Good Life Cafe

Last updated

The Good Life Cafe was a health food market and cafe in Los Angeles, California, known for its open mic nights that helped the 1990s Los Angeles alternative hip hop movement flourish. In 2008, director Ava DuVernay, who had performed at the cafe with the Figures of Speech hip hop group, released a documentary about the cafe, This Is The Life . The film featured a number of hip hop artists discussing the importance of the Good Life Cafe to themselves and the hip hop scene. The Cafe was open from 1989 to 1999.

It was described as "a platform for rappers to perform their material" and "a testing ground for Los Angeles' independent rap scene". [1] Artists like Ice Cube, Snoop Dogg, Lenny Kravitz, Mister CR, and others reportedly attended the open mic, while many other musicians honed their skills at the events. [2]

History

The Good Life Health Food Centre's weekly open-mic night began in December 1989. [3] [4] Started by B. Hall and her son R/KainBlaze with his friends The Mighty O-Roc and The Dynamic Flow, KNGR: The Underground Radio at the Good Life offered workshops for aspiring MCs, poets and musicians to hone their craft. [5]

On Thursday nights from 8-10pm, artists were allowed to perform one song. Some would perform written songs, and some would freestyle. When a performance was not up to par, the audience would call out "Please pass the mic!" and the emcee would end the performance promptly. In addition, there was a strict policy against cursing. B. Hall once explained, "Young people needed a place to go to develop their own art. The no-cussing policy wasn’t about us being uptight church people, it was about wanting the atmosphere of a serious arts workshop. Most of the crowd respected the rule, some said it made rapping more challenging, that it created more respect and brotherhood." [6]

After the venue closed at night, people would continue with battles in the parking lot. In December 1995, several notable performers established Project Blowed which became its own successful venue.

Lenny Kravitz, Common, Ice Cube, Snoop Dogg, will.i.am and Macy Gray reportedly attended the open-mic, while artists such as The Pharcyde, Biz Markie, Fat Joe, Skee-Lo, and Kurupt occasionally performed there.

Good Life regulars Rebels of Rhythm and Unity Committee came together to form Jurassic 5.

Other Good Life regulars included Xzibit, Monie Love, Chu Black, Dark Leaf, TrenSeta, Big Al, Quiet Storm, Menace Clan, Lenny Kravitz, Common, Snoop Dogg, will.i.am, Macy Gray, Freestyle Fellowship, The Righteous Family, Ahmad, Pigeon John, Abstract Rude, Aceyalone, Chillin Villain Empire, Rifleman Ellay Khule, Volume 10, Medusa, OMD, 2Mex The Visionaries, Spoon Iodine, Ganjah K, Fat Jack, The Nonce, The Pharcyde, Biz Markie, Fat Joe, Skee-Lo, Brand Nubian, Kurupt, N.W.A, Jurassic 5, Big Pun and Chi-Ali

Core years that one would consider the GoodLife Open Mics apex were hosted by a cast of highly influential lyricists/masters of ceremony including Chu Black, J-Smoov of Dark Leaf, TrenSeta, Big Al, Quiet Storm, Menace Clan's Jammin D and a host of others.

The final Good Life Open Mic show was held in September 1997 and was hosted by local Good Life emcee called Ink Rezin. The Good Life Health Food Centre closed in 1999. Regulars of the open mic night later founded Project Blowed, a hip-hop workshop.

Related Research Articles

Robin Yvette Allen, known professionally as the Lady of Rage, is an American rapper, singer and actress best known for her collaborations with several other Death Row Records artists, including Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg on the seminal albums, The Chronic and Doggystyle. The Lady of Rage has been described as "one of the most skillful female MCs" with a "mastery of flow" and "hard-core lyrics".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daz Dillinger</span> American rapper and producer (born 1973)

Delmar Drew Arnaud, known professionally as Daz Dillinger or simply Daz, is an American rapper and record producer. As a member of Death Row Records in the early 1990s, he is credited with the label in pioneering West Coast hip hop and gangsta rap for mainstream audiences. Alongside Kurupt, he formed the hip hop duo tha Dogg Pound in 1992, with whom he has released eight albums.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tha Dogg Pound</span> American hip hop duo

Tha Dogg Pound is an American hip hop duo made up of West Coast rappers Kurupt and Daz Dillinger. They were signed to Death Row Records in their early careers and were key to the label's success.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Krayzie Bone</span> American rapper

