm Brew and Watt's Desto Dubb and Pimp Pimp P. as well as Rob TakeTwo to the stage. DJ Cypress Moreno will take care of the rest with his sounds. More info here.
Friday
Terrace Martin & Robert Glasper Free Concert
Musician/producer Terrace Martin is responsible for some of the hottest Kendrick Lamar records. He's worked with Stevie Wonder, Busta Rhymes, Snoop Dogg, and the list goes on. On Friday he'll be center stage along with Award-Winning Pianist Robert Glasper — who has also worked with Kendrick Lamar on his song, "To Pimp A Butterfly"— at the historical African-American cultural hub Leimert Park in Crenshaw.
Mexican Presidential Elections Conference and Talk
Did you know Mexico will soon elect its next president? Our neighbor to the south will be deciding who their leader will be for the next six years on July 1. Mexico's current ruling party, the Institutional Revolutionary Party aka P.R.I., has been leading the country with corruption and many are wondering what the country's future is. So far in the election, journalists and researchers have found that political parties are using bots and fake accounts in order to influence voter behavior. When all is said and done, who will be the next president and what can Mexico expect? How will it affect the U.S.? The Association of Mexican business people (AEM) will be hosting a conference and talk with political analysts and moderated by journalists Leon Krauze (Univision) and Araceli Martínez Ortega (La Opinion) that can help put into perspective what might be the future of the country. More info here.
All Space Considered
The Griffith Park Observatory is giving space lovers a reason to look forward to the first of the month. Every first day of the month, the Observatory's curatorial staff hosts a two-hour long program where they break down and go over the most talked about space science and astronomy topics. This month topics include active planet eruptions, stars, Galileo and a June sky report. Seating is first come, first served so come early and take advantage of the awesome L.A. views from the top of the outside of the Observatory. More info here.
Saturday
Heroes of Lucha Libre
It's bad guys versus good guys in a night of lucha libre at USC's Galen Center on Saturday. Heroes of Lucha Libre (HOLL) is bringing the iconic Mexican style wrestling experience known for colorful masks and drama that will take you back to its Mexican origins while intertwining new technology. WWE Superstar Rey Mysterio Jr., Rayo de Jalisco, L.A. Park. Rey Wagner, Tinieblas Jr. and more will be throwing punches in the wrestling ring. In HOLL's own words, "This event's main goal is to move the nostalgia of every Mexican, feelings, and memories." More info here.
Los Angeles Underground Barbecue Festival
Memorial Day Weekend unofficially started off barbecue season and to continue the cooking check out the L.A. Underground Barbecue festival happening at Hawthorne's Los Angeles Ale Works brewery and tasting room. Six of the best BBQ pop-ups in the L.A. area will be serving brisket, beef ribs, chicken sausage, pulled pork and a lot of other meats. Entrance is free, but a VIP ticket gets you two beers of your choice at LA Ale Works and the chance to cut to the front of the line of two of your preferred vendors. The food fest will also feature games and live music. Feel free to bring the fam—kids and dogs will be allowed in the venue. More info here.
Sunday
Soulful Sundays
Take over the mic at Soulful Sundays' Open Mic Session or just come for the food. Comfort L.A., one of the city's most well-known soul food restaurants, hosts the monthly Soulful Sundays where some of the most talented Angelenos come to share their talent. If you rather enjoy the show, try Comfort L.A.'s fried chicken, candied yams and red beans and rice. More info here.
Beach=Culture: A Discussion On Surfing Culture, Representation, and History
What comes up when you think of surfing? Do you think of white people? California? Surf culture representation in the media isn't always on point. Surfing culture has deep roots in the historical and modern experiences belonging to indigenous peoples and people of color. Dexter Zavalza Hough-Snee's who wrote the influential The Critical Surf Studies Reader touches on these subjects. Zavalza Hough-Snee's and contributors of the book will come together to discuss the sport's culture, its global history and surfing as a social act at the Annenberg Community Beach House. Joining him will be Elizabeth Pepin Silva and Professors Krista Comer and Kevin Dawson. More info here.
