California
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Madlib, a veteran music producer and one of the more notable names in Hip-Hop, lost his home to the wildfires ravaging portions of California that has displaced thousands of residents and all but destroyed longstanding neighborhoods. Madlib’s hometown of Oxnard was also under threat of the blaze that claimed him family’s home and is now launching a fundraiser to help recover what was lost.
On Instagram, Madlib, born Otis Jackson Jr., shared details regarding the fundraising effort along with an image of his damaged home. The caption, which we’ll share below, details what the producer hopes to gain from his supportive fans.
From Instagram:
We are reaching out with heavy hearts to ask for your support in helping legendary producer Madlib and his family after losing their home, decades of music, and equipment in the devastating LA fires. Your donation, no matter the amount, will provide assistance to help Madlib with immediate personal needs, essentials like clothing, temporary housing, transportation costs and the tools Madlib needs to continue creating the music that has touched so many lives. 100% of your donations are tax deductible and will go directly to Madlib and his family. continue creating the music that has touched so many lives. Thank you in advance for your love, prayers and support.
Madlib, who has released music since the 1990s, has worked alongside the likes of the late J Dilla of Slum Village fame (as JayLib), the late MF DOOM (as Madvillain), Freddie Gibbs, and has produced for Kanye West, Erykah Badu, De La Soul, his young brother producer-rapper Oh No (Michael Jackson), and Anderson .Paak among others.
The link for the fundraiser can be found by clicking here.
https://www.instagram.com/madlib/p/DExf4kMJR-7/
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Photo: Getty
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Source: MediaNews Group/Orange County Register via Getty Images / Getty
Donald Trump attacked California Governor Gavin Newsom, blaming him for the deadly wildfires in Los Angeles and demanding he step down.
As the nation is gripped by scenes of the deadly wildfires plaguing Los Angeles over the past few days, President-elect Donald Trump’s ire is reserved for California Governor Gavin Newsom. In a late-night post on his Truth Social platform, Trump took to his usual tactic of attack in using a derogatory nickname for the governor: “One of the best and most beautiful parts of the United States of America is burning down to the ground. It’s ashes, and Gavin Newscum should resign. This is all his fault!!!”
In a follow-up post earlier that evening, Trump alleged that Newsom’s policy of protecting the delta smelt, a small fish on the endangered species list, was a cause of restricting water flow. “Governor Gavin Newscum refused to sign the water restoration declaration put before him that would have allowed millions of gallons of water, from excess rain and snow melt from the North, to flow daily into many parts of California, including the areas that are currently burning in a virtually apocalyptic way,” he wrote. Izzy Gardon, Newsom’s director of communications, refuted that claim: “There is no such document as the water restoration declaration, that is pure fiction. The Governor is focused on protecting people, not playing politics, and making sure firefighters have all the resources they need.”
Governor Newsom was asked about Trump’s attack by CNN’s Anderson Cooper in an interview while both were in a neighborhood in the Pacific Palisades area where the fires were being fought. “People are literally fleeing,” Newsom said. “People have lost their lives, kids lost their schools. Families completely torn asunder, churches burned down, and this guy wanted to politicize it. I have a lot of thoughts and I know what I want to say – I won’t.” His office would reiterate that sentiment in a post on X, formerly Twitter, afterward which featured the interview.
Firefighters are combating five infernos in the areas surrounding Los Angeles, fueled by the intense Santa Ana winds which have reached gusts up to 100 miles per hour. Officials have said that so far, five people have died as a result of the fires with the tally expected to rise in the coming days. The Palisades, Eaton, Sunset, Hurst and Lidia fires have consumed over 28,000 acres to date.
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2024 was an absolute struggle year for Drake as Kendrick Lamar systematically tore down his reputation, credibility, and popularity all in a matter of weeks (just sayin’), and now it seems like 2025 might not be much kinder, as the King of the North is having trouble moving his home out in California.
According to Newsweek, the “One Dance” artist is currently trying to sell his Beverly Hills home, which he purchased in March of 2022 only to put it back on the market in May of 2023. Originally shelling out $75 million for the 10-bedroom, 22-bath mansion, Drizzy was hoping to get back a little something on top and listed it for $88 million. Unfortunately, for him, it doesn’t seem like it’s garnering much interest. And Drizzy might have to take yet another L and sell the estate for a little less than his original asking price even, as Redfin says that median sale price in Beverly Hills is up 19.4% year-over-year.
