Editor’s note: At the time of writing, the Hughes Fire has recently broken out near the Los Angeles County community of Castaic. Driven by another bout of high winds, it has spread to over 500 acres within its first hour. This article provides a snapshot of what’s been happening in LA, through our news source’s Hip-Hop lens but in respect to the ongoing nature of this crisis, we at 206zulu.org urge readers to stay abreast of new advancements, especially to emerging needs and requests for support. For all of our extended community in Southern California, we send our love and well wishes for your safety.
2025 Los Angeles Fires
Fire—like hip-hop—is composed of core elements: heat, fuel, and oxygen.
The fires raging in Los Angeles have been fueled by forests and houses and rapidly intensified by 90 MPH winds. Fueling the fires are people’s possessions, their furniture and family photos, books and paintings, record collections, and recording studios.
More important than lost possessions, however, are the rising numbers of displaced citizens, lost communities, and lost lives. And though, as of January 22nd, new fires are still erupting, the LA community, the Hip Hop community, and the art community, at large, are starting to reflect on the losses from the Eaton and Palisades Fires.
In the coming weeks and months, government officials will need to answer tough questions about rebuilding, preserving, and preventing because, though wildfires regularly rage near LA, these historic fires have exposed systemic failures in California, the US, and around the world.
Hip Hop Artists Directly Affected by the LA Fires
Protecting art is extremely important. Humans use our creativity to document societal issues and trends and express our inner thoughts and feelings. Art is the key to understanding history, the generations that came before us. Without cave paintings, vinyl records, or art museums, we wouldn’t understand a fraction of the scrawny transcript of written history.
History tells us that a natural disaster typically impacts the most vulnerable members of our communities. During and after Hurricane Katrina, decisions made by politicians destroyed some of the lowest income communities in the United States. 20 years later, those communities are still working hard to recover.
LA is in the midst of a homelessness epidemic, and the efforts to help the unhoused will lose funding and attention while LA is rebuilt. The $40 billion pledged by California Governor Gavin Newson to fight homelessness in LA is either going to be delayed in favor of fire prevention and aid, or it will come at the expense of the budget for fire support. Concurrently, LA Mayor Karen Bass has been criticized for slashing the LAFD budget.
Working-class and lower-income families will take on the bulk of the hardship of relocating and rebuilding, but some of the wealthiest members of society also lost their luxury homes in Altadena, Malibu, and the Pacific Palisades. Among the doctors, lawyers, and tech entrepreneurs are quite a few successful entertainers who have lost their homes.
Many influential members of the Hip Hop community have also lost their homes. DJ Broadway, producer of King T and Tha Alkaholiks, had a GoFundMe posted in his honor to raise funds for his home and lifelong collection of equipment. There is also a GoFundMe page for Darryl Moore, the drummer, producer, and engineer of Freestyle Fellowship and the Pharcyde. According to another GoFundMe, shared by producer DJ Premier, his recent collaborator, DJ Jazimoto, lost her home in the fires. The page lists some of her losses:
- Her piano, gifted by her father.
- Her electric violin, gifted by her mother.
- The rare Stradivarius violin that she used to audition for the Juilliard School.
- Over 3,000 records, including original music recorded for films, commercials, and collaborations.
- MPC1000, JUNO G Keyboard, MIDI keyboard, studio monitors, Apple computers, Sony headphones.
- Reason and ProTools software.
- Music archives from years of work with artists such as Teflon, Planet Asia, and M.O.P.
Producer Madlib confirmed that his house, too, was lost in the fires. Madlib, who has worked with the biggest names in the industry (Kanye, Kendrick, MF DOOM, Snoop), is known for sampling beats. His losses include a collection of thousands of rare vinyl records that are the backbone of his work. Belgium-based DJ Wan.illa NICE posted a Donorbox for Madlib.
These devastating losses are reminiscent of previous disasters: In 1996 RZA lost 300+ beats in a flood, and in 1998 Q-Tip lost 20,000 vinyl records, unreleased songs, and his entire recording studio in a fire. Of course, both of these artists and their groups have succeeded immeasurably, but that doesn’t bring back what was lost. Allegedly, unheard original versions of Wu-Tang’s solo albums were lost in the flood, and the fire was the reason The Love Movement was delayed, only being released after A Tribe Called Quest broke up.
