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Los Angeles Times
10-08-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
Ice Cube and Dwight Howard tout Big3's potential during festive Intuit Dome visit
The BIG3 basketball atmosphere is one of a West Coast summer-style block party — quite literally — bursting with frenetic hip-hop energy brought straight to the hardwood. At the center is legendary rapper and Hollywood A-lister Ice Cube, who, between games, stands before a BIG3-branded backdrop in the bowels of the Intuit Dome, greeting families and flashing Westside hand signs as cameras click. 'It takes a village; all these people have honed their skills to be the best,' Ice Cube, the league's co-owner and founder, said of the atmosphere. Rooted in the streetball tradition of three-on-three hoops played on neighborhood blacktops, the league rolled out its Summer in the City tour — a day-long showcase with eight teams vying for a $1 million championship. Not shy on production value, few sporting events offer such an intimate setting — players mingling casually around the concourse, almost like an AAU tournament. Or comedic stars Anthony Anderson and Cedric the Entertainer serving as guest sideline reporters, greeting every fan who stops by with a quick hello. But for the South-Central–born rapper, whose league has toured the country, Saturday's showcase in Inglewood marked the first time his hometown crowd could watch one of the BIG3's newest — and first privately owned — franchises, the LA Riot, play live. A franchise namesake born from L.A.'s history of tumultuous racial unrest — evoking memories of the 1992 Rodney King riots — also symbolizes a movement, rebellion and cultural takeover, just as Ice Cube envisioned. 'It was a dream come true, not too far from where I grew up,' Ice Cube said. 'So to have a league like this, right at the house, is just beautiful.' After seven years of unaffiliated teams, the BIG3 shifted to a city-based model to cultivate loyal fan bases and sell franchises to local owners. Using L.A. as the blueprint — with a $10 million price tag — the hope is to bring long-term stability to the league. 'We're going to these eight cities every year,' Ice Cube said. 'We can plan long term, hopefully grow the league to other cities, [who] want to get in on the act.' Since 2017, part of that stability has been built on the backs of veteran players — athletes well past their NBA primes and no longer chasing NBA contracts. Among them is newly elected Naismith Hall of Famer Dwight Howard, alongside names like Joe Johnson, Michael Beasley, and Lance Stephenson. Howard, a member of the 2020 Lakers championship team, made a highly anticipated return to the city where he played three seasons across three separate stints. With his signing, he has become the face of the Riot, committing to play his final season of professional basketball with the club. 'It's our first year, we're just getting started,' Howard said. 'We're looking forward to keeping it going. Obviously, the first year is always a little difficult — trying to get to know each other — but we're doing a great job.' Howard has dabbled in ownership ventures, investing $7 million to purchase the WNBA Atlanta Dream — a deal that later turned out to be a scam — and joining The Asian Tournament, an international league, as a co-owner and player for the Taiwan Mustangs. In his first Big3 season, Howard has witnessed how well the league connects with its fans, a connection he believes will be key to its long-term success. Christopher Thomas, 35, a lifelong Angeleno who brought his daughter and best friend to Saturday's Big3 games, was rocking a No. 12 Howard Riot jersey. Thomas left the arena converted after initially scoring free tickets through his job. 'I have to admit, I never heard of the BIG3,' Thomas said. 'Now I'm leaving as a Riot fan, especially with my boy Dwight Howard on the team.' For Thomas, the draw went beyond basketball. It was the atmosphere, constant energy between games and novelty the league offered. The experience was 'something new, something different,' he said — the kind that will have him back in the stands when the BIG3 returns to town. Making headway in localized markets, Howard — who has played overseas several times throughout his career — says the league can also tap into those international markets with smart decisions and profitability. 'Oh, international,' Howard said. 'BIG3 international is what we're looking for.' On the globalization front, the league is planning exhibitions in Australia and Asia, which Ice Cube hopes will come to fruition soon. For now, though, the focus remains on expanding and privatizing within the U.S., beyond L.A., Houston, Detroit and Miami. The BIG3 also aims to grow beyond its current eight-team format by securing investors for four city-based teams, and then aims for further expansion down the line. 'We got some smart people who are buying teams, people who can help us grow the league,' Ice Cube said. 'Not just sign a check, but to help us be innovative. Help us with sponsors. We want owners who are active.' While expansion plans continue to be discussed behind closed doors, the league's public focus remains on its fast, physical and unpredictable style — all of which was on full display as the action at the Intuit Dome wound down. The Riot's matchup against the Boston Ball Hogs came down to the wire with a playoff berth on the line. Clawing back from a 48-45 deficit, the Riot unleashed desperate four-point shots and dove for loose balls galore. Eventually taking the lead, the Riot-friendly crowd spilled from its seats into the walkways surrounding the court, watching with bated breath as Jordan Crawford drained a walk-off three-pointer to seal a 52-48 victory. 'At the end of the day, I can only do so much to get people hyped up,' Ice Cube said of the appeal of the Big3. 'The basketball has to be pure.'
