LA Downtown News 05-25-20

FEW For All

May 25, 2020 I VOL. 49 I #21

Pasta delivery service launches with a philanthropic bent

Finding Common Ground Attorney achieves success working in Kuwait Page 5

Relaying a Message Rapper UTK uses poetry to honor mentor Nipsey Hussle Page 11

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AROUND TOWN

By Christina Fuoco-Karasinski

Criminal charges filed against Jaylin Burdette

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ity Attorney Mike Feuer’s office has filed three criminal charges against Jaylin Burdette in connection with the death of a 5-year-old boy who shot himself with an allegedly unsecured gun.

“Time and again I’ve emphasized that it’s absolutely crucial to lock up your guns, and this horrific incident illustrates exactly why,” Feuer said. “In Los Angeles, locking up guns is the law because it saves lives and prevents unthinkable tragedies like the one we allege here. With kids home from school, safely storing firearms has never been more important.”

On November 13, 2019, Burdette, a licensed security guard, celebrated his 26th birthday at his mother’s home in Leimert Park. His mother was the legal guardian and foster mother of the 5-year-old boy.

Early the next morning, Burdette allegedly found a loaded gun in the alley behind his mother’s house. He allegedly took it back and placed it in a document container in the closet of the bedroom where the 5-year-old boy slept and played.

In the early afternoon of November 20,

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the boy was playing and fatally shot himself with the loaded gun. He was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital.

Burdette was charged with criminal storage of a firearm; unlawful storage of a firearm; and carrying a loaded firearm in a public place. If convicted on all three charges, he faces a maximum sentence of one year in jail and $1,000 in fines.

Deputy City Attorney George Sami of the City Attorney’s Gun Violence Prevention Unit is prosecuting this case.

Purple donates mattress to mission

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he mattress company Purple donated 200 of its newly developed mattresses—specifically manufactured in response to the global pandemic—to Union Rescue Mission.

They will be used to house and provide comfort for those in Los Angeles affected by homelessness, helping to ensure a safer community for all.

Union Rescue Mission provides meals, safe shelter, recovery programs and life-changing services to thousands of people experiencing homelessness each year. The shelter was hit hard in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic in Los Angeles, seeing 100% positive cases among its guests.

As of just last week, the shelter “had all negatives and absolutely no positive tests after testing 248 people under our roof,” stated the Rev. Andy J. Bales, CEO

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MAY 25, 2020

of Union Rescue Mission. The shelter has since implemented new policies to prevent the spread of the virus (from guest limits to creating “zones” within the mission) and just began welcoming new guests on May 18. The mattress donations will help to provide much-needed comfort and relief to those arguably hit hardest by the pandemic.

The donation is in cooperation with Relief Bed International, a nonprofit organization that provides beds to disaster victims and homeless shelters around the world.

Cedars-Sinai resumes in-person clinic visits, surgeries

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edars-Sinai has begun a phased reopening of its medical offices with in-person appointments and resumed medically necessary surgeries and procedures that had been postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The public health crisis required Cedars-Sinai and hospitals across the country to change the way they deliver care, prompting greater reliance on video visits and phone consultations. Based on guidance from county and state health authorities, Cedars-Sinai is expanding direct outpatient and inpatient care while continuing to offer telehealth options that have proved highly popular among patients.

“Although our patients can continue to access our care through video visits or via phone during California’s stay-at-home order, we are excited to also welcome them back in person,” said Dr. John E. Jenrette, executive vice president of the Cedars-Sinai Medical Network.

“We are reaching out to our patients to let them know it’s important to not delay their health care, especially if they have a chronic condition such as cancer, diabetes, heart disease or high blood pressure,” Cedars-Sinai staff are developing plans to increase capacity at outpatient clinics and in operating rooms in the days and weeks ahead. Teams are taking these steps after reviewing supplies of personal protective equipment for staff to ensure the safety of patients and employees. As these plans evolve, Cedars-Sinai urgent care centers remain open and available to patients.

Cedars-Sinai continues to make every effort to ensure that patients get the care they need in a safe and timely manner.

The staff is committed to delivering quality health care during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We will closely monitor the situation and make adjustments as needed, always putting the health and safety of our patients and staff first,” said Dr. Jeffrey A. Smith, executive vice president of hospital operations and chief operating officer at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. “We are committed to serving our community during this unprecedented time.”

EXECUTIVE EDITOR: Christina Fuoco-Karasinski CONTRIBUTING WRITERS: William Bergholz, Eva Chertow, Kamala Kirk ART DIRECTORS: Arman Olivares, Stephanie Torres ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES: Catherine Holloway, Michael Lamb FOUNDER EMERITUS: Sue Laris

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Officials: Butane, hash oil contributed to explosion

By William Bergholz reliminary reports show a May 16 fire that injured 12 firefighters was caused by Smoke Tokes’ excessive storage of butane and hash oil, according to Los Angeles Fire Department Chief Ralph Terrazas.

But a team consisting of the Los Angeles Police Department’s Major Crimes Division; the fire department’s Arson/Counter-Terrorism Section; and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) is still looking into the matter.

“Everything is under investigation by our team,” Terrazas said.

As of May 18, experts have mobilized and begun processing for evidence. Along with the experts is an investigative lead element.

“Both components coordinate daily to ensure investigative continuity,” ATF spokeswoman Ginger Colburn said.

The LAFD and the city of Los Angeles are working to ensure Smoke Tokes and other businesses alike follow safe business practices, like proper storage and signage.

Furthermore, LAFD fire prevention inspectors will begin doing annual inspections, and field companies and fire engines will conduct windshield surveys. Based on the outcomes of these inspections and surveys, businesses that are not in the LAFD’s system will be identified and inspected.

“We’re going to uncover everything we can. We’re going to take as much information so we can learn from this so we can prevent this from happening in the future,” Terrazas said.

LAFD’s Station 9 on Skid Row received a call about the fire at 6:26 p.m. May 16. Firefighters arrived on scene at the wholesale shop, located at 327 E. Boyd Street on Bong Row in Downtown Los Angeles, within 4 minutes and reported smoke coming from a one-story commercial building.

The firefighters began what is known as an aggressive fire attack in an offensive mode, which includes forcing entry with power saws, extinguishing the fire with hose lines and performing vertical ventilation with truck companies.

On the roof and inside the building, 12 firefighters saw thick smoke and heard a piercing

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Twelve firefighters who were fighting the Smoke Tokes fire were transported to the LAC+USC Medical Center.

Photo courtesy the American Red Cross Los Angeles Region

sound, so they made for the exits before an explosion engulfed them. The firefighters escaped with melted helmets and burnt coats and hoods, though the ones who were close were blistered and charred.

As a result, the situation was updated to the major emergency category, 230 additional firefighters were dispatched and a defensive posture for a medical branch was initiated.

The fire was extinguished at 8:08 p.m.

Twelve of the firefighters were transported to the LAC+USC Medical Center.

“Four will be going to the burn intensive care unit, two are on ventilators for swelling of their airways, and the others have varying degrees of burns, ranging from very serious to moderate to minor,” described Dr. Marc Eckstein, the LAFD medical director and an attending physician at the USC Medical Center.

“Things could’ve been so much worse,” he added, assuring, “The firefighters are getting outstanding care.”

Mayor Eric Garcetti remains positive.

“The good news is everyone’s going to make it,” Garcetti said.

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Covered help LETTERSCalifornia TO THE will EDITOR

STAY...

MAY 25, 2020

SHELTON’S OPINION

• LOCALLY UPDATED Benedict Donald • PROPERLY INFORMED • SAFE

Editor: at the sad sight of racist, right-wing ReVladimir Putin’s psychotic servant, publican Party terrorist troglodytes flyBenedict Donald, is not only the worst ing Confederate flags in Michigan while At a time when the entire world is in an “president” in American history, trai- illegally threatening elected officials state, with andassault health concerns tor Trump ever-changing is so demented he actually weapons. claims the assassinated Abraham LinAnd speaking of Democrats are paramount, you can continue elected to rely coln had it easy compared to the delu- under assault, several prominent Demon LA Downtown ocratic Newspoliticians to keepwere yourecently subsional Donald Trump. informed how the COVID-19 is As embarrassingly low ason deranged jected to multiple virus failed assassination Donald’s IQ is, even a mindless person attempts by an insane Trump fanatic affecting your local community. We like Trump knows honest Abe Lincoln from Florida whose mail bombs failed as appreciate thetoday trustcompletely placedasintraitor us as thepathologiTrump’s would definitely be a Democrat calthe presidency has failed. were Lincoln still alive.and (Lincoln was of news voice community.

Joe Biden for president, folks. from Illinois,Being after all.) good stewards of that trust means “Vote Blue no matter who,” says honfor you, especially Jake Pickering est Abe, who wouldwe haveare beenhere shocked

in difficult times.

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LA attorney finds success working in Kuwait

By Kamala Kirk ngeleno native Najmah Brown has built a successful international legal career by finding common ground between the United States and Kuwait.

After working in entertainment law for several years, she moved from Los Angeles to Kuwait to run the international department at Al-Adwani Law Firm.

Three years later, she’s returned to advocate for her brother, who has been incarcerated for a decade. She’s working on a commutation with the California governor’s office to get him released from prison.

“I always had this guilt because I was living this amazing life abroad but there were all of these political changes going on back home and I felt like I wasn’t being of service to my nation,” Brown said.

“My brother had already served all of his time; now he’s just serving time for enhancements, which have always been an issue in our system because of mandatory minimums and excessive sentencing. There had been some changes in the law and there was an opportunity to get my brother’s case looked at. He’s one of those candidates the organization is behind because he’s been a role model in prison and they believe he’s ready to come home.”