Not only have traces of Hip Hop’s past been lost in LA, the future is at stake. Madlib founded and runs the Madlib Invazion label, which supports genre-defying artists. The fires may delay music from those influential and innovative projects.
Up-and-coming rapper and Twitch streamer DDG told his fans that not only did he lose his mansion, but he subsequently learned that he doesn’t have fire insurance, costing him millions. Thousands of other Californians face similar losses, having recently been dropped by their home insurers
More Art Lost
Though the hip-hop community has been dealt a great loss, the community will persevere, reshape, and grow. Like wildflowers that thrive in the destructive path of forest fires, a new landscape will appear in clubs and on streaming platforms and the radio. Inspiration will be drawn from the ash.
In addition to Broadway, Moore, Jazimoto, and Madlib’s lost collections of equipment and intellectual property, fire victims have reported losing a variety of priceless American artifacts. Art insurer Simon de Burgh Codrington told Vulture that the art losses from the 2025 LA fires are “substantial and possibly one of the most impactful…ever in America,” with an unknown amount of important art destroyed in the homes of some of the most wealthy and connected Americans.
Late composer Arnold Schoenberg’s son Larry Schoenberg’s home burnt down, losing an estimated 100,000 of his father’s scores. Schoenberg reports that innumerable invaluable documents from his publishing house, Belmont Music Publishing, were also lost. Reportedly, the digital backups of the scores and documents were also destroyed.
Writer Colm Tóibín wrote in the London Review of Books that signed, rare, weird, and treasured books from novelist, playwright, and social critic Gary Indiana had recently been moved to an artists’ residence in Altadena. The entire collection was burned.
The last destroyed collection, discovered thus far, is art collector Ron Rivlin’s multi-millions worth of Andy Warhol, Keith Haring, and Damien Hirst paintings and prints. While most Angelenos were grabbing their pets, dirty laundry baskets, deeds, and cash, Rivlin grabbed three Warhols, which he was able to save.
Lives Lost
Though the loss of priceless works and collections is a tragedy, a deeper tragedy is the thousands of displaced human beings; the truest loss is at least 28 souls, so far, with more than 30 still missing. In the third week of fires, Red Flag Warnings and evacuations are still being issued; though some families have been able to return home as wind speeds fluctuate. Rain may even be in the forecast.
15 victims of the fires have been identified and named, as of January 22, 2025:
- Victor Shaw
- Rory Sykes
- Anthony Mitchell
- Justin Mitchell
- Randall Miod
- Annette Rossilli
- Rodney Nickerson
- Charles (Charlie) Mortimer
- Evelyn McClendon
- Arthur Simoneau
- Dalyce Curry
- Kim Winiecki
- Jeffrey Takeyama
- Zhi Feng Zhao
- Mark Shterenberg
Heart-wrenching stories have emerged as victims are identified. Anthony and Justin Mitchell were both disabled and passed together, waiting for an ambulance to pick them up. Child actor Rory Sikes was also disabled and unable to evacuate the 17-acre property where he lived. Miod, Shaw, and Simoneau were found having been attempting to save their homes. Others, like Curry, Mortimer, Nickerson, Rossilli, and Winiecki were elderly and unable to evacuate. Evelyn McClendon’s family returned to the burnt rubble of their neighborhood and found her body.
May the lost souls rest in peace and their memories be cherished.
What Comes Next
California (and most of the coastal US) is in the middle of a housing crisis, with homelessness at record levels and rising rent and home prices. The fires are going to stretch the state thinner than ever before, with 12,000+ homes and businesses destroyed and tens to hundreds of thousands of people displaced. In a CNN Business article, LA real estate agent Jeremiah Vancans claims that he’s seen some rent prices hiked by thousands, up 20%, in one week.
The LA real estate agents interviewed by CNN Business state that it will be three to five years before the affected areas are rebuilt. They share how bidding wars have been raging in the city since 2020, and with so many new households suddenly in need of housing, the market will be brutal for home buyers. Some who have lost their homes and are looking for leases have been asked for a full year‘s worth of rent, up front.
Price spikes in an already-tough housing market will force many out of the city, including up-and-coming artists, writers, and producers, unable to afford the skyrocketing cost of living.
Declining quality of life in California, in conjunction with filming and production incentives from states around the country, may move American entertainment-media centers away from LA. In recent years, cities like Atlanta, Albuquerque, Austin, and New York have been increasingly popular locales for filming and producing shows and movies.
To combat the hardship that follows any disaster, many celebrities and organizations are using their influence to raise money for those who have been impacted. Beyoncé’s BeyGOOD pledged $2.5 million to her newly-created LA Fire Relief Fund, and Netflix and Comcast each donated $10 million to fire relief funds. The Screen Actors Guild and Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS pledged $1 million and $500,000, respectively, to aid displaced Angelinos.
Others in the Hip Hop community are volunteering time and energy, in addition to money. Compton-born The Game has been contributing on the frontlines, distributing supplies and reuniting lost pets with their owners.
While The Game has been helping physically, Vince Staples has been helping by verbally exposing systemic failures in LA. Staples shared that developers have already reached out to buy the land where his house stood, a predatory act eerily reminiscent of the land-grab accusations after the devastating Maui fire in 2023. Staples is known as one of the most outspoken rappers, so it’s easy to imagine that victims without a platform, unable to speak out, may succumb to similar schemes.
Systemic Failure
Gavin Newsom and Karen Bass have many tough questions to face in the coming weeks and months. In addition to how they will combat the unprecedented housing crisis, they will have to defend cutting the LAFD budget and emptying reservoirs in drought-plagued California.
Though the state is one of the most well-equipped to battle fires, with stringent building codes, LA County (the most populous county in the country) does not yet have completed fire plans or effective evacuation systems. Though their building codes allow more time for families to escape their residences amidst a fire, they result in high building costs and long construction timelines. Crews will need to choose: compromise the integrity of neighborhoods by building quickly or cause a years-long wait to properly rebuild affected communities. Gavin Newsom signed an executive order this week to “[cut] red tape for rebuilding efforts.” The order also protects home builders against inflated building material costs and storage and construction services costs for the next year.
The US government is being scrutinized for its response as well, offering meager payments of $770 to victims of the LA fires. Factcheck.org, however, indicates that there are other ways for Californians to apply for government aid to cover home repairs and medical expenses.
California, US, and world policy and technology leaders have another important question to answer, regarding rising global temperatures and increased rates and intensity of natural disasters: How do we combat the environmental impact of Artificial Intelligence? With many of the world leaders in the rapidly growing AI industry headquartered in parched California, activists are pushing for regulations on the obscene amounts of water used in data storage and computing facilities.
AI has also had a significant impact on the hip hop industry and music, in general. With each update and release, the growing list of AI music-generation apps makes it easier to create high-quality, AI-generated instrumentation, vocals, and complete compositions. The more real the music sounds, the harder it is to differentiate between blood, sweat, and tears in the studio and gallons of California water in a server’s cooling tubes. There have been Drake and The Weeknd AI songs that sound so real, they went viral and were submitted to the Grammy’s.
Amidst Tragedy, Hip-Hop Perseveres
As it has since the late 20th Century, the Hip Hop community will come together through lost vinyls, beats, and equipment. Always resilient, Hip Hop, blossoming with powerful and reinvigorated voices, will emerge from the LA fires.
The Hip Hop community has already come together to raise money for each other and other citizens, donated their time on the front lines, and spoken out on the injustices of natural disasters. That’s the nature of Hip Hop: community building and activism.
But that positive mindset won’t bring back already at-risk Angelinos’ lost homes and possessions, the great manuscripts and paintings, or lost vinyls, beats, and equipment. History, erased in a blink.
American citizens and art lovers, activists and hip hop heads must work together, alongside our politicians and leaders to preserve as much life, art, thought, and documentation as possible, ensuring that the next generations avoid our mistakes.
Our leaders must thoughtfully distribute resources throughout all income levels in our communities and fight the injustices of corporate greed that have resulted in the housing crisis and wasteful, unchecked technology development, draining our water supply and burning our forests.