Anthony Henderson, better known as Krayzie Bone, is an American rapper, singer, producer, and entrepreneur. He is a member of the rap group Bone Thugs-n-Harmony.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">DJ Quik</span> American rapper, record producer, and DJ (born 1970)

David Marvin Blake, better known by his stage names DJ Quik or Da Quiksta, is an American rapper, record producer and DJ, known for his production in the G-funk style of West Coast hip-hop. Blake has collaborated with Snoop Dogg, Kurupt, Tupac, Chingy, R. Kelly and Shaquille O'Neal, among others. Blake's stage name reflects his ability to produce songs in a short period of time. Some of his top songs include "Dollaz + Sense", "Tonite", "Born and Raised in Compton" and "Jus Lyke Compton."

<i>Tha Doggfather</i> 1996 studio album by Snoop Doggy Dogg

Tha Doggfather is the second studio album by American rapper Snoop Dogg. It was released on November 12, 1996, by Death Row and Interscope Records. After the success of his debut album Doggystyle (1993), Snoop was arrested and charged with murder and in 1995, spent time preparing for the case that went to trial. On February 20, 1996, he was cleared of all charges and began working on his second album without Dr. Dre providing work as a record producer. This was Snoop's final album on Death Row until 2022, when he acquired the rights to the Death Row trademarks from MNRK Music Group, releasing BODR the same year. This would also be his last album under the moniker Snoop Doggy Dogg before it was shorted to Snoop Dogg. Recording sessions took place from February 1996 to October 1996, with Suge Knight as the executive producer on the album, alongside the additional production from several record producers such as DJ Pooh, Daz Dillinger, Soopafly and L.T. Hutton; as well as guest appearances from Charlie Wilson, Kurupt, Tray Dee and Warren G, among others.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fredwreck</span> Musical artist

Farid Karam Nassar, better known by his stage name Fredwreck, is a Grammy Award-winning American hip hop recording artist, DJ and record producer. He got his big break when he became a producer for Dr. Dre's newly founded record label Aftermath Entertainment, and then went on to work with Snoop Dogg's record label Dogghouse Records and became a known producer on Tha Dogg Pound-affiliated material. During this time he also was a producer for Snoop Doggs track: Riders on the storm Ft The Doors on EA's Need for Speed Underground 2. He has produced tracks from Kurupt's Tha Streetz Iz a Mutha and most of his next release, Space Boogie: Smoke Oddessey; both released during the period the rapper had left Death Row Records. He has also produced for other hip-hop and pop artists such as Eminem, Britney Spears, Ice Cube, Westside Connection, Lil' Kim, Hilary Duff, Xzibit, The Game, Nate Dogg, Everlast, Cypress Hill, 50 Cent, Mobb Deep, as well as non-US acts such as Dizzie Rascal, Tamer Hosny, Qusai Kheder and Karl Wolf.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kurupt</span> American rapper and record producer (born 1972)

Ricardo Emmanuel Brown, better known by his stage name Kurupt, is an American rapper and record producer. Born and raised in Philadelphia, he formed Tha Dogg Pound in 1992 along with Daz Dillinger; the rap duo has released eight albums. He also formed the hip hop group The Hrsmn in 1996, with whom he has released two albums. His debut solo album, Kuruption! (1998) was released by A&M Records and peaked at number eight on the Billboard 200.

Project Blowed is an open-mic workshop, its affiliated underground hip hop crew and record label based in Los Angeles, California at 3333 Leimert. This hip hop function started in 1994 and features many music groups, emcees, dancers, music producers, and graffiti artists local to the Southern California area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">It's Okay (One Blood)</span> 2006 single by The Game

"It's Okay (One Blood)" is a song by American rapper and West Coast hip hop artist The Game featuring vocals from reggae singer Junior Reid, from his second studio album Doctor's Advocate. Released as the album's lead single on July 24, 2006, the song was written by The Game himself and Junior Reid, and it was produced by D-Roc, and Reefa. The Game himself revealed that the song would be released on July 31, 2006, but actually was released on July 24, 2006. The song was originally to be released on July 4, 2006 but got pushed back by The Game. Jimmy Rosemond, head of Czar Entertainment and The Game's manager, explained how "One Blood" would receive positive radio airplay and prove the talent that The Game had. A supposed original version of the song was released in late January 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nate Dogg discography</span>

The discography of American recording artist Nate Dogg consists of three studio albums, one compilation album, one collaboration album, 5 singles as the main artist, and 35 singles as a featured artist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New York, New York (Tha Dogg Pound song)</span> 1995 single by Tha Dogg Pound featuring Snoop Doggy Dogg

"New York, New York" is a song from the American West Coast hip hop duo Tha Dogg Pound featuring Snoop Doggy Dogg. The song was released as a promotional single and is the lead single from their debut album, Dogg Food.