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Started from a visit Brown, who graduated from Thomas Jefferson School of Law in San Diego in 2013, took her first trip to Kuwait in 2015 to visit a friend. It was so enjoyable that she returned the following year on a business trip. While there, she met a diplomat who introduced her to his brother, who was a Kuwaiti lawyer.

“He asked if I would work with him and run his firm’s national department,” Brown said. “My experience before that had been in media, so I was unsure as to how that would translate to working in an Arabic country. But after accepting the position, the first client I worked with was a telecommunications company. I immediately noticed there were a lot of similarities between my work there and my previous work in media. I was still working with contracts and paperwork, just in different industries.”

Back in the United States, Brown’s media industry clients included the Oprah Winfrey Network, Al Jazeera America and CBS. Using her years of business and legal affairs experience, she provided the same transactional legal services to companies in Kuwait.

When she joined Al-Adwani Law Firm, Brown worked with a wide range of local and foreign clients from different industries, such as construction, franchises, licensing and distributorships. For an event producer client, she worked on the talent agreements for musical artist Russ, who performed the first rap show in Kuwait, as well as hip-hop artist Tyga.

“I was not a litigator at that point in time,” Brown said. “I would talk to clients, gather information, then refer them to another attorney in my office who spoke Arabic. I also handled mediation and arbitration issues, which were usually disputes over payment or how to get out of contracts.”

The biggest transition for Brown was learning the local laws, so to prepare for her new job she spent time reading about all the different laws that pertained to her practice, such as intellectual property, international transactions, cyber laws and business laws. She also wrote a legal column for the Arab Times, which gave her the opportunity to learn different areas of the law, and consulted with the U.S. embassy on local matters when it needed an English-speaking lawyer.

“In the United States we follow a common law system, whereas Kuwait follows civil law,” Brown said. “When we were working with international companies, they were always concerned with how a judge would apply the law in their case. Because there’s no precedent, any judge can interpret the law the way he wants to. Their system is not as complex as ours and their laws aren’t as detailed, so you don’t know what is going to happen until you get in front of the judge.”

Work-life balance One of the things that Brown loved most about working in Kuwait was the work culture, which was the opposite of the United States.

“In America we’re workaholics and we never take time for ourselves,” Brown said.

“Kuwaitis, on the other hand, are very serious when it comes to their off hours, so once they’re done with work they’re focused on being with their families. I appreciated that because it showed a great respect for people’s personal time. Here, if someone from work calls you and you say you’re with your family, that tends to be looked down on. I liked the fact that I didn’t have to work crazy hours—I worked from 9 to 5 and then I was able to enjoy my free time.”

As an African American woman living and working in Kuwait, Brown never experienced any discrimination based on her race or gender. While there are cultural differences between the female’s role in society in Kuwait and the United States, Brown noted that what she en-

After working in entertainment law for several years, Najmah Brown moved from Los Angeles to Kuwait to run the international department at Al-Adwani Law Firm.

Submitted photo

countered was quite different from the stereotypical views that some people have of the Middle East.

“My race never affected me at all; people just saw me as a human,” Brown said. “A lot of people have these beliefs regarding what they think is happening, but in Kuwait they’ve always been more progressive. The women are educated and very liberated. Many study abroad, own businesses and have political positions in parliament. They can drive and choose what to wear. I paid attention to the local culture and norms and followed them while I was there.”

Within the first few months after moving to Kuwait, Brown befriended an American woman who had been a resident for 40 years and was married to a Kuwaiti national.

“She was very worldly and became like a second mother to me,” Brown said. “She showed me how to navigate daily life and offered me guidance. I learned a lot from her.”

Besides attending ladies’ gatherings, shopping at the souk (market) and having custom garments made from fabrics she had picked out, Brown’s other favorite thing to do while living in Kuwait was travel.

“I traveled every weekend I could,” Brown said. “In Kuwait you can’t have alcohol and there are no nightclubs, so people head to Bahrain or Dubai, which is like the Las Vegas of the Middle East. Kuwait is in a central location and flights are inexpensive, so I took weekend trips to London, Paris, Vienna, Thailand and many other places.”

In addition to working on her brother’s case, Brown continues to consult for Al-Adwani Law Firm, performs consulting and contracting work for clients in the Middle East, and does litigation work for local clients in Los Angeles. Brown and her family members have also been honored by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors for the work they have done to eliminate homelessness in Los Angeles.

“I’m excited about this new journey,” Brown said. “Right now, my main focus is getting things on track with my brother. Once I finish my duties here, I would love to go back abroad.

I loved my experience in Kuwait and would live there again, but I’m also interested in Amsterdam or Dubai.”

