Low End Theory was a weekly experimental hip hop and electronic music club night that took place every Wednesday from 2006 to 2018 at The Airliner in Lincoln Heights, Los Angeles, California.
History
"The Low End Theory" is the second studio album by American hip hop group
A Tribe Called Quest
A Tribe Called Quest was an American hip hop group formed in Queens, New York City, in 1985,Q-Tip , released on September 24, 1991, by Jive Records. The music venue Low End Theory was founded in 2006 by producer and
Alpha Pup Records
Alpha Pup Records is an American independent record label and digital distributor based in Los Angeles, California. It was founded by Daddy Kev and Danyell Jariel in 2004. ''LA Weekly'' placed it at number 2 on the "Top 10 Most Exciting L.A. Indie ...
label head
Daddy Kev
Kevin Marques Moo (born 1974), better known by his stage name Daddy Kev, is an American DJ, Grammy Award-winning audio engineer, record producer and executive from Los Angeles, California. He is the owner of Alpha Pup Records and the founder of L ...
. As the "epicenter" of L.A.'s instrumental hip hop scene, Low End Theory has become one of the most influential venues for the 'beat music' genre. Long-time resident DJs include
Daddy Kev
Kevin Marques Moo (born 1974), better known by his stage name Daddy Kev, is an American DJ, Grammy Award-winning audio engineer, record producer and executive from Los Angeles, California. He is the owner of Alpha Pup Records and the founder of L ...
D-Styles
Dave Cuasito (born July 6, 1972), better known by his stage name D-Styles, is a hip hop producer and DJ. He has been a member of Invisibl Skratch Piklz, Beat Junkies, and Third Sight. He has also been a resident DJ of Low End Theory. D-styles ...
.
"L.A.'s monolithic weekly showcase for uncut beat-driven tracks" has been a launchpad for the success of prolific electronic artists such as The Glitch Mob, Daedelus, Nosaj Thing and
Flying Lotus
Steven Ellison (born October 7, 1983), known by his stage name Flying Lotus or sometimes FlyLo, is an American record producer, DJ, filmmaker and rapper from Los Angeles. He is also the founder of the record label Brainfeeder.
Flying Lotus h ...
, who describes the club's humble beginnings as a sort of "producer's lounge". The club night "showcases the links between classic Los Angeles rap and the fractured jazz of
Eric Dolphy
Eric Allan Dolphy Jr. (June 20, 1928 – June 29, 1964) was an American jazz alto saxophonist, bass clarinetist and flautist. On a few occasions, he also played the clarinet and piccolo. Dolphy was one of several multi-instrumentalists to ...
but also demonstrates how artists are using dazzling instrument technologies to upend both of those traditions".
Low End Theory has garnered much attention after multiple performances by Thom Yorke, who played for the normal price of ten dollars. "If tickets were left to auction online, they'd bring in enough to fund a state Senate campaign".
In 2014, The First Low End Theory Festival was Held at the Echoplex in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...
Baths
Bath may refer to:
* Bathing, immersion in a fluid
** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body
** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe
* Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities
Plac ...
Teebs
Mtendere Mandowa, better known by his stage name Teebs, is an American record producer and visual artist from Los Angeles, California. He is a member of the My Hollow Drum collective. He is also one half of the duo Sons of the Morning.
Life and ...
,
Jonwayne
Jonathan Wayne (born June 5, 1990), better known by his stage name Jonwayne, is an American rapper and record producer.
Early life
Jonwayne was born in La Habra, California on June 5, 1990. He is a descendant of American Revolutionary War Gene ...
Nocando
James McCall (born June 3, 1983), better known by his stage names Nocando and All City Jimmy, is an American rapper from Los Angeles, California. He is the 2007 Scribble Jam champion and founder of Hellfyre Club. He is a member of hip hop gro ...
.
The monthly Low End Theory Podcast began in 2009 and features mixes from a resident DJ and one guest DJ. Since its inception, Low End Theory has expanded to Japan,
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
,
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...
, and
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located enti ...
, performing quarterly in Japan and every now and again in the latter three.
Closure
The final Low End Theory show occurred on August 8, 2018.