Inspiring Stories from South LA

The heart of our mission at VoyageLA is to find the amazing souls that breathe life into our city. In the recent weeks we’ve had the privilege to connect with some of South LA’s finest artists, creatives, entrepreneurs and rebel rousers and we can’t begin to express how impressed we are with our city’s incredibly deep talent pool.  Check out South LA’s rising stars below.

Audrey Smith

Baby Girl Twin Scents was created during COVID-19 because my job closed down permanently. I remember reading this article that said candles was a growing trend and started my research of starting a candle business. Read more>>

Alice Tumas

My father is a musician from Armenia, and I moved away from there when I was only two years old. Some of my warmest memories are from visiting my sister after she got married — spending time with her in a small, beautiful town in Russia. Back then, life felt softer somehow. Now everything is a little different. Read more>>

Mike Manzo

I grew up in South Central Los Angeles, not as a visitor, not as an observer, but as someone who lived it. The streets, the culture, the consequences. I was deep in that world, and for a long time, I didn’t see a way out of it that didn’t cost me everything, including my life. Read more>>

Johara Richardson

As a child, my mother involved me in a lot of performance arts in church, including choir, praise dancing, poetry and a few plays. My interest in music and other forms of art and creation was primarily because of her. And I carried that love with me through elementary school all the way to where I’m at now. Read more>>

Wendy Lopez

I first developed an interest in skincare around the age of 20 & decided to enroll in esthetician school. During the first few weeks, I honestly felt a lot of regret because much of the curriculum was centered around massage & relaxation based treatments, which wasn’t what I initially expected. Read more>>

David Rolas

Man, where should I start… I was 13 trying to learn how to DJ . Thankful for my man Dj Ace that helped me build and get to where I’m actually at today. Went from Drive by’s to Night clubs to Radio and even up to Latin Grammy Nomination vibes. Read more>>

Nurah A.

I got interested in film when my High School English teacher gave a video assignment and I’ve been in love with it ever since. I went to college to study film and television production and ended up starting Vagabnd Media Productions by filming projects for journalism students. Read more>>

Kari Jenkins

LBC Vibe didn’t come from a boardroom. There’s no corporate backing, no city contract, no political agenda. It’s just three Long Beach locals who love this city so much we decided to do something about it. Megan and I grew up here. We went to Wilson High School together and never left this city because once you’re here, Long Beach gets in your blood. Read more>>

James Cramer

I grew up listening to my grandpa play with a bunch of pickers for retirement homes in Texas. I had two basic jobs, turn down the banjo player (he was a bit on the deaf side) and singing any Hank Williams requests. Always loved to sing, did choir for years, but never anything serious. Read more>>

AMP Collective

THE AMP COLLECTIVE Art. Music. People. Twelve years ago in Palm Springs, during DJ Big D’s 50th birthday celebration, a simple iPod setup among close friends unexpectedly became the beginning of something much bigger. What started as friends sharing music quickly revealed a deep musical chemistry between DJ Big D and Dayslayer — now known as Albius Negroni. The connection was immediate. Read more>>

IRAH BUNTING

Like most music stories, mine starts as an artist myself. I’ve been writing ever since a child but didn’t perform my first show until 2014 when I was 22 years old. Within the next five years, I had gotten a plethora of live performances under my belt. Doing shows was the best part for me. Read more>>

Row

My ambition and journey toward owning a sneaker store started while working at adidas and the designer brand Bally. For 5 years, I worked at the Citadel Outlets, getting off work at adidas and walking a few stores down to clock into my second job at Bally. At the time, being young, I only saw the paycheck and not the bigger picture. Read more>>

Derry McDermott

I started learning music around the age of 5 at the Royal Irish Academy of Music (RIAM) in Dublin. After a few years of pre-instrumental classes, I took up double bass, recorder, and piano. I also studied music theory and played in the orchestra. As I got older, I found myself gravitating more towards the piano which became my primary instrument. Read more>>

Koko Loren

My journey as an artist has taken me on different walks of life. I am an actress, a dancer, a singer, a content creator and a teacher. My passion is acting and creating content for then wild radical black girl like myself. Read more>>

Nicholas Garbesi

About 4 years ago I had no direction in life. The world was recovering from covid, and I had decided to take a gap year. Everything was bleak, uncertain and unreliable. Life had no clear path for me, I started to panic, worrying that this is what my life was going to look like forever. Read more>>

Jose Tapia

​I’ve always carried a creative spark, but for a long time, I didn’t fully realize the potential of what happens when you pour 100% of your mind into a passion. About eight years ago, I was working as a private celebrity chauffeur in Los Angeles, driving high-profile clients. During the long hours of waiting between pickups, I turned to social media out of boredom. Read more>>

Lauren Wilson

My name is MATCHA, I am 22 years old I am a graphic artist, entertainer, and entrepreneur. I grew up in south LA raised by a single mother , I am the only girl of 5 kids. We moved around a lot growing up due to unstable housing, and my mom’s mental instability. Read more>>

David Kelley

Our Goal is 2: Make People Smile  with just a pencil Read more>>

HB

I started in film by picking up a camera for independent artists and small projects, and over time I built my experience through consistency, curiosity, and real-world opportunities. I’ve shot music videos, short films, comedy sketches, and even worked with an urban online news company and the LA Times before COVID. Read more>>

Jon Ta Douglas

My story’s rooted in Compton, but my sound comes from all the places I’ve touched — jazz rooms, camera lenses, youth programs, Leimert Park, city nights. I think I’ve finally reached the point where I feel honest enough with myself to express my point of view in art form. I’ve grown up around music my whole life. Read more>>

DJ Madd Scientist

I started as a DJ with a deep love for Hip Hop, R&B, and the culture surrounding the music. Over time, DJing became more than just playing records — it became a way for me to connect people, create memories, and control the energy in a room. Read more>>

Jaumal Cade

My name is Jaumal T. Cade, also known as YNB JC. I’m a recording artist, audio engineer, writer, and youth mentor from Los Angeles. My story is really about identity, survival, growth, and learning how to turn pain into purpose. Read more>>

Ashara Holliness

I started making music when I was 17. I heard Mary J. Read more>>

Tyler Chen

I’m a drummer, pianist, composer, and educator based in Los Angeles. My musical journey started in middle school and eventually expanded into classical music, jazz, percussion, and music production. Early on, I became fascinated not only with performing music, but also with understanding how music could connect people and create shared experiences. Read more>>

Briana Murray

My journey to becoming a therapist was definitely not typical! I initially received a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science: Politics of Poverty, Ethnicity, and Gender. During my time pursuing that degree, I worked in a juvenile hall and a men’s prison with a non-profit focused on rehabilitation and decreasing recidivism. Read more>>

Alexsia Jones

I started my lash journey when I was 19. At the time, I was working a regular job and realized that all I was doing was working, so I wanted something for myself that felt creative and fulfilling. This was in 2022, and even though the beauty industry felt very oversaturated, I decided to stop overthinking it and treat it as a hobby. Read more>>

Suzanne Toro

I always had a passion for helping others and living in well being. I had a lot of immune imbalances as a child and into adulthood rooted from being part of a generation raised in autonomy, traumatic interludes with a tenacity for overcoming all things that kept us down. All of which has me holding a deep knowing that ‘All is Possible’. Read more>>