Info: najmahbrown.com

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MAY 25, 2020

Little Tokyo questions LA Metro’s developer selection process

By Kamala Kirk ast year, multiple developers pitched plans for a Metro-owned property located above the underground construction project at First Street and Central Avenue/Alameda Street in Little Tokyo. After selecting a developer for the project, Metro is being questioned about its selection process by the Little Tokyo Business Association (LTBA).

The association requested that Metro restart the process before awarding the Regional Connector’s construction contract due to failure to adhere to its own policies and guidelines. LTBA manages the merchant-based Little Tokyo Business Improvement District (LTBID), which serves over 400 stakeholder businesses.

“We learned from the people who weren’t chosen that they had all received different and inconsistent information about the guidelines from Metro staffers,” said Ellen Endo, co-chairwoman of LTBID. “One developer was told that their connections to the Japanese community were dated, while another was told that housing wouldn’t work. This led us to question the selection process, and we want to have a better idea of how they reached their decision.”

Out of four finalists, Metro selected Innovative Housing Opportunities (IHO), a Santa Ana-based affordable housing developer, to design and build the new station at First Street and Central Avenue/Alameda Street. The other finalists included Centre Urban, Ekibashi and Little Tokyo Service Center. Prospective bidder’s plans were based on community feedback on what residents would like to see, including community open space, shops, parking and restaurants. LTBA President Mike Okamoto has stated that the request for Metro to restart its selection process has nothing to do with IHO or its qualifications.

“Our goal is to get some clarity and an explanation of why there are conflicting accounts over the process,” Endo said. “It’s not that we have objections to who they chose. We just feel really misled, whether it was intentional or not.”

After multiple community visioning meetings and community surveys, Metro published the Little Tokyo/Arts District Station Joint Development Opportunity Overview in August 2018. The 25page document outlined the project, regulatory and policy framework, and community input.

LTBA sent letters to Metro CEO Phillip Washington, various board members, as well as the may-

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The proposed Little Tokyo Service Center Station.

Image courtesy Little Tokyo

Centre Urban includes a physicians group led

by Dr. Fred Kurata as investors.

Image courtesy Little Tokyo

or’s transportation deputy. In the letters it addressed numerous concerns, including the confusion about the scoring criteria and the challenges inherent in the station’s existing underground infrastructure. As of now, LTBA is awaiting a response from Metro.

“Our president, Michael Okamoto, put it best when he said that this is a defining moment for us,” Endo said. “We want Metro to understand that this isn’t just another construction project.

It’s something we’ll have to live with for a long time. Whatever is put there will be identified as a landmark in Little Tokyo. We want it to be something that is compatible visually, artistically and practically with our community. We want them to get what they want, but we also need to get what we want.”

MAY 25, 2020

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DOWNTOWN NEWS 7

LA restaurant consultant Ramzi Budayr teamed up with chef Tyler Curtis to launch FEW For All, a pasta delivery service with a philanthropic bent.

Photo courtesy Ramzi Budayr

Ramzi Budayr connects with guests, despite social distancing

By Eva Chertow hen COVID-19 hit, LA restaurant consultant Ramzi Budayr teamed up with chef Tyler Curtis to launch FEW For All, a pasta delivery service with a philanthropic bend.

In the weeks since, the pair, along with former Hoxton pastry chef Mallory Cayon, has expanded its operation to include sauce, cookie dough, cinnamon buns and even an immersive restaurant-at-home experience.

Up to this point, FEW For All (Flour, Eggs and Water For All) has donated 3,500 pounds of pasta to the LA Food Bank, and as orders ramp up, contributions increase. Using a matching donation model, the company gives 1 pound of pasta for every menu item purchased.

Recently, its three-course meal kit, Table 60, earned glowing reviews. This is a lot to accomplish in less than two months. But for hospitality veterans like Budayr, urgency and resiliency are second nature. As he puts it, “We were trained to get out of the weeds,” or not fall behind during service.

Since founding FEW For All, Budayr has transformed his mode of enacting hospitality.

Where he used to present expertly plated food in a bustling dining room, he now sells prepared components from a delivery van. Although the scenery has changed, Budayr’s intent has not.

Restaurants “are a vehicle through which we exchange emotional currency,” Budayr said.

“What we sell is not just pasta and sauce and cookie dough; we sell comfort. We sell

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a moment that a person can either share with their loved ones at home, or, if they’re alone at home, they’re sharing with their community because they know the product exists to support those in need. So, every time someone takes a bite of our product, they’re that much more connected to their neighbors.”

Coping mechanism In the wake of being furloughed from his position as chef de cuisine at the Hoxton Hotel in LA, co-founder Tyler Curtis and Budayr conceived of FEW For All to help them cope with anxiety during the COVID-19 crisis. The two met at the NoMad Restaurant in Downtown LA, where Budayr was the general manager and Curtis was a sous chef.

Budayr and Curtis needed a project to occupy their time and stay afloat financially, to keep from “staring into the abyss.” More importantly, they wanted to give back. The two started making fresh pasta and sauce, working primarily out of a small commissary kitchen attached to Curtis’ apartment building, and advertising sales on Instagram.

They decided to partner with the LA Food Bank because of its wide network of distribution channels.

“We didn’t feel super comfortable picking one hospital or one (organization). ... Everybody needs stuff right now,” Budayr said.

At first, the pair was donating the same handmade product that was available for Continued on page 8

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purchase, but early on in the pandemic, the food bank’s policy changed due to safety concerns. Through their former purveyor, Budayr and Curtis sourced a high-quality pasta that was packaged and sealed in line with the new regulations. The decrease in production demand simultaneously increased their donation capacity. They had given a quart of fresh pasta for the same amount purchased. Now they could contribute a pound of dried pasta for every menu item someone bought.

In addition to its work with the food bank, FEW For All collaborates with No Us Without You to provide meal kits to undocumented workers. Because many restaurant workers lack the legal status to qualify for unemployment benefits, this has been especially important to the founders.

Curtis produces regular and gluten-free rigatoni, as well as lumache (Budayr’s favorite because of how it traps sauce), spicy pomodoro sauce and pesto cheese fonduta. Clients order delivery via Instagram DM, for themselves or as a care package for a friend. Two weeks in, FEW For All added cookie dough to its menu, bringing on Cayon to make chocolate chunk and gluten-free peanut butter logs by the dozen.

The idea arose when Budayr’s local supermarket ran out of cookie dough, his “emotional eating food.”

In addition to rounding out the menu selection, Budayr said Cayon provides balance and stability to the team’s sometimes breakneck attitude.

“Mallory is very good at systems and also at keeping an even-keeled approach,” Budayr said. “With Tyler and I basically living together for a month and doing this 16 hours a day, we started to unravel. Going and picking up cookie dough from her house, even that alone, was like a moment of Zen. Like everything’s fine, she can crank out a hundred logs of cookie dough and never break a sweat, and that’s a nice reminder to just chill.”

The co-founders use their opposing skill sets—marketing and operations on Budayr’s end, and production on Curtis’—to check each other and provide a realistic perspective about what is feasible. But “any time we’re doubting ourselves, one is lifting the other one up. In some ways, he’s the optimist and the crazy one ... and in other ways I’m that person.”

The crucial fourth member of the team is AJ Juarez, a fellow NoMad alum, who drives the delivery van. Juarez’s value lies in more than his driving.

“He’s just the most easygoing, friendly guy,” Budayr said. “When we’re on the road and I make a mistake with an order, I go into service recovery mode. He cheers me on and reminds me it’s good to treat this like we’re in a restaurant.”

Friends and connections outside of the core crew have been a saving grace as well. As orders and production demand grew, the limitations of its workspace put increasing strain on the team. Just in time, a lifeline emerged: An ally at No Us Without You put FEW For All in touch with Cindi Thompson, who runs Crafted Kitchen in the Arts District.

Prior to the pandemic, Thompson had roughly 60 tenants renting commercial kitchen space for their culinary startups, but the health crisis has dropped that number to fewer than 20. Despite struggling to keep her space afloat, she offered Budayr and Curtis a free workspace because she believed in what they were doing.

‘Enlightened hospitality’ FEW For All’s philosophy is fundamentally rooted in “enlightened hospitality,” a term coined by Danny Meyer.

Meyer opened Eleven Madison Park, where Budayr got his start in the restaurant business, in 1998. He later sold it to Daniel Humm and Will Guidara, who opened the NoMad restaurants. Although Budayr left NoMad last year to pursue solo ventures, enlightened hospitality principles like putting the health and safety of the team before profits have continued to guide him.

Budayr daydreamed about being a chef during his childhood, but the expectation from his parents, who immigrated to the United States from Lebanon, was that he would embark on a secure and lucrative career path. Still, he attributes the inspiration for this project to his father, who taught him to be generous.

After graduating from Boston University, Budayr moved back to New York to work in finance. Entering through the revolving door on his first visit to Eleven Madison Park, which was downstairs from his office, he heard a song he had listened to every day in college (Budayr also inherited his love of jazz from his father).

“I knew I was in the right place. ... I felt like I saw the matrix,” Budayr.

Soon after, Budayr walked downstairs to inquire about a position and was hired as a coat-check attendant. He quickly climbed through the ranks.

To Budayr, “food has never really been about food. It’s about the context.” This is evident in Table 60, FEW For All’s latest offering, which recently launched. Budayr describes it as a “build-your-own restaurant experience,” named in honor of the table where he ate his first meal at EMP. Replete with extras like a tablecloth, flowers, candles and a custom playlist, the three-course meal kit consists of antipasti, a pasta entree, market vegetable, bake-your-own chocolate lava cake, and a bottle of wine.

