“Best vegan restaurant on EARTH…and Earth is a pretty big place. Earth is so big, I don’t even call it ‘Earth,’ I call it ‘ERF’—because it’s so big. Out of all the space on Earth, all the mountains, all the trees, the best place to eat vegan food is Crossroads on Melrose. My favorite dish is pancakes—and they only serve brunch on Saturdays and Sundays!”

“Every time I go there, it’s like I’m in L.A. but not in L.A. I get to walk from Griffith Observatory to the Hollywood Sign. It’s three to four miles, and that’s how I like to keep in shape. I also like to hike up to Wisdom Tree. While you’re up there, you can see a beautiful view of L.A.—Universal Studios, Hollywood, the beach, on a clear day you can see DTLA…it’s spectacular! If you want to have an elevated view in life…you have to hike and you have to do the work!”

“This is in Boyle Heights, where I grew up! It’s the best Mexican food in L.A.—they have amazing raspados on Fourth Street. If you want to play basketball, there’s the outdoor gym on Euclid and Evergreen. It’s also where I have my foundation, i.am Angel, on First street across from Hollenback Police Station—it’s an after-school program that provides college prep with robotics learning, financial literacy, and scholarship support. It’s grown to almost 13,000 with our partnership with LAUSD.”

“I love the shops south of Beverly on La Brea, like Undefeated and American Rag. It’s very curated and eclectic. I love that section for shopping in L.A., it’s just tough to park…the only downfall! American Rag has pretty cool thrifts mixed with limited-edition, smaller brands. They curate what they sell very well. Right up from American Rag, they also have Y-3. They have cool installments for their collection, and it’s a prime location for L.A.!”

“It reminds me of my teenage years, my twenties, my thirties, and now that I’m in my forties, I still go walk down Venice Beach, as crazy as it is. Harry Perry is still on the guitar, roller-skating, to this day. It’s the scariest beach in the world, but so is L.A.—it’s a mystical, psychedelic, precious place, and I love it. There’s a sunglasses shop in Venice—I won’t reveal the exact location and blow up my spot, but that’s where I get all my glasses.”

“If you are on the 110, when it ends, I go to Colorado, make a left, and I walk through Old Town Pasadena because it’s for original Angelenos. I love it. I enjoy going to IPIC for movies. I also love that Pasadena is the home of JPL.”

“Across from the famous CAA building is the Fairmont Hotel, and their spa is fantastic!”

“I got my start on First and Vignes in a warehouse loft. The Arts District has transformed L.A. for the better, but there’s still a lot of work to do. Firsthand, I know what transformation looks like—my upbringings through what I have now. I love what the City of Los Angeles symbolizes. The City of Angels fighting with demons—some streets have demons, and the heart of the city is angelic. The Arts District is a reflection and metaphor for the duality of L.A.”

“If you’re on Second street leaving the Arts District and you go west two blocks, you are smack in Little Tokyo!! The vibes and architecture in Little Tokyo are just magic! Right next door is a little small bookstore. I get my notebooks, manga, pencil cases, and awesome stuff there—it’s called Kinokuniya. Whomever shops for that store needs to get an award!”

“If you want to materialize your ideas with music, film, photography, AI development, and fashion, you can focus your ideas on FYI.AI, then show and tell them at our weekly Culture FYI’rs events. You can visit FYI events and get a download about awesome AI or all things where technology and dreams come to life. It’s the home for art-prenuers, like entrepreneurs but for artists.”