Per Newsweek:
Redfin estimates that Drake’s house is worth approximately $69 million—about $6 million less than what the rapper paid for the property in 2022 and $19 million less than the current asking price.
The 24,757-square-foot home was initially owned by British singer Robbie Williams, who purchased the property in 2015 for just over $32 million. While Williams made over $42 million in the sale, Drake may have to take a $6 million loss if the home sells at its current $69 million valuation.
“I think it’s a hard sell,” Scott Gorelick, realtor at The Agency RE in Beverly Hills, told Newsweek.
According to Gorelick, Drake’s mansion sits outside the confines of a “true” Beverly Hills location, and those willing to pay that high of a price tag are typically home shopping on Billionaires Row in Malibu, Beverly Hills Proper or Bel Air, California.
Drizzy didn’t even cop a crib in the “true” Beverly Hills?! We’re shocked.
While most homes for sale in Beverly Hills only last roughly two months on the market, Drake’s home has been sitting for 248 days and counting with no buyers in sight as of yet. If Drizzy wants to move that house, he may have to lower his asking price a bit more and take a loss on his original $75 million investment.
Scott Gorelick, realtor at The Agency RE in Beverly Hills, told Newsweek: “…I think the price is closer to $60M in that location. Most of the 20 acres is unusable hillside and the views are not the A+ views that many other locations in Beverly Hills Proper or Bel Air will have. The home is also dated and needs a renovation.”
That Canadian man just can’t catch a break in the States.
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Residents in the Westside, Los Angeles neighborhood of the Pacific Palisades, are threatened by a raging wildfire, leading Gov. Gavin Newsom to declare a state of emergency, and officials are looking to tame the blaze. The Pacific Palisades and other neighborhoods in California are under evacuation orders while the images from the wildfire have sparked both concern and debate online.
All across social media, the California wildfire has been discussed widely with users posting stirring photos and videos of the blaze. According to various reports from the likes of CBS News and the Los Angeles Times along with local outlets.
The fire began in Northwest Los Angeles on Tuesday (Jan. 7) morning and led to the evacuation of around 30,000 residents of the Pacific Palisades, which is nestled in the Westside region of Los Angeles County. High winds throughout the day spread the brush fire and CalFire reports that the blaze grew to a size of nearly 3,000 acres. Damages from the blaze are still being tallied along with the number of injuries, with widespread reports of heavy traffic and the like as residents look to flee to safety.
A second blaze broke on in Eaton in the Northern Los Angeles County neighborhood of Altadena and has reportedly torched over 1,000 homes according to CalFire officials. There was also a blaze titled the Hurst Fire that broke out in Los Angeles’ Sylmar neighborhood on Tuesday and touched several hundred acres.
Winds reached as high as 99 mph in the Altadena region and 84 mph at Hollywood Burbank Airport according to the National Weather Service. Santa Ana winds are typical in California but not usually this intense according to officials covering the weather event.
On X, formerly Twitter, residents enduring the wildfires are sharing their accounts of what they’re facing and giving detailed photos and video footage of the spreading damage. Those replies can be viewed below.
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Photo: Getty
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Marijuana is legal in the state of California on the medical and recreational level but there are still rules and regulations in place despite this. Authorities in a California town have a major marijuana mystery on their hands after discovering a massive stash of the plant with a reported street value of $100 million.
According to a report from local outlet VVNG, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department entered a home in Oak Hills, just outside of Hesperia, Calif. On Monday, Dec. 9, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department Marijuana Enforcement Team entered a home on a search warrant and discovered trash bags of cultivated and packaged products weighing around 90,000 pounds in total.
The property contained a large metal building that caught the eye of investigators, who later revealed the contents within via a statement.
Source: San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department / SBCSD
From the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department website:
On Monday, December 9, 2024, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department Marijuana Enforcement Team served a search warrant at a residence along the 5000 block of Honeyhill Road in Oak Hills. The five acre property contained a newly built, 120’ x 40’ metal building, along the east fence line. Inside this metal building, investigators located over 3000 trash bags filled with processed marijuana, stacked over 12 feet high, from end to end of the building. The trash bags each weighed approximately 30 to 50 pounds.
Over the course of two days, the Marijuana Enforcement Team, San Bernardino County Code Enforcement, and California Fish and Wildlife Department, seized 51 truck loads of processed marijuana totaling over 90,000 pounds, with a market value of over $100,000,000.00.
No arrests have been made thus far.
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Photo: Getty/San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department
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Kendrick Lamar put the entirety of the greater Los Angeles area on his back with the track “Not Like Us” which was largely a diss of Drake and a call for West Coast unity. Leading this charge, Kendrick Lamar and a collective of other West Coast Hip-Hop artists are enjoying a resurgence that has put the culture at large on notice.
To best examine how the West has won in 2024, or at least why we believe they’re poised to do so, one only needs to look back to Future and Metro Boomin’s “LIKE THAT” single released in March from the pair’s WE DON’T TRUST YOU project that started the mudslinging between Kendrick Lamar and Drake, reaching a culture-shifting zenith by way of K-Dot’s explosive “Not Like Us” track.
The runaway success of “Not Like Us” remains a case study in timing, impact, and the power of directedness. There is no mystery in Lamar’s verse, no esoteric lines to parse, or prose that goes over the head. It is beyond clear that K-Dot’s Canadian rival was his target and that his relentless attacks dug into Drake’s character and image, with some in Hip-Hop crowning Lamar an absolute winner in their feud.
Adding to the layers, the video for “Not Like Us” was another celebration of greater Los Angeles with YG, Dot’s former boss at TDE Anthony “Top Dawg” Tiffith, Mustard, and DeMar DeRozan showing off regional pride via their appearances. It has come to the point that listening back to the relatively light jabs thrown on “LIKE THAT,” it remains baffling that the beef reached the heights that it did.
All of this has naturally overshadowed other crowning achievements from West Coast artists, and we’ll do our best to examine the year that was.
Groovy Q
Source: Billboard / Getty
ScHoolboy Q also dropped in March with his sixth studio album, Blue Lips, an album that we at Hip-Hop Wired reviewed and enjoyed immensely. To date, no other major Hip-Hop release has taken as many risks sonically as Blue Lips and further cements the legend of ScHoolboy Q as a streetwise but spiritually grounded lyricist. And as much as the production stood out on Blue Lips, the maestro in the middle of the maelstrom was always Q.
Vince Staples Continues Strong Run
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The buoyancy and chaotic energy of Blue Lips is not overtly present on Vince Staples’ sixth album, Dark Times, another example of the Long Beach native’s ability to find a reflective thread in even the starkest details surrounding his upbringing and rise to fame. Dark Times is not an overjoyous album, at least not overall. As the album reveals, Staples consistently presents himself as an artist who isn’t interested in being dissected or even understood. The album is an audio missive of someone who hopes to exist on their terms without the weight of expectations.
T Says He’s The Biggest Out The City Since Kenny
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Tyler, The Creator —no longer just the talented, if foul-mouthed, producer-rapper that fronted the sprawling Odd Future crew — is now a veteran act and eight studio albums deep. His latest, Chromakopia, is an audio hodgepodge of all of Tyler’s sounds from rapping, singing, jazz, rock, you name it, it’s here. Continuing some of his chest-out rapping that appeared on CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST, T acknowledges K-Dot on “Rah Tah Tah,” signaling that the coast is unified. Chromakopia follows a concept that aims at rabid fans, tackles the abortion debate, and bashes the upkeep of fame. Some have crowned the record as the best to release this year.
Soul-O Hoe!
Source: Jason Armond / Getty
Ab-Soul’s sixth studio album, Soul Burger, was seen as a surprise considering the staggered release schedule that TDE typically employs. Dedicated to his good friend Doeburger, who passed away in 2021, Soul Burger finds the “Martin Luther King of Carson” paying homage to his friend and his roots while once again showing why he might be the strongest lyricist to emerge from the Top Dawg Entertainment camp.
New Kung Fu Kenny!
Source: Michael Blackshire / Getty
This brings us to the surprise release on Friday (November 22) of Lamar’s latest album, GNX, a body of work that seems to be a continuation of the sound examined on “Not Like Us” and features the full version of “squabble up,” a track we only heard as a snippet previously. GNX, at least on our first listen, doesn’t stick to a theme or sound and will take some time to take in all the finer points. That said, K-Dot shows off his extraordinary abilities, and the autobiographical “The Heart Pt. 6” is a highlight. And yes, there are shots at Drake, mentions of the Super Bowl, and maybe even a dig at Lil Wayne? You be the judge.
Other standout albums that highlighted the West Coast’s dominance this year include the likes of Jay Worthy and DāM FunK’s funky Magic Hour collaborative album, Tha Dogg Pound’s We All We Got, Larry June’s Doing It For Me, Big-Hit, Hit-Boy, and The Alchemist’s Black & Whites, and JasonMartin (FKA Problem) and DJ Quik’s Chupacabra.
We also got potent bar work from Planet Asia and his Trust The Chain II EP with 38 Spesh on production. TiRon and Ayomari’s The Adventures of TiRon & Ayomari, Thurz’s Yannick Koffi: In Time, and Casual’s Starbuster EP should all be included in this concise roundup.
Regional biases and arguments aside, it will be determined over time if the West Coast can sustain its momentum into 2025. But if 2024 is any indication, the West had a lot more than just something to say. It appears that the entire coast is ready to move together as a cohesive unit, and as the smoke continues to clear, any challenge to the respective thrones will be sufficiently met.
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Photo: Getty
California Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a landmark bill aimed at establishing first-in-the-nation safety measures for large artificial intelligence models Sunday.
The decision is a major blow to efforts attempting to rein in the homegrown industry that is rapidly evolving with little oversight. The bill would have established some of the first regulations on large-scale AI models in the nation and paved the way for AI safety regulations across the country, supporters said.
Earlier this month, the Democratic governor told an audience at Dreamforce, an annual conference hosted by software giant Salesforce, that California must lead in regulating AI in the face of federal inaction but that the proposal “can have a chilling effect on the industry.”
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The proposal, which drew fierce opposition from startups, tech giants and several Democratic House members, could have hurt the homegrown industry by establishing rigid requirements, Newsom said.
“While well-intentioned, SB 1047 does not take into account whether an AI system is deployed in high-risk environments, involves critical decision-making or the use of sensitive data,” Newsom said in a statement. “Instead, the bill applies stringent standards to even the most basic functions — so long as a large system deploys it. I do not believe this is the best approach to protecting the public from real threats posed by the technology.”
Newsom on Sunday instead announced that the state will partner with several industry experts, including AI pioneer Fei-Fei Li, to develop guardrails around powerful AI models. Li opposed the AI safety proposal.
The measure, aimed at reducing potential risks created by AI, would have required companies to test their models and publicly disclose their safety protocols to prevent the models from being manipulated to, for example, wipe out the state’s electric grid or help build chemical weapons. Experts say those scenarios could be possible in the future as the industry continues to rapidly advance. It also would have provided whistleblower protections to workers.
The bill’s author, Democratic state Sen. Scott Weiner, called the veto “a setback for everyone who believes in oversight of massive corporations that are making critical decisions that affect the safety and the welfare of the public and the future of the planet.”
“The companies developing advanced AI systems acknowledge that the risks these models present to the public are real and rapidly increasing. While the large AI labs have made admirable commitments to monitor and mitigate these risks, the truth is that voluntary commitments from industry are not enforceable and rarely work out well for the public,” Wiener said in a statement Sunday afternoon.
Wiener said the debate around the bill has dramatically advanced the issue of AI safety, and that he would continue pressing that point.
The legislation is among a host of bills passed by the Legislature this year to regulate AI, fight deepfakes and protect workers. State lawmakers said California must take actions this year, citing hard lessons they learned from failing to rein in social media companies when they might have had a chance.
Proponents of the measure, including Elon Musk and Anthropic, said the proposal could have injected some levels of transparency and accountability around large-scale AI models, as developers and experts say they still don’t have a full understanding of how AI models behave and why.
The bill targeted systems that require a high level of computing power and more than $100 million to build. No current AI models have hit that threshold, but some experts said that could change within the next year.
“This is because of the massive investment scale-up within the industry,” said Daniel Kokotajlo, a former OpenAI researcher who resigned in April over what he saw as the company’s disregard for AI risks. “This is a crazy amount of power to have any private company control unaccountably, and it’s also incredibly risky.”
The United States is already behind Europe in regulating AI to limit risks. The California proposal wasn’t as comprehensive as regulations in Europe, but it would have been a good first step to set guardrails around the rapidly growing technology that is raising concerns about job loss, misinformation, invasions of privacy and automation bias, supporters said.
A number of leading AI companies last year voluntarily agreed to follow safeguards set by the White House, such as testing and sharing information about their models. The California bill would have mandated AI developers to follow requirements similar to those commitments, said the measure’s supporters.
But critics, including former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, argued that the bill would “kill California tech” and stifle innovation. It would have discouraged AI developers from investing in large models or sharing open-source software, they said.
Newsom’s decision to veto the bill marks another win in California for big tech companies and AI developers, many of whom spent the past year lobbying alongside the California Chamber of Commerce to sway the governor and lawmakers from advancing AI regulations.
Two other sweeping AI proposals, which also faced mounting opposition from the tech industry and others, died ahead of a legislative deadline last month. The bills would have required AI developers to label AI-generated content and ban discrimination from AI tools used to make employment decisions.
The governor said earlier this summer he wanted to protect California’s status as a global leader in AI, noting that 32 of the world’s top 50 AI companies are located in the state.
He has promoted California as an early adopter as the state could soon deploy generative AI tools to address highway congestion, provide tax guidance and streamline homelessness programs. The state also announced last month a voluntary partnership with AI giant Nvidia to help train students, college faculty, developers and data scientists. California is also considering new rules against AI discrimination in hiring practices.
Earlier this month, Newsom signed some of the toughest laws in the country to crack down on election deepfakes and measures to protect Hollywood workers from unauthorized AI use.
But even with Newsom’s veto, the California safety proposal is inspiring lawmakers in other states to take up similar measures, said Tatiana Rice, deputy director of the Future of Privacy Forum, a nonprofit that works with lawmakers on technology and privacy proposals.
“They are going to potentially either copy it or do something similar next legislative session,” Rice said. “So it’s not going away.”
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The state of California has set aside $12 million in reparations funds for its Black residents as restitution for the history of anti-Black oppression that has plagued Black people for the overwhelming majority of our existence in America.
The $12 million included in California’s $300 billion budget is far less than what activists wanted, but it’s also far more than the amount the MAGA world wants to see gifted to Black people anywhere in the country, which is zero.
“Obviously, it’s not enough, but this is the first time ever that reparations for Black people will be a line item in a state budget,” said Chris Lodgson, a reparations activist who lobbied lawmakers to make it all happen, according to the Washington Post.
California’s reparations task force, which was established by the state legislature, actually recommended billions in reparations funding, including $1.2 million in payments for Black Californians over 50 who have lived in the states their whole lives. While the state only ended up approving a fraction of the amount proposed, proponents of the initiative say it’s fortunate even the $12 million total was approved considering the state’s current financial situation, which includes a nearly $50 billion budget shortfall in the coming fiscal year.
“In this tough economic climate, for us to find this money for reparations sends a signal not only to the state but to the nation that California is committed to addressing the harms that are the result of slavery in this country,” said state Sen. Steven Bradford (D).
But it’s not quite safe for state Democrats to call the reparations approval a win as they still have to contend with salty white conservative activists who will certainly fight them tooth and nail before they allow a single Black Californian to receive a check that non-Black Californians don’t also have access to.
From the Post:
Recently, Judicial Watch, a conservative advocacy group, filed a lawsuit to stop the country’s first government-funded reparations program in Evanston, Ill., which had already paid nearly $5 million to 193 of the town’s Black residents. And the Oklahoma Supreme Court recently dismissed a lawsuit by survivors of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre seeking reparations.
“In the wake of the Tulsa decision and the Evanston lawsuit, folks have been asking: ‘Is the reparations movement really going anywhere?’” said Trevor Smith, executive director of the BLIS Collective, a nonprofit focused on restitution for Black and Native Americans. “So the fact that California continues to lead the way is really important.”
The state’s reparations effort is still facing resistance from state Republicans and some Latino and Asian lawmakers, who have argued that it’s unfair to make current residents, a majority of whom are people of color, pay for the sins of the state’s White founders.
“Most every Californian, regardless of race or background, comes from a lineage involving immense pain and struggle,” Assemblywoman Kate Sanchez (R) said in a statement. “Singling out just one demographic is extremely problematic and likely unconstitutional. The problems of the past cannot be paid for by the people of today.”
Yeah—it might be true that Black people don’t have a global monopoly on historic oppression, but we’re the only people in America who endured roughly two and a half centuries of slavery followed by another century of legally-sanctioned second-class citizenship.
So, there’s that.
The opening of a new 2,500-seat venue in the Inland Empire caught many by surprise earlier this year, but the signs of things to come had been in plain sight for months. Since January, those driving along the Southland’s busy interstates, freeways and thoroughfares have all cruised past a bombardment of billboards promoting shows by Missy Elliott, Janet Jackson, Dave Matthews Band, The Killers and Ed Sheeran.