Budayr hopes the service will foster a sense of surprise and delight, and also connection. He was thrilled when, during the course of their meal, two guests started messaging each other on Instagram, as if they were neighboring diners chatting in a restaurant.

Amidst grueling workdays and an uncertain future, seeing FEW’s impact firsthand buoys the team’s spirits. A former chef who is housing two families in her home was one of the organization’s first clients. Lacking the means to provide food for so many people, she reached out to FEW For All. “Just knowing that we’re able to be part of her weekly routine and her life, being part of nourishing her family, it gets us amped,” Budayr said.

Budayr doesn’t know if there’s a future for FEW For All beyond the stay-at-home orders. He doesn’t know what his next steps will be or whether he’ll be able to find investors for his restaurant project when all this is over.

He is, however, sure of one thing: “I want every endeavor that I commit to from now on to have a community or social responsibility element. I cannot tell you how much more fluid and how much more joyful the work is for me, knowing that I’m able to contribute to my community. I knew that intellectually, but it didn’t really resonate with me until our first drop at the food bank.

And I was like, ‘Oh, this is really beautiful work.’”

Info: fewforall.org

MAY 25, 2020

DOWNTOWN NEWS 9

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In “The High Note,” Maggie (Dakota Johnson) is an overworked personal assistant who’s stuck running errands but aspires to be a music producer. Kelvin Harrison Jr. plays aspiring musician David Cliff, who befriends Maggie.

Submitted photo

Kelvin Harrison Jr. is hitting the ‘high note’ of his career

By Christina Fuoco-Karasinski hen Kelvin Harrison Jr. was growing up in New Orleans, he dreamed of starring on a Disney TV show. That way, he could blend his talents of acting and singing.

“I always thought to myself that I could be like Hannah Montana and have the best of both worlds,” Harrison said with a laugh. “I get to have a sitcom, sing, do an album and tour.”

His latest project, the film “The High Note,” is a “beautiful combination of the two.” Set in the LA music scene, “The High Note” is the story of Grace Davis (Tracee Ellis Ross), a superstar who must choose between playing it safe or listening to her heart in a life-changing decision.

Maggie (Dakota Johnson) is Davis’ overworked personal assistant, who’s stuck running errands but aspires to be a music producer. Things come to a head when Davis’ long-time manager (Ice Cube) presents the singer with a choice that could alter the course of her career. Harrison plays aspiring musician David Cliff, who befriends Maggie.

The movie, which was set to debut in theaters, will instead premier as video-on-demand on Friday, May 29. The soundtrack, on Republic Records, includes a handful of songs by Harrison, including the pivotal “Let’s Stay Together.”

“We were worried,” he said. “Would the movie come out? Would it be shelved? Would it go through the Netflix shuffle? Instead, we’re doing the proper release and found the ‘new normal’ style.”

Working with Ross—the daughter of Diana Ross—was “wonderful,” he said. First and foremost, she was “so much fun.”

“She’s a big personality,” he said. “It just adds to the energy that’s always in the room. If you’re feeling down or nervous or scared, Tracee has a way of just brightening up the room and the day. We really needed her expertise and wisdom for this movie.”

Harrison—who appeared in “Ender’s Game” and “12 Years a Slave”—said “The High Note” is an important film to him.

“I really wanted to be in a space where I got to play a romantic lead in a movie,” Harrison said.

“That was exciting, especially being a person of color who gets the girl at the end. We don’t get the girl. I thought the elements were fascinating. The music industry felt honest and brought back some of the magic to Hollywood and LA—the artistry behind it all. I love the story of following a dream and persevering despite our own blocks and insecurities. It’s up to us to create the universe we want to live in.”

Harrison did that. He grew up in a family of musicians, all of whom went to the NOLA School of Music in New Orleans. His father trained with Ellis Marsalis and grew up with Harry Connick Jr. “He introduced me to Ellis, and I went to NOLA,” he said. “Jason Marsalis was one of my teachers. I met Wynton. I also worked with Delfeayo. I recorded tracks with him for a kids’ album when I was about 12 to 15.”

At the time, Harrison didn’t grasp what he had “I’d come home from school and say, ‘Mr. Marsalis told me to do this,’” he recalled with a laugh. “It was such a beautiful experience that a lot of people wish they had.”

For a bit, he put his music aside to act. In 2019, Harrison gained wider recognition for his critically acclaimed portrayals of Luce Edgar in “Luce” and Tyler Williams in “Waves,” for which he received nominations for the Best Male Lead at the Independent Spirit Awards for the former and the Rising Star Award at the British Academy Film Awards for the latter.

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“The High Note,” which was set to debut in theaters, will instead premier as video-ondemand on Friday, May 29. The soundtrack, on Republic Records, includes a handful of songs by actor Kelvin Harrison Jr., including the pivotal “Let’s Stay Together.”

Submitted photo

His next film is “The Trial of the Chicago 7,” the story of seven people on trial stemming from various charges surrounding the uprising at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. Later this year, he’ll join season two of HBO’s “Euphoria.”

