02/27/2024
Last week I had a photo assignment in the notorious neighborhood of South Central Los Angeles. I've shot in these areas and was overwhelmingly nervous about it. Let's be real for a moment, a white dude, with long blonde hair and a camera is going to stand out like a sore thumb in this area. I've been harassed, yelled at, and even surrounded by a group of young men who wanted to know why I was in their hood. I also go into a car 4 car pile up on Manchester and the 110 years back, only to have all of us flee because the guy who caused it became agitated and violent...
Fortunately that's where the negative part of this post ends. Swallowed my anxieties and just made the best of it and I can't believe how this week has turned out since.... While shooting at Green Meadow Park I see a guy posted up at the table with a group of dudes hanging around him, like a Godfather looking guy but this man was the exact opposite, in fact he's a musician and one I was VERY familiar with. As I am walking by he turns to look at me and asks why I am filming the park. He liked my answer...
He shared with me that he is a musician and I asked him if he had worked on anything I may have known of. He mentioned he worked with the late Coolio and it instantly hit me... It was LV. Do you all remember that song from the movie "Dangerous Minds" called "Gangsta's Paradise" by Coolio featuring a singer named LV? We sat and talked for close to 45 minutes about the neighborhood and how he has never left. Even at the peak of his fame. The dude is real. He never once moved out of South Central. He told me this is where he was born and this is where he will die. I admire his passion, he loves his home and he wasn't just singing on Coolio's song because the lyrics fit the theme. Those are his words, his life, and it is 100% real and still to this day his mission is to help that town.
After we finished talking, I asked if I could snap a lifestyle pic of him to be an authentic representation of his neighborhood. He was proud to and here it is: https://www.homes.com/los-angeles-ca/neighborhood/broadway-manchester/?dk=mh4f6y56cl9dc&tab=2
In a string of wildly cool events, what started out as an anxious start to a week. I had the opportunity to meet a famous musician. Incidentally, I had to take pictures of the closest Target to South Central and that happened to be Hawthorne. Right next to SpaceX, if you scroll through the images in the link above you'll see my picture of the Falcon 9 Rocket in front of SpaceX. And as I was leaving I hear a massive private jet revving up, noticed guest parking was overflowing, and I was encountering security all around the site every single minute. Turns out Elon Musk who is not out here that often anymore was at Space X that day.... To cap it all off, I randomly connected with Tom Wilson, who happens to be an avid photographer. Tom Wilson may not sound familiar to you but I'm sure you know who he is. Biff from Back to the Future. What a freaking week, and for the first time in all of my careers, I can say I genuinely love what I do. Thanks for reading this long winded post if you made it to the end.
Broadway-Manchester Neighborhood Guide. Learn about living in the Broadway-Manchester neighborhood of Los Angeles, CA. Get demographics, home values, best schools, crime data & attractions.