These acts could easily sell out celebrated Los Angeles venues like The Hollywood Bowl or the Dolby Theater, but instead have elected to play a small theater 65 miles east in Highland, Calif., on land owned by the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians, one of California’s wealthiest tribal groups.
The billboard advertising campaign is part of an ambitious national marketing plan to promote the 20-year-old casino following a $750 million upgrade, a name change to Yaamava’ Resort & Casino in Highland (it was formerly called San Manuel Casino) and a first of its kind exclusive booking agreement with Live Nation Southern California aiming to bring 100 shows per year to state-of-the-art venue.
Yaamava’ Theater
Solaiman Fazel
The campaign is designed to be “something that gains much greater national recognition” says Drew Dixon, Yaamava’s vp of entertainment, “something that’s not just a play for these artists, but a tour destination where they want us to be part of something larger that they’re creating.”
Yaamava’ is already well on its way, as the largest of a half-dozen Southern California tribal casinos that are serving as the gateway for artists to access new audiences and lucrative guarantees in California’s fast-growing regions like Sacramento, East San Diego and Palm Springs/Coachella Valley. The location of Yaamava’ and other Southern California tribal casinos makes them convenient tour stops when routing acts to or from Los Angeles, with these facilities just far enough outside the city that they don’t run into too much red tape around L.A. radius clauses.
Tribal gaming in California is a $10 billion business, formally legalized by voters in 2000 after years of operating under a patchwork of local ordinances and supportive rulings of the U.S. Supreme Court. Proposition 1A legalized the operation of slot machines and card games like blackjack, poker and pai gow on tribal land, often in areas outside of San Francisco and Los Angeles that went on to explode in growth throughout the decades that followed. Southern and Northern California, according to a source familiar, are now the most competitive regions for tribal gaming in the U.S. alongside the Atlantic City/Philadelphia area.
As a result, California’s tribal groups are now among some of the richest in the country, with some properties generating hundreds of millions of dollars per year in revenue. While tribal groups are not required to disclose income, a 2004 agreement between then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzeneggar and the United Auburn Indian Community estimated the tribe’s Thunder Valley Casino in Lincoln, the third largest tribal gaming property in the state — about 30 minutes outside Sacramento — generated $350 million a year in revenue from its 3,000 slot machines. It’s a safe bet Yaamava’ is making even more as California’s largest tribal gaming casino with 6,500 slots. And its ownership group, the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians, is expanding outside the state: In April 2022, the tribal group purchased the Palms Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas for $650 million.
With access to millions in capital and a year-round need to draw customers, it’s no surprise that tribal gaming executives believe music and live entertainment can help drive more traffic to tribal casinos. But money alone isn’t enough, explains Seth Shoames, a former UTA agent who now runs his own company Day After Day Productions, which represents Ludacris (who opened for Jackson at her Yaamava’ performance), Staind frontman Aaron Lewis, Brian Wilson and Wayne Newton, and also owns Billy Brill’s Billy Alan Productions with Danny Wimmer Presents in a deal funded by Ron Burkle’s Yucaipa Companies and now books talent on behalf of the company’s casino clients.
“It’s all about how artist and casino can align,” says Shoames, noting that artists can benefit from being exposed to “millions of people in the casino’s database” that the artist might otherwise not have access to through email blasts and social media.
Booking big talent comes at a cost — and often casinos are willing to overpay for talent for strategic purposes, says Shoames. On May 13, for example, Missy Elliot performed at Yaamava’ Theater a week after playing Live Nation’s Friends and Lovers festival in Las Vegas — her only two shows of the year. For Missy Elliot, the Yaamava’ show was a chance to create a more intimate follow up experience; for the casino, the show was a chance to make a statement about Yaamava’ being the host site for unique experience in an intimate setting and worth paying a premium for. A source close to the matter estimates that Janet Jackson was paid $2 million for her June 14 Yaamava’ show and that Andrea Bocelli’s May 18 performance earned the singer between $2-3 million — fees that would exceed ticket sales for the venue.
Concert tickets at Yaamava’ do run higher than average, with tickets for Lionel Richie’s Sept. 16 show at Yaamava’ starting at $250 and going up to $1,050 plus fees. Meanwhile, tickets for Richie’s Sept. 15 show at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles top out at about $250. (A representative for Yaamava’ declined to comment on artist fees or ticket pricing.)