“That’s going to be my thing for the next few years,” he said.

Harrison enjoys the variety of films he has released. It keeps him excited and on his toes.

“The language we learn from different genres helps the other genres,” he said. “I can understand fear and apply that or neurosis in a character’s head and put it in a drama and blend it really well with comedy to figure out how to drive those funnier moments. Trying different things ultimately helps you become a more well-rounded human performer. It gives us a variety of tools in our bag.”

Harrison has been keeping busy during the quarantine—reading books by James Baldwin and Maya Angelou, as well as “Alvin Ailey: A Life in Dance” and “Sister Outsider.” He’s also perfected his go-to dish: lemony salmon with garlic roasted potatoes and spinach. He serves it with a side dish of white macaroni and cheese and broccolini.

“It’s a lot of food, but I like to eat,” he said with a chuckle.

As for “The High Note,” he hopes it’s the treat that everyone needs during the pandemic.

“What’s so beautiful about Tracee’s character is she’s a woman who knows what she has to offer, and she’s not interested in anyone telling her she can’t,” Harrison said.

“It’s what David needed to learn and what Maggie saw and learned from Grace as well. They learned not to get in the way of their own opportunity. I hope people who see this film learn not to give up until they get what they want. I absolutely believe that.”

“The High Note” premieres Friday, May 29 focusfeatures.com/the-high-note

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MAY 25, 2020

LA Philharmonic violinist’s lessons go virtual T

By Christina Fuoco-Karasinski he COVID-19 pandemic has forced musicians to quickly digitize their professions and supplement their incomes.

For some, it’s new. For Los Angeles Philharmonic First Associate Concertmaster Nathan Cole, the digital transformation is underway.

On June 1, Cole will launch the Violympics, a series of six two-week training events that will give advanced violinists and violists the tools to advance their craft.

Cole will mentor participants in the program, which will explore crucial fundamentals in a fun format while building an online global community of musicians. Violympics will culminate in a challenge piece that will bring everyone together through performance (virtually).

“It started as a way to help professional violinists and violists organize and practice during the summer,” he said. “Our seasons tend to go like the school year. In the summer, it’s difficult to find and keep that same routine, either because you have fewer performances or you’re spread out in different places.

“I came up with the Violympics to run alongside the real Olympics in Tokyo,” said Cole, who’s married to the LA Philharmonic’s assistant concert master, Akiko Tarumoto. “When everything went nuts in March, including the cancellation of the Olympics, I thought I’d still keep these going.”

The Lexington, Kentucky, native comes from a family of musicians and educators. His parents were flute teachers, as was his paternal grandfather. Cole picked up the violin at age 4; he’s 42 now.

“I can’t really remember a time before I was playing violin,” he said. “I love performing. That’s what I grew up wanting to do, but I did find starting about 20 years ago that I loved teaching, too. I used to teach at a few different schools.

“I left all of them except the Colburn Conservatory, which is across from Disney Hall, where I work with the LA Philharmonic. I stopped all the other teaching. I wanted to make time for my online program.”

The Violympics is an extension of an online teaching platform that began over a decade ago, when Cole started posting instructional videos on YouTube.

On June 1, Los Angeles Philharmonic First Associate Concertmaster Nathan Cole will launch the Violympics, a series of six two-week training events that will give advanced violinists and violists the tools to advance their craft.

Photo by Todd Rosenberg

Expecting to attract maybe 25 to 50 people, he instead quickly had an online student base in the thousands. He realized there were not many solutions for advanced training online, so he refined his offerings over the years to focus on this niche. More than 3,000 violinists and violists of all ages and capabilities from all over the world, from Argentina to Israel, registered for the Violympic Trials, a one-week introductory experience that preceded the Violympics.

This 12-week program costs $797. Cole called it a nice alternative to summer schools or festivals that have been shuttered due to COVID-19. For more information, visit natesviolin.com.

“I found the best way to help people is online and in person,” he said. “When people think about or talk about teaching online or learning online, they’re focused on the negatives, what they’re missing out on.

“There are some limitations and drawbacks. In my high-level virtuoso master course, I can start everyone with videos I’ve already made and learning material. This way, we don’t have to waste a lot of that valuable one-on-one time going over things they could have learned on their own time. You save that one-one-one time—which is the hardest to schedule—to really just work on the issues that that person has.”

Cole added his program is a nice way to fill the time during the pandemic.

“I miss performing for sure,” he said. “I have that fear if I don’t do it for a while, my skills are going to go away. This is as much motivation for me to keep me sharp for when we do return to the stage.”

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MAY 25, 2020

DOWNTOWN NEWS 11

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al friends, so many great things to do. It was finally coming together until the worst thing happened. It was very, very tough. It was tough for everybody. Everybody felt their own personal connection. I stopped rapping and stopped doing music.”

