On Saturday, April 21, Ark Republic co-sponsors a live musical experience in Los Angeles with arkitect and local curator, Matito Ki’Abayomi, creator of web series “Only in LA.” The event called, “The Day After,” will be held at The Whipp Social Club at 7617 South Crenshaw Blvd., at 7:30pm.
Ki’Abayomi will hold this event in conjunction with his recurring musical venue, Stone’s Juke Joint. The event takes place one day after the 4/20, a celebration for the highly coveted marijuana holiday. Because it occurs the following day, 4/21 it was named “The Day After.”
Stone’s Juke Joint comes from childhood stories told to Ki’Abayomi by his parents about juke joints that his grandfathers attended in Louisiana and Mississippi.The juke joint recreates southern cultural comforts with a night filled with local musicians and singers. At the same time, worked about the growing displacement and invisibility of native Black residents in Los Angeles, a segregated city, he uses the venue to sustain their voices and links to a Black aesthetic important in crafting the region.
“The juke joint is something that is a place where you can come and hear some feel-good music and get some feel-good food. Relax and hang out and meet cool people, but also experience black culture,” Ki’Abayomi explains.
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The cannabis-themed soiree will have live entertainment, hors d’oeuvres, food and drink. The best part is the full house band and lineup of singers. Ark Republic co-sponsors this event along with Only in LA, Mama Marie’s Soul Kitchen Catering and Events, D’Edible Delights, New West Entertainment, and Black Smith Extracts.
“Cannabis culture for black people in LA [has] always had an intersection of good music and good weed before the laws changed. Actually, that’s what was done at juke joints. All the red light illegal activities or those that were considered taboo were done there,” says Ki’Abayomi who is a truck driver by day.
“The Day After” is the second curated event that Ark Republic has co-sponsored to bring our emphasis of offline collaborations that compliment our online reporting and storytelling. The first event, Ark Republic co-sponsored was Break Bread & Build, an academic conference that used hip-hop to explore social justice. Hip hop icon, Roxanne Shante was the special guest for the three-day event.
Ark Republic establishes a local presence in communities through designated local collaborators and curators who engage or participate in initiatives and events.
Ki’Abayomi is both a narrator and curator. We support his efforts to bring more visibility to Black communities in Los Angeles, and tap into the legal cannabis industry, an industry where people of color have been marginalized.
