Legendary West Coast label Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE) will bring back its highly anticipated Christmas concert on December 19th and Community Giveback Day on December 20th for the tenth year to Nickerson Gardens Housing Project in Watts, California.
#TDEXMAS is the brainchild of TDE CEO Anthony “Top Dawg” Tiffith, whose purpose in bringing the event back to where he grew up every year is to see the smiles on the children in the community’s faces. This year, the two-day event will be hosted by Grammy winning rapper and TDE artist Jay Rock, who grew up at Nickerson Gardens and was honored with the key to the city of Watts in 2019.
“I grew up here and for people to see us come back and give back, it’s a blessing. I was one of these kids out here too. This lets them know that they can do this too. If there’s a kid out there trying to strive for something great, it’s motivation that no matter where you come from, you can make it out if you stay dedicated,” says Jay Rock of the significance of the annual holiday event.
A celebration of music and community, #TDEXMAS has become a holiday tradition for residents of Nickerson Gardens and the surrounding communities. The concert will feature TDE artists (SZA, Schoolboy Q, Jay Rock, Doechii, Isaiah Rashad, SiR, Ab Soul, Ray Vaughn, Reason, Zacari, Lance Skiiiwalker and Kal Banx) as well as invite special guest performances. Those wanting to attend the charitable concert can gain entry by bringing an unwrapped toy or new clothes/shoes. Donations benefit the children and families who attend the community giveback day at Nickerson Gardens the day following the concert.
The Community Giveback Day includes a youth toy drive, complimentary food and fun, as well as a job fair where applicants can interview on-site and/or receive assistance with completing employment applications. Several organizations will also offer complimentary medical services for individuals and families with no insurance or Medi-cal.
Open to the public, #TDEXMAS was created by TDE to give back to the Nickerson Gardens residents and Watts community during the holiday season.
EVENT DETAILS
Tuesday December 19th — Charitable Concert
Time: Gates open at 11:00AM PST
Location: Nickerson Gardens, 11251 Compton Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90059
Entrance Fee: Complimentary with a donation item (unwrapped toys, new clothing/shoes or other charitable contributions)
Featuring SZA, Schoolboy Q, Jay Rock, Doechii, Isaiah Rashad, SiR & special guests
Wednesday, December 20th — Community Day
Time: 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Location: Nickerson Gardens, 11251 Compton Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90059
Featuring toy drive, snow activities, free barber service, job fair and more.
About TDE:
Top Dawg Entertainment is the Los Angeles based record label founded by Anthony “Top Dawg” Tiffith in 2004. The west coast label is home to SZA, Schoolboy Q, Jay Rock, Doechii, Isaiah Rashad, SiR, Ab Soul, Ray Vaughn, Reason, Zacari, Lance Skiiiwalker and Kal Banx.
About Jay Rock:
Jay Rock has been consistently dropping offerings including the recently released “Still That Way” — an anthemic effort that has been widely celebrated and synced in the sports arena including serving as the official NFL Kick Off and Amazon Thursday Night Football song and featured on EA’s Madden 2024 and UFC 2024 soundtracks. The year also saw the release of the Ab-Soul assisted “Blowfly”, freestyle “Ambition,” “Eastside” and “Too Fast (Pull Over)” — the latter of which features Latto and Anderson .Paak and currently warming up radio airwaves across the country. The new offerings come five years after Redemption, the 2018 album that confirmed Jay Rock’s status as one of the sharpest observers and most uncompromising storytellers to emerge from California in his generation. Songs from that album earned him three of his four Grammy nominations: Best Rap Song for both “WIN” and his Kendrick Lamar, Future, and James Blake collaboration “King’s Dead,” which took home the trophy in the Best Rap Performance category and has garnered over 2.5 billion global streams and counting. “King’s Dead” was also featured on Black Panther: The Album, the widely acclaimed soundtrack to the 2018 box office hit Black Panther. Prior to 2018, Rock’s status was already unquestionable in the West. More than a decade before then, he signed a major label deal and scored a hit with the Lil Wayne — and will.i.am-assisted “All My Life (In the Ghetto).” He then landed on XXL’s coveted Freshman cover and helped spearhead TDE’s takeover of the hip-hop world. His first two albums, 2011’s Follow Me Home and 2015’s 90059, each rank among the grittiest, most acclaimed street rap albums of the century so far.