Born to do music

Leimert Park resident Wendell Nelson raps under the name Universe, The King (UTK).

Nipsey Hussle was his mentor.

Photos courtesy UTK

LA rapper uses poetry to honor mentor Nipsey Hussle W

By Christina Fuoco-Karasinski hen rapper Nipsey Hussle was killed on March 31, 2019, at his South Los Angeles Marathon Clothing shop, Wendell Nelson was devastated.

Hussle was more than an idol to the Leimert Park resident, who raps under the name Universe, The King (UTK). Hussle was his mentor.

In 2018, UTK won the Craft Syndicate/Dutch Masters music mentorship contest and collaborated on “Hierarchy” with Zaytoven and Hussle. The song is featured on UTK’s most recent EP, “Diamonds.”

“I’ve been doing music for 20 years now,” he said. “I’m more of a poet. I create from the heart.

I look at myself no differently than Pablo Picasso or an architect. I believe that’s what they saw when they were judging the contest.”

Still, UTK felt his work was unfinished. This month, he released the single “NH,” inspired by Hussle’s life and legacy.

“We grew up in the same neighborhood,” he said. “When we linked up, we had already run into each other our entire careers, like passing out CDs. We exchanged CDs. “That’s what artists do. I opened for him at his ‘Marathon’ show at the House of Blues, when it was still open, in Hollywood. I was under a different alias then. Everything was different. That was 10 years ago,” When the two linked up again, UTK waited for the right opportunity to remind Hussle.

“We locked eyes and I said, ‘You don’t even remember me, huh?’” UTK recalled. “It instantly came back to him. It was this beautiful moment. It’s painful to say now. We had so many mutu-

213.626.1500

Born in Los Angeles, UTK began his music career at Crenshaw High School in 2002 under the alias 16 BARZ and released numerous street albums and mixtapes.

His style gained the attention of many major labels, including Interscope and Def Jam, and landed him in the studio with Dr. Dre and Zaytoven. Never signed to a major label, UTK had plenty of experiences, including being a BET Music Matters artist (2014) and touring with the Vans Warped Tour (2013).

“The Warped Tour was one of the greatest experiences as an artist,” he said. “We were the only hip-hop band that was there. Every day we’d play in front of this huge audience with new people and new faces every single time. People appreciated us.

“Here in LA, it’s not like that. The culture doesn’t allow people to be free and loose. You have to be cool and keep your distance. You’re not going to be in the midst of it.”

His first album under the alias UTK, “M.U.S.I.C. Volume 1.6,” was released in 2013. Accompanying the music were four creative videos that proved to be the catalyst for bringing UTK to the forefront.

The videos are short films and garnered 425,000-plus views on YouTube. His 2014 project, “Feels Great to be Dope,” added to the already-growing buzz online upon the release of the song “Talk to Em” featuring Ab-Soul and Loaded Lux. Since then, UTK has been featuring on major hip-hop websites and blogs.

The following year, he released the self-produced street single “FTSU,” which earned numerous spins on internet radio stations such as Home Grown Radio. Thanks to the single, UTK made his TV debut, performing on “Revolt TV” live (2015 pilot episode). Months later, he became the host of the 2016 “Road To BETX” show on BET with The Game.

Just before his daughter was born three years ago, UTK stopped doing music until he heard about the Craft Syndicate/Dutch Masters contest.

“I couldn’t believe I won an amazing contest and got to work with amazing and legendary people,” he said. “The blessing is I’m able to draw so much inspiration from everything. When I think about life as a whole, the thoughts inspire me to continue to do great things. The marathon continues. Nipsey Hussle used to say the marathon isn’t one quick race. Keep going. Plan for the long run.”

In 2019, he planned to release four EPs, including “Diamonds.” When Hussle passed, it didn’t feel right anymore.

“I didn’t feel like putting out happy or cool songs, or trying to be dope,” he said. “Six months went by and I thought I had to do something because that’s what Nip would have wanted—to keep running the marathon. I got this crazy inspiration, and in 30 days I wrote and recorded 33 tracks. I couldn’t believe it.”

UTK said the single “NH” is by far one of the most emotional songs in his catalog. He uses his lyrical and storytelling abilities to convey a message of positivity and truth. The song’s standout hook cries “pray for my neighborhood” and was written as a double-entendre highlighting parallels to the life of Hussle and the “hustles” everyone has to perform just to survive in the neighborhood.

“I want people to enjoy the song from my perspective,” UTK said. “It’s more so seeing it through my eyes. This area means so much to me. This person means so much to me. I want to use my artistry to really relay that message.”

Universe, The King Watch UTK “NH” video on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/KTQ10LgRdXI View the full site for UTK “NH” here: UniverseTheKing.com “NH” on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/2EritIxfxUqa6W1J4lkhQe

themuseumtowerapts.com

“NH” on SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/universetheking/nhnh

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MAY 25, 2020