Besides underplays with major acts that boost a casino’s visibility, tribal leaders typically expect concerts to pay for themselves. “Twenty or 30 years ago, [shows at] casinos were a loss leader, but that’s no longer the case,” says Brill, who serves as a talent buyer at Thunder Mountain Casino and the Agua Caliente Casinos’ three locations in Rancho Mirage, Palm Springs and Cathedral City. “In Agua [Caliente’s] case, we want to make money on each show.”
Yaamava’s efforts are designed to attract younger crowds, developing a new generation of gamers while also serving as a convenient alternative to Las Vegas. Yaamava Theater was built with this younger demographic in mind, with its massive 3,800 square foot stage aiming to attract bigger and larger shows like its inaugural April 14 concert by Red Hot Chili Peppers, who performed a private show for Tribal members, journalists and other invited guests. The Black Crowes performed Yaamava Theater’s first public concert in late May.
Yaamava’ Theater
Solaiman Fazel
The property’s partnership with Live Nation helps facilitate the booking of some of its larger acts, which over the next few months include Ed Sheeran, Lionel Richie, The Killers, Kali Uchis and a co-headlining set from Nas and Wu-Tang Clan. Dixon, a former market general manager for Live Nation, also spent 12 years running nightclubs and restaurants in Las Vegas and directs a staff with both casino and music industry backgrounds.
“Yamaava’ is making a substantial effort to rebrand themselves,” says UTA music agent Darius Sabet, who specializes in national casino booking for the agency. “That was obviously a strategic decision that they made, and I believe it’s starting to pay off for them in big ways.”
Monica Reeves who books shows for the three Agua Caliente locations says Yaamava’s upgrades have brought “stronger competitiveness” to the market, with new competition also coming from Acrisure Arena, a 10,000-capacity venue that opened in the Coachella Valley this past December and whose upcoming concerts include ODESZA, Sting, KISS and Madonna.
While all this competition is “great” for artists, says Sabet, the casinos are also competing for the crowds to come see them. Friday and Saturday concerts are most attractive for these properties, given that the fans who come for such events are more likely to stay the entire weekend, not only spending money at the concert, but on rooms, slots, blackjack, food, drinks, spa treatments, steak dinners and other add-ons. That’s a shift from past strategies when many of these casinos did the bulk of their business Monday through Thursday, at which point many locals would decamp to Vegas for the weekend.
Back in this era, performances at the former San Manuel would happen in a bingo hall that was converted into a concert space for shows. With this showroom shut down for years amid the remodel, Yaamava’ “wanted to come back to the market like a boss, and they are,” says Michael Scafuto, CEO of M&M Group, that bought entertainment for San Manuel before the remodel.
“The local casino market is getting to be a brute battle as most of the So Cal Properties are all fighting for the same guests and players,” Scafuto adds. “[Yaamava’] needs to ensure they appeal to SoCal guests and players, so they are dominating the market with a huge brand campaign that involves major stars.”
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Things aren’t looking good for rappers Polo G and Trench Baby as authorities executed a search warrant and uncovered some pretty damaging evidence that could put them behind bars for quite some time.
According to Deadline, police arrested both Polo G and Baby Trench after executing a raid on Trench’s Chatsworth, Calif. mansion Wednesday (Aug. 23). What authorities ended up discovering on the premises was a illegal short-barrel rifle for which Polo G (whose real name is Taurus Bartlett) was taken into custody. His younger brother, Baby Trench (Taurean Bartlett), was also taken into custody as he was wanted for a robbery he allegedly took part in.
Deadline reports:
Trench Baby was released late Wednesday after posting $100,000 bail. Polo G was released on his own recognizance, according to Los Angeles County jail records.
Trench Baby has a Sept. 13 court date. Polo G is scheduled to appear on Sept. 12.
Polo G is represented by attorney Bradford Cohen, who has represented rappers Draze, Lil Wayne and Kodak Black. It is unclear who represents Trench Baby.
Taurus Bartlett, performing as Polo G, is a Columbia Records artist. His 2019 debut, “Die a Legend,” went double-platinum. The following year, his second album, “Goat,” had 10 songs chart in Billboard’s Hot 100.
No word on what kind of time the two men are facing, but expect Polo and Baby Trench to speak on the situation in their music in the near future.
What do y’all think of their situation? Sound off in the comments section below.
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