Join the Library Foundation of Los Angeles and the Los Angeles Public Library for an evening of rhymes, music, and eats to raise awareness about food history and food justice in Los Angeles. On Sunday, August 9, hip hop artist Rakaa Iriscience of Dilated Peoples, chef Roy Choi, and USC professor Josh Kun will host “To Live and Dine in L.A.: A Live Mixtape,” an unparalleled Los Angeles evening, where beats and rhymes (and jarocho and opera) will meet food history and a discussion of food justice. Through music, film, storytelling, and more, an all-star line-up of very special guests will take the audience on a DJ-driven, multidimensional journey through the menu collection of the Los Angeles Public Library and also shine an important light on the issues of food insecurity currently facing the city.

Part of the Library Foundation of Los Angeles’ “To Live and Dine in L.A.” project that explores the Library’s vast menu collection – featuring a new book from Angel City Press, an exhibition at Central Library, and more than 50 programs at libraries across the city – the evening will seek to answer the questions: How can we activate history to awaken the present? How can historic menus from the Library’s collection help spark new conversations about food access, raise awareness around food history, and draw attention to food injustice in contemporary Los Angeles?

Joining Rakaa, Roy, and Josh on this journey will be:

• LA Opera Mezzo Soprano Suzanna Guzman, singing the menu of her beloved El Tepeyac restaurant
• Actor Roger Guenveur Smith and performance artist Mark Broyard with their critically-acclaimed stage piece “Inside the Creole Mafia”
• Evan Kleiman, celebrated host of KCRW’s “Good Food,” with an onstage interview
• Jarocho musicians César Castro, Cambalache, and Son del Centro with a fandango for food justice
• Chris Cormier, director of food services at the Los Angeles Mission
• DJ Cavem Moetavation and Alkemia Earth with an interactive Culinary Concert
• Actress Tembi Locke of “The Kitchen Widow” sharing about the comfort of food in times of grief
• The creators of “Los Angeles Eats Itself” with a custom menu inspired by one of the city’s most notorious moments
• Restaurateur Nes Abegaze and hip hop DJ Ras G with Ethiopian beats and food stories
• Mexico City legend Luis Perez Ixoneztli with a musical blessing
• L.A. Son Roy Choi and legendary battle rapper MC Supernatural with a never-before-seen Los Angeles menu freestyle
• All stitched together by DJ Zo (The LINE Hotel, Soho House)
• And much, much more…

During the evening, The Regent’s Prufrock Pizzeria will serve remixed versions of dishes featured in the Library’s menu collection. An exciting selection of food trucks, as well as the Library Foundation’s Library Store On Wheels, will be on-hand after the show.

Doors open at 6:00 p.m., show at 7:00 p.m at The Regent Theater at 448 S. Main Street Los Angeles, CA 90013.

Tickets are $20 ($16 for Library Foundation Members) general admission; $60 VIP ($48 for Library Foundation Members), which includes priority seating and a special cocktail reception. Tickets are now on sale through The Regent’s website.

Visit lfla.dev/live-and-dine for more information about the “To Live and Dine in L.A.” project. Spread the word and join the conversation about Los Angeles’ history and present online by tagging your tweets and posts with #ToLiveandDineLA. Purchase To Live and Dine in L.A.: Menus and the Making of the Modern City through The Library Store and benefit the Los Angeles Public Library. To explore the menu collection and other special collections, visit lapl.org