FO·MO
ˈfōmō/
noun
informal
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- anxiety that an exciting or interesting event may currently be happening elsewhere, often aroused by posts seen on a social media website.
- “I realized I was a lifelong sufferer of FOMO”
Urban dictionary definition: The fear that if you miss a party or event you will miss out on something great.
My definition: DON’T MISS THE EVENT.
Luckily, I’m here to provide you with all things you’ve missed, in this popping city of Los Angeles. My name is Shirley Ju, and I live, breathe, sleep Hip Hop. Coming from the Bay, I grew up to the hyphy movement. That being said, turning up is all I know. This will be a weekly recap of the dope events that I myself felt like I couldn’t miss, and you guys wish you were at.
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Saturday, April 1
Before I forget, I want to send a huge thank you to Joshua Chaplinsky for sending me this amazing Kanye West – Animatorbook. They had sent me This Book Ain’t Nuttin to Fuck With: A Wu-Tang Tribute Anthologypreviously, but this was better. “A bizarre mix of Lovecraftian horror and Hip Hop history, Kanye West—Reanimator reimagines the classic story “Herbert West—Reanimator” with everyone’s favorite petulant genius cast in the titular role.” I was sucked in within the first two pages.
Today was an event V and I had in our planners for quite some time now: #LegacyLA. To be completely honest, I don’t remember how I heard about this event (it might have been V), but I’m super glad I went. It was a rough day to begin with, and it’s always nice to come back to your faith. The sole purpose of The Legacy Conference is to help you become a better disciple of Christ. This was low key perfect timing after last night’s shenanigans with the (fake) nuns.
Before we actually pulled up to Biola University, V had plans to speak with Humble Beast owner Odd Thomas at his hotel across the street. Not sure if things would have been different if I wasn’t there, but this turned into a full-fledged conversation about Christian rap and breaking down the barriers of that label/genre. I had no idea I felt as strongly as I did about the matter, but it was so insightful hearing Thomas give his thoughts.
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We chatted for almost an hour and half, right there in the lobby of The Holiday Inn. From Lecrae hitting the mainstream radio waves, to Thomas’ own journey in how he created his own Christian record label from scratch. I was truly inspired by his story and enjoyed hearing his viewpoints on the current state of Hip Hop. Unfortunately, we missed the last session of the day. But this was conversation was just as meaningful.
This is actually the first year of The Legacy LA, a one-day conference consisting of general sessions, 15-20 workshops, and an evening concert. It’s inspired by the huge annual 3-day Legacy Conference that started in Chicago in 2007. Expanding to L.A. just makes sense. Today’s event ran from 9:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., with food breaks and time to get to know each other throughout. I definitely didn’t want to miss the concert. I love Hip Hop so much, and was excited to see what these Christian rappers had to offer. Huge thanks to Jharmaine for having us. This was such a great experience.
So funny, I actually noticed Bizzle’s hat before I met him. Golden State Warriors for life. Turns out, V was interviewing him lmao. Of course. He was on the bill tonight, alongside Thi’sl, Sevin, Eshon Burgundy, and Datin. We had the pleasure of meeting them all. I noticed the letters “G.O.M.” on his custom hat, and find out this stands for his record label: God Over Money. I love it.
Each artist that came on stage touched my heart. You could just feel The Holy Spirit in the room. Most gave me the chills. I think I’ve mentioned this before, but worship is such a huge part of my faith. Nothing speaks to me harder than music does. Sevin in particular really touched me. When I met him behind-the-scenes, the first thing I noticed was his tattoos, which included a teardrop on his cheek. It was mind-boggling, seeing him spitting on stage about Jesus, wearing a “Saved” t-shirt and hat. V was familiar with his story, and confirmed my assumption that he really came from the streets. Look at his life now. Unreal. God is good.
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We left just in time to catch the movie Life starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Ryan Reynolds. We may or may not have the biggest crush on Jake, and that may or may not have been the reason we were so excited to see this film tonight. We pull up to Starlight Whittier Village Cinemas at 9:30 p.m. Pause, this theater was so cute. And it was $12 for a ticket. And there was popcorn seasoning. Caramel popcorn seasoning.
I literally loved this film. I went into it not knowing anything other than Jake was in it and it was about aliens. After seeing it, I wouldn’t label it as an alien movie so much. Extra-terrestrial maybe? It was very entertaining and I was engaged the entire hour and 43 minutes. I must have said “Oh shit!” at least five times throughout. V had the best facial expressions to match. Go see this. You’ll enjoy it.
Sunday, April 2
I tweeted this at 6 a.m., again, crawling into bed. The downside of being a writer is staying up all night to try to finish a piece. Lately, I’ve just been feeling really humbled and blessed for how God has been able to continually bring good people my way. The other night, at my girl’s Loki Mgmt event, I met the owner of Hoodstock Records. It turns out, they had previously sent me some of their merchandise in the mail.
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I remember putting the package aside and telling myself I’d address it later. I never did. I went home that night and found it in the corner of my room. The note read “We’re not asking for, nor do we expect anything from you all; I extend my hand genuinely. I just want you to know we exist, and you’ll see us, hear us, and feel us sooner than later.” A tear came to my eye. Their mantra is “Inspired by the hustle,” a very accurate description of my life. God literally brought us together in the most organic way. Thank you, Dre. (My heart is full.)
Anyways. Today was another beautiful Sunday in L.A. I finally had time to go on a short run. My schedule has been so insane, the last opportunity I had to work out was yoga at 10 p.m. last Monday. My motivation for running today: Freddie Gibbs’ You Only Live 2wice. Love the project. Gangsta Gibbs a real one.