Los Angeles Times
03-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
L.A.'s answer to Tiny Desk is hiding inside Mercado La Paloma
Yesi Ortiz has been chasing a sense of home ever since her mixed-status family was forced to bounce between Southern California, Las Vegas and Baja California, Mexico. Now, the former radio host of L.A.'s hip-hop station Power 106-FM and cast member of VH1 series 'Love & Hip Hop: Hollywood' is building that home herself — by transforming a Historic South-Central food hall with a Michelin-star pedigree into a DIY concert venue. There, she hosts what's known simply as 'The Rehearsal.' (Because it must be said: No, it's not related to Nathan Fielder's HBO series of the same name.) The Rehearsal, which opened its sixth season last month at Mercado La Paloma, is a live showcase for young musical talent hoping to be seen and for seasoned musicians who want to try out new material in front of an audience. It's also streamed live on Twitch and YouTube each Friday night. Ortiz and her team describe it as the kind of show 'you go to find the real ones before they break.' 'I love the Tiny Desk comparison because that's what Tiny Desk used to be: a place to find undiscovered talent,' Rehearsal co-founder Levi Downey explained. 'I still love it, but it's not that anymore.' Downey said NPR Music's flagship video series has increasingly catered more to established talent, like gospel singer Marvin Sapp, and superstars such as Bad Bunny, Sabrina Carpenter and Billie Eilish. For Ortiz, the Rehearsal represents something even deeper: a culmination of decades spent navigating survival, sacrifice and ambition. 'I spent a lot of my life basically chasing jobs because I had a family to take care of,' recalled Ortiz, who adopted her seven nieces and nephews when she was in her early 20s. 'I had seven kids, my mom, my sister, my brother, my stepdad and my dad, who was in a nursing care facility, who all depended on me. If I need to go work a red carpet so I can get a check, I'm making that happen. If I need to move to Tijuana, I'm making that happen.' After almost 20 years raising a family while hosting radio shows, reality shows, talk shows and red carpets, Ortiz said the Rehearsal finally feels like she's gotten to where she was meant to be. 'I love music,' she said. 'I want to represent my community. I want to represent my people, and that's all I want to do. I get to do that with [the Rehearsal].' According to Ortiz, the idea to create a space for 'real ones' was born in the spring of 2022 as a counter to L.A.'s notoriously predatory 'pay-to-play' live music scene. Pay-to-play is a custom where fledgling artists are given a set number of tickets they have for pre-sale in order to perform at a venue. Any tickets they don't sell come out of the artists' own pocket. In these kinds of deals, artists hardly get a share in any ticket sales. 'I was managing this musician and she was like, 'I just want to perform onstage,'' Ortiz said. 'But the way live music in L.A. works for up-and-coming artists is you have to essentially pay venues to perform there.' Ortiz partnered with music producer David Tam to turn her Boyle Heights backyard into a showcase for undiscovered talent. 'That first show was a disaster,' she recalled. Yet from that show, Ortiz and Tam connected with like-minded musicians, such as Downey and Shani Gaines-Bernard, the niece of disco legend Donna Summer, to create the Rehearsal. 'It feels like a watering hole,' Gaines-Bernard said. 'Artists come to [the Rehearsal] to drink and to showcase their stuff. Industry people who are looking for new artists come to this watering hole to discover that. There are people that come because they love the vibe. Everyone's coming to be nourished from this watering hole.' In the summer of 2023, Ortiz and her team partnered with Mercado La Paloma to premiere the revamped Rehearsal. In 2024, Mercado La Paloma became best known for its Michelin-star-winning ceviche counter Holbox — and rightly so. Chef Gilberto Cetina Jr. and his brigade of talented line cooks make an uni-topped ceviche tostada that make the finest caviar blinis seem like Cheese Whiz on Ritz crackers. But Ortiz pointed out that Mercado La Paloma has always been a place to find community. The Mercado was founded some 30 years ago by Mexican immigrants who missed the beloved open-air markets of their hometowns. These days — at least on Friday nights — the space offers musicians an equitable spotlight. Ortiz is no stranger to chasing stardom herself. After moonlighting in the music world while working full time as a nurse, Ortiz got her first break hosting a Latin hip-hop show in Las Vegas, then worked stints on music radio stations in Tijuana and San Diego. She eventually landed a hit show on Power 106-FM, L.A.'s No. 1 hip-hop station; for several years, Ortiz led the midday airwaves with her 'New at Two' segment, where she would introduce new music from established artists and underground artists that had not broken into the mainstream yet. 'My first day on Power, the music director comes in and he's like, 'So I know it's your first day. Congratulations. You're interviewing Sean Paul in 10 minutes.'' Ortiz recalled. 'I was like, 'Wait, what? Hold on!'' She parlayed her radio success into TV notoriety, starring in the first season of 'Love & Hip Hop' and hosting an entertainment segment on 'The Talk.' Ortiz said she was on a mission to be 'the female Ryan Seacrest, because he had lots of jobs.' Yet these days, she is much more comfortable working with her team to foster the next generation of talent with the Rehearsal. And she hopes it grows to multiple venues, cities and even countries. 'That's the goal. Just to make a bigger space for more artists. But without losing the intimacy of it,' she said. 'We like how it's small and mighty. But hopefully we can scale that organically.'
