In Sunday Funday, L.A. people give us a play-by-play of their ideal Sunday around town. Find ideas and inspiration on where to go, what to eat and how to enjoy life on the weekends.
When South-Central hip-hop artist Blxst (pronounced “Blast”) meditates on his ideal Sunday in Los Angeles, the first word that comes to mind is family.
“Because of my career, I’m always on the road either on tour, doing a show or an interview, so I try to be intentional with this day by just spending time at home,” the 30-year-old says. I need to “recalibrate at least one time a week. That’s time with the family. So that’s my form of therapy — it’s Sunday.”
Since moving from behind the production board to blessing the mic with his own velvety vocals — starting with 2019’s “Sixtape” with Bino Riddeaux and his 2020-debut, “No Love Lost” — Blxst’s career has been on an upward trajectory. He’s since solidified himself as a leader of L.A.’s new wave of hip-hop and has worked with icons like Snoop Dogg, Nas and Kendrick Lamar. (Blxst received two Grammy nominations, his first, for his shiny feature on Lamar’s 2022 song “Die Hard.”) Blxst is slated to perform at the Life Is Beautiful music festival in September in Las Vegas.
“This is my first time engaging in success and things of that nature, so I’m learning as I go,” says Blxst, who released a four-song project called “Just for Clarity 2” in March that’s dedicated to L.A.
“I’m learning how to value time and balance with my family and my son,” he says.
“It’s a learning process overall, but I think for the most part, I’m dedicating time to myself, making sure that I’m taking time out to self-care. And making sure that I’m staying creative because, at the end of the day, this is the ship for everything. I have to have an open mind. I have to be balanced enough to keep moving forward.”
For someone who often makes feel-good music that makes you want to go on a long drive along PCH or two-step at a day party, it may come as a surprise that Blxst prefers to spend his Sundays at home. But even if he’s just working on his debut album at his home studio, he still likes to put on a fit.
“I just like to be fly, even on my off days,” says Blxst. “I don’t really step out that often for shopping. I keep it niche.” His favorite L.A. shopping destinations are the Westfield Topanga mall and H. Lorenzo.
For Blxst’s ideal Sunday in L.A., he invites us to his crib. This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for length and clarity.
10 a.m.: Family first
To me, a Sunday is like a light day because this is the day I choose to hang out with my family. So I’d probably wake up a little later than normal — maybe like 9 or 10 a.m. — and get an extra hour or two of sleep in, then just reach out to my family to see what they’re doing today. Usually during the week, I get up around 7 or 8 a.m. I take my 5-year-old son to school sometimes, so I have to get out the door by 8 a.m. most days.
Sundays are an off-day for most of my family, so I’d probably tap in with my mom and my dad to see if they want to come over to the house to maybe watch some sports or something. Catch some good Sunday football. I’m a big 49ers fan, and I actually took my dad to a 49ers game a couple of months ago. He loved that. It was his first football game ever. My dad loves watching ESPN, so we’d just throw that on in the background and just talk about our week or just catch up because normally I’m on the road a lot, so I try to be intentional on this day and dedicate it to family. My family wants to know every detail of what’s going on in my career, because they feel like they never can sit me down in a room for more than one hour. So it’s 1,000 questions from my dad. “You just did a song with Roddy Ricch? You just did a song with Rick Ross? When is that song coming out?”
As a kid, on the weekends, I didn’t even want to see my family. I wanted to hang out with my friends. I’d probably catch the train to go skateboarding. Things like that. Just hanging out late at night, trying to create my own curfew. But as I got older, I realized the value of family and you want to keep them as close as possible. My mom always preaches that with me and my siblings like, “We’re not going to be here forever, so stay in contact with your family. Stay in contact with your sisters.” So I try to instill that at least once a week.
1 p.m.: Quality time over pizza and sports
I’d just wait for the family to pull up. My sister, she’s like my best friend. She has a son close in age with my son, so that’s a good time for them to bond as well. I have a pool table at the house, so sometimes my family and I just talk over a game of pool, and then we’ll order some food. I’d try to order something large for everybody to eat, so it’ll probably be pizza. Some cheese pizza from Domino’s. Some olive pizza. I’m a big fan of olives. Growing up, I loved olives. I think I get it from my mom. I had a weird taste palate growing up. We used to eat weird stuff like canned oysters, pepperoni and crackers and olives just as a snack.
6 p.m.: Play the “Spider-Man” video game with my son
My family is probably heading out because they have work the next day. I would take this time to bond with my son. He’s a big fan of Spider-Man, and I just bought him a Spider-Man game on PlayStation 5. So, you know, he’s always like, “Dad, can you play the game with me?” and he always ends up passing me the control because he can’t beat the boss.
7:30 p.m.: Cook homemade vegan tacos and nachos
I’d probably cook on my own. My accountant told me I spend too much on Postmates [laughs]. So I’d probably make some vegan tacos. Extra olives on the side with the nachos. I like to chop up tomatoes, chop up some green onions. Nothing too fancy. It’s just straight to the point. I feel like the presentation is better than the actual dish.
I can’t eat without watching something. I don’t know what it is. Whenever I give my son a meal now he’s like, “Where’s my iPad? I got something while I’m eating.” I passed that trait down to him. So I’d probably throw on a movie. I have a little media room at my house. It’s not a man cave because I still share it with my family [laughs]. So we can dim the lights, watch a movie, catch up on a Netflix or Hulu series. I’m a big fan of “Snowfall” right now. So that’s probably what I end up watching before I go to sleep.
One of my favorite vegan restaurants in L.A. is Crossroads Kitchen on Melrose. It’s fire. They have good parmesan chicken that never fails. There’s another vegan spot called Sage that has a good vegan chili. I love food, so those are my two favorite right now. I cheat on veganism sometimes, but I would say I’m 80/20 [laughs].
9:30 p.m. White wine to wind down
I love a sauvignon blanc. Nothing specific. I just love white wine. I’d probably use that to wind down before I go to sleep. You know, get cozy. I’m ready to turn it in. I have to tuck my son in for bed. I throw on the “Animal” channel on Netflix. That’s what I turn on for him to go to sleep. It’s really peaceful. Then I’d probably run a hot shower for myself. I can smