It’s officially Christmas time in Los Angeles, which means it’s time to get festive!
During a time where the cannabis industry has taken over the market, it’s only right to combine forces with the elites in music to give back to their community.
On Saturday, December 18th, Fatlip from Pharcyde and IDK took the stage at the annual Skid Row Xmas, a live concert hosted by Tradecraft Farms and High Times Delivery to benefit the homeless population in Los Angeles.
Skid Row Xmas is the brainchild of cannabis entrepreneurs Dub Brothers, consisting of Barry Walker and Brent Walker.
Both being Los Angeles natives, they made it their duty to help their community in the city, even hosting a yearly Gobble Gobble Give initiative which fed over 30,000 people on Thanksgiving Day in 12 cities across the States.
The goal is to always give back to those in need, with all proceeds going to donations and supplies to the less fortunate.
The evening consisted of raffles, prizes, and nothing but good energy, as Fatlip represented for the old school hip-hop fans and IDK represented for the new school.
Moments before speaking with AllHipHop, Fatlip had wrapped his DJ set and short performance of two Pharcyde classics: “Passin Me By” and “Runnin’.”
Fatlip stated, “It’s a dope event. I know them through some friends of friends, some really good friends. My homegirl Mariana Jorge, she hit me up. It was a last minute thing. When she tells me to f### with somebody…. so it was dope. I met everybody. They told me the office used to be on Skid Row and they’re doing a lot of philanthropy stuff. It’s a good vibe.”
In reality, Fatlip has been DJing way before he started rapping.
“I like both because I’ve been doing them both at the same,” he says. “I started deejaying, really before I started rapping. But for different reasons, I like to deejay sometimes because I don’t have to do it with a group. I don’t have to write or nothing like that. I love to see people partying, dancing and s###. I really be planning it out in my mind, sometimes it goes right, sometimes it doesn’t. So when it goes right…”
Additionally, Fatlip’s #1 priority is trying to stay happy. He also revealed his former group, Pharcyde, came back together for the most part, with three out of four members reuniting.
“It feels cool. It feels good, because those were my friends before the rapping. So we re-established our friendship, and that feels really good because there was a point when I said ‘they’re not even invited to my funeral.’ But it was all in my head. What did Big Sean say? ‘A conversation can save a nation’.”
Fatlip also reveals there is new music on the horizon, and that he’s been doing features this whole time!
“We have a project coming out in April, it’s the 30th anniversary for the first album. We’re still alive. Hip hop is still alive, so that feels great. I got to be honest, when we was doing it back then, I had no idea that hip hop was gonna be where it’s at.”
Fatlip views Hip-Hop as an established art form, just like acting or painting.
He added, “The players, you got the big dogs like Kanye, Jay-Z who have taken it and continued to make music, but also elevating business and that only gives the culture more value. It’s universal.”
Trademarks CEO Barry Walker also spoke on the fourth/fifth annual SKid Row Xmas.
“It feels good because the secret is, I get way more out of this than I put in. When we’re handing things, tents or sleeping bags, warm clothing to the homeless tonight in five minutes, it’s a selfish act because I get so much out of it. This is a great way to do it. I’m so happy it mixes with our company Christmas party, I love seeing all my people here.
Speaking on getting Pharcyde involved, he said, “Oh my goodness! That’s like a long dream from a long time ago. Very blessed and never met him before, what a great guy. I feel better about the friendship now, I really enjoyed the performance.”