As Los Angeles’ wildfires continue to burn — and firefighters bring them under control — the city’s music community has begun to count up the heavy toll. In addition to the studios where some of music’s biggest albums were recorded, many stars’ homes were also lost to the fires, including singer Jhené Aiko and producer Madlib.
The producer, who has worked with such names as Freddie Gibbs, Mac Miller, MF DOOM, and more, announced the loss in a crowdfunding campaign post, revealing that Madlib’s family has lost “their home, decades of music, and equipment in the devastating LA fires.”
The past several years have revealed that, contrary to popular belief, most musicians and other entertainers don’t necessarily live the lives of comfortable luxury that their fans often assume they do. The fires that have destroyed so much over the past week highlighted how such losses can create setbacks for artists who rely on continual output to support themselves and their families — as well as the workers in the entertainment industry whose livelihoods depend on performing the basic administration and logistics of getting that work in front of the public. That the damage has come so soon after the equally destructive pandemic shutdowns only exacerbates the harm these disasters have caused.