ThaWilsonBlock Magazine

It’s been a rough week for many Angelenos, who voted overwhelming for Hillary Clinton only to see her lose the electoral college and, in effect, the election to Donald Trump . There were bright spots, including the legalization of marijuana, the expansion of park-space, and the election of whip-smart Kamala Harris as senator. But maybe the best news was the  passage of Measure M , which will remake the city. The half-cent tax increase required approval by three-quarters of the electorate and was supported by nearly 70 percent of voters. Metro will now have $120 billion to build new rail lines , busways, bike paths, and new roads. Measure M builds on the momentum of 2008’s Measure R, which made possible the Expo Line to Santa Monica, the Gold Line to Azusa, and the forthcoming Crenshaw Line, Regional Connector, and Purple Line extension. So, what are we getting, and when? Well, Measure M doesn’t kick in officially until next year. But it will allow certain projects to be accelerated...

Yasiin Bey – formerly known as Mos Def – has had quite the tumultuous 2016 (haven’t we all?). All year long the Brooklyn hip-hop legend, outspoken political activist and silver-screen actor has been caught up in legal troubles. He tried to travel out of South Africa under a fraudulent “World Passport” document , and as a result, he and his family were detained in January. (He’s now on the country’s “undesirables” list, apparently unwelcome to return…) Whether his legal troubles had anything to do with it or not, they coincided pretty closely with the rapper’s announcement that he would be retiring from the game unexpectedly. In a statement posted to Kanye West‘s website just a few days after his detainment, he wrote: “I’m retiring from the music recording industry as it is currently assembled today, and also Hollywood, effective immediately. I’m releasing my final album this year, and that’s that.”  Read Full Story 

Last October the editor in chief of the New York Times , Michael Luo, wrote an open letter after a woman told him to “go back to China”. He started the hashtag #thisis2016 on social media, inciting Americans of Asian descent across the US to respond by sharing their own experiences of everyday racism. The Asian student society at the prestigious Bowdoin College in Maine decided to respond with a striking photo series. The students posed one by one, facing the camera, carrying a sign describing the kind of racist phrases they hear on a daily basis. Racism is an everyday occurrence in our country, with clichés and stereotypes being thrown about with little consideration. This photo series is the occasion to take a look at these backwards societal interactions, and to remind ourselves that even in 2016, the way view each other still needs to evolve. View Full Gallery

Street art’s ability to raise consciousness and act as a catalyst for political and social change were the motivation behind Oakland-based artist Eddie Colla’s transition from photography to defiantly altering existing landscapes with his wheat pastes and stencil images since 2005. At the heart of Colla’s commending work is the exploration of conformity, freedom and the threat of oppression. His raw characters, often donning face masks, are the embodiment of these themes and Colla hopes they spark a dialogue among the urbanites that spy them in the Bay Area, Los Angeles and Miami streets. His work aims to compete with the pervasive advertisement in urban environments; which Colla believes can foster submissiveness in inhabitants. He counters that passivity with provocative and challenging commentary. As Colla shares on his website: “I can interrupt their conversation and change the subject. That’s very appealing to me. Advertising perpetually alters our environment without the permiss...

Your wedding photographer adores you, and couldn't be happier to photograph your wedding day — there's no two ways about it. But that doesn't mean the guy or gal behind the camera lens isn't hiding a grimace when a guest steps in to steal the shot, or a family member goes MIA right before your well-timed portrait session . So if you've ever wondered what annoys them the most, five wedding photographers are here to reveal their biggest wedding-day pet peeves — so you can avoid them, of course. "By far, my biggest pet peeve is when everyone at the ceremony has their phone, iPads, and cameras, out. In this day and age, we're hard pressed to find anyone actually absorbing the moment in front of them. As a photographer, it breaks my heart to see every person in the audience viewing the wedding through their screen, and when the bride walks down the aisle , the groom sees a bunch of phone screens blaring in his direction instead of being able to focus on his br...

Estevan Oriol discovered a love for photography after the gift of a camera and a no-frills explainer from his father. “My dad said, ‘Here’s a camera. This is the speed of the shutter and this is your depth of field,'” he explains, in a steady tone. “Here I am with my Ph.D. in photography… and Ph.D. means ‘push here dummy.'” Estevan’s journey as an artist was undoubtedly shaped by that first lesson. His father had already made his name behind the lens, and the old man’s intuition that Estevan had something to add to the cultural conversation was spot on. Eriberto Oriol started documenting the forgotten corners of Los Angeles in the 1980s — shining light on graffiti, homelessness, and protestors of state power. In 1989, he launched the first major graffiti-photo exhibit in Los Angeles to wide acclaim. He was a fresh pair of eyes, examining issues that had been ignored up until that point. Meanwhile, Estevan was managing the hip hop acts Cypress Hill and House of Pain. When life...

It's no joke how much Dave Chappelle is reportedly making on his new comedy special deal with Netflix. According to The New York Post's Page Six , the comedian is making a total of $60 million for delivering three comedy specials to the streaming company in 2017. "Dave was offered $20 million a special," an unnamed source told Page Six. "Netflix basically has a war chest for this kind of content. Whether it's a loss or not, Dave Chappelle's specials will get a lot of press and bring in new subscribers." That would place Chappelle's deal on par with the reported $40 million deal Chris Rock secured with Netflix last month for two comedy specials. The concert specials are Chappelle's first in 12 years. Two of the specials have already been... Read Full Story