Tonight was one of my best homegirls’ birthday (love you, Raven). Her bae was in town from the Bay, so there was only one way to celebrate: Chocolate Sundaes at The World Famous Laugh Factory. Shout out to Glenna and Lani, they always take care of ya girl. I joked that they wouldn’t get sick of me — this was definitely my third week in a row. But man, there’s nothing like ending your week with the best comedy show in L.A.
Plus, we celebrated my birthday here, so this was only right (Ty Dolla $ign voice). The 10 p.m. show was a riot tonight, in the best way possible. Host/comedian Ron G had us crying. That man is hilarious. He always takes the stage and has the most random people dabbing with him. You can never deny the dab. Especially with the slaps DJ Sidekick drops.
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All the comedians on the bill tonight were fire: Kente Scott (from Oakland), Mark Theobald, Sean Morgan, and G Thang. I really don’t think I’ve seen a bad comic at Chocolate Sundaes yet. Sean Morgan was one of my favorites. He had a whole segment on “thirsty n-words” that had me dead. I literally hate thirst. I’m that type of friend who will chew you out for hollering at my girl inappropriately. This was so relevant for me lmao.
The show lasted until around 12:30 a.m. We all had such a great night. I just freaked out cause I saw my girl ran into Dom Kennedy afterward lmao. She was getting food at Mel’s Diner after the show. I’m such a fangirl. I literally just texted her for deets. She said he was so low key, straight up in his house shoes lmao. Totally can see that.
Monday, April 3
Tonight’s show was the lineup of the year: Bebe Rexha, Camila Cabello, Daya, Halsey, Imagine Dragons, Incubus, Machine Gun Kelly, Macklemore, Miguel, Mija, Skrillex, Tinashe and Zedd. And the fact that it’s for a good cause is even better. Huge shout out to Zedd, it wasn’t even a portion of proceeds going to charity, it was all of it.
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I actually didn’t realize this was his event until I pulled up to Staples Center. All my friends were coming out. It’s hard not to with a lineup like this. It began as a casual call-to-action on Twitter in response to the recent immigration ban. This is my favorite part. Someone like Zedd, who has a huge following (4 million on IG), using his voice and stature in society to put together a show like this.
WELCOME! is such a fitting name for the event. 100% of the profits went to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). I recruited Ural to come shoot for me on the unofficial red carpet. The backdrop was super dope, but per usual, we weren’t guaranteed any of the artists. Honestly, I was so excited to see Zedd. He was the first artist that popped up, and the first artist I spoke with. He’s so lit in the EDM world. He was just the biggest sweetheart, I was not expecting that. My friend commented he saw him at Ralph’s earlier lmao. I love that at the end of the day, these crazy famous celebrities are human, just like the rest of us.
Zedd took the time to speak with every media outlet and genuinely gave us his time of day. Now that I think about it, every artist I spoke with was genuinely sweet. I think you have to be at an event like this, when it’s for such a great cause. Next up was someone I was super excited to speak with, Bebe Rexha. She’s honestly a doll. I went to her show in SF and was absolutely mesmerized by how many hit songs she was featured on. Also by her booty, which I had to ask her about tonight lmao.
The star of the show tonight (for me) was definitely Tinashe. That’s bae. I was just talking to my boss about this: she’s like the modern day Monica. She was tight on time so they literally weren’t going to let us speak with her. I begged for one question. Hell no I wasn’t taking no for an answer. Nope.
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Bae greeted me with a hug. Man, I love nice people lmao. Shout out to Ural shooting for me tonight. That’s my roll dawg right there. I’ve got so much to learn still, and he helps me realize that. Also huge thanks to Chris with BT PR for having us <3.
Ural wasn’t staying for the show, so I scoop up the homeboy Corey from the 11th Street entrance. The event was a bit scattered and unorganized, so I finessed us into the photo pit right by the stage. Walk with confidence is what I tell everyone. You’d be surprised.
Tinashe slays at. . . life lmao. She’s such a good dancer. The one question we asked her was how she felt about Lena Dunham dancing to “All Hands On Deck” on HBO’s Girls. She was literally so lit. Ural definitely gets credit for that one. My ass does not have time for television (sadly).
This was also the first time Tinashe performed her new single “Flame.” It was perfect.
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Next up was Miguel. I died when he came out to “Sure Thing.” That must be one of my top 10 R&B tracks. It definitely hits a soft spot in my heart.
“All I Want Is You” with J. Cole was a crowd favorite tonight. I actually keep missing Miguel’s shows, so I was super excited to see him. Next up was Daya, whom I met earlier in the media room. Yo, this girl is lit. She’s got a crazy fanbase. Hearing her perform “Don’t Let Me Down” (her song with The Chainsmokers) had us all turnt. Holy fuck. She was born in 1998. I just looked it up. Kill me now lmao.
Bebe Rexha graced the stage singing “Me, Myself & I,” her track with G-Eazy. She’s so fire. At this point, I had run into with Taylor and Miryam from the tattoo party at SXSW. They’re my favs. Miryam and I both noticed Bebe didn’t have her nails done, which meant she was human like the rest of us. I loved that. Bebe then stormed off stage screaming “Fuck Donald Trump” paired with a mic drop. Priceless.
We were surprised but very excited to see Jared Leto come on stage to announce Imagine Dragons. He played The Joker in Suicide Squad movie, also the lead singer of 30 Seconds to Mars. I actually super fucked with that band. Yo, Imagine Dragons blew me away. They were phenomenal. “Radioactive” was absolutely beautiful.
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We head out after Imagine Dragons brought out Halsey. She’s an amazingly talented singer. Every artist tonight had such a positive impact on all those in attendance, and beyond. Music is a powerful thing.