Figures of Speech is a hip hop group consisting of emcees "Eve" and Jyant. They performed at the Good Life Cafe in the early 1990s and were featured on the Project Blowed compilation.

This is the Life is a 2008 documentary film directed by Ava DuVernay, which chronicles the alternative hip hop movement that flourished in 1990s Los Angeles and its legendary center, the Good Life Cafe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I Wanna Rock (Snoop Dogg song)</span> Snoop Dogg single

"I Wanna Rock" is the third official single from American rapper, Snoop Dogg's tenth studio album, Malice n Wonderland. It was released digitally on iTunes on November 17, 2009, after the second single "That's Tha Homie". The song was produced by Scoop DeVille and mixed by Dr. Dre, and Snoop Dogg released it on a mixtape titled "I Wanna Rock" on November 23. The song was confirmed by BBC Radio 1 to be released in the UK on March 15, 2010 but is now listed as "Coming Soon".

<i>Doggumentary</i> 2011 studio album by Snoop Dogg

Doggumentary is the eleventh studio album by American West Coast hip hop recording artist Snoop Dogg. It was released on March 29, 2011 on the Priority Records record label. The album was produced by Battlecat, The Cataracs, Gorillaz, David Banner, THX, DJ Khalil, Fredwreck, Jake One, David Guetta, Mike Dean, Jeff Bhasker, Lex Luger, Meech Wells, Mr. Porter, Rick Rock, Rick Rude, Scoop DeVille, Scott Storch, Warryn Campbell, Kanye West, DJ Reflex, among others.

<i>7 Days of Funk</i> (album) 2013 studio album by 7 Days of Funk

7 Days of Funk is the eponymous debut studio album by California-based funk duo 7 Days of Funk, consisting of rapper Snoop Dogg—performing under his funk persona Snoopzilla—and modern-funk musician Dām-Funk. The album was released on December 10, 2013, by Stones Throw Records and is Snoop's first project with a single producer since his landmark 1993 debut album, Doggystyle. Recording sessions for the album took place in 2013 at The Compound and at Funkmosphere Lab in Los Angeles, and the mastering was performed at Bernie Grundman Mastering in Hollywood.

Litt Live is a digital radio broadcasting platform with over 80 radio stations. These stations are curated by DJs, radio personalities, musicians, etc. The platform includes partner stations curated by Snoop Dogg, Kylie Jenner, Lil Wayne, Tech N9ne, Borgore, B-Real of Cypress Hill, and others. Dash Radio has no subscription fees and is commercial-free.

"Pimp Slapp'd" is a diss song by American West Coast hip hop recording artist Snoop Dogg, taken from his sixth studio album, Paid tha Cost to Be da Bo$$ (2002).

<i>Neva Left</i> 2017 studio album by Snoop Dogg

Neva Left is the fifteenth studio album by American rapper Snoop Dogg. It was released on May 19, 2017, for digital download and July 7, 2017, for purchase on CD, by Doggystyle Records and Empire Distribution. Snoop Dogg also enlisted a variety of guest vocalists including Redman, Method Man, B-Real, KRS-One, and frequent collaborators Charlie Wilson and Wiz Khalifa, among others. Meanwhile, production was handled by Dr. Evo, DJ Battlecat, Musik MajorX, League Of Starz, and Rick Rock, among others.

References

  1. ↑ B, Jon (May 13, 2008). "Ava DuVernay: This is the Life". UGSMAG.
  2. ↑ Mullen, Brendan (June 21, 2000). "Down for the Good Life". LA Weekly.
  3. ↑ "This Is The Life (doc)". This Is The Life.
  4. ↑ "Good Life Documentary". Hip Hop Attack Documentary. Archived from the original on 2014-12-19.
  5. ↑ Xela, Alex (2015-03-06). "Evolution of a Man: An Interview with Imperator (Part 1)". Bring That Beat Back. Retrieved 2015-10-30.
  6. ↑ Morgan, Marcyliena. Real Hiphop: Battling for Knowledge Google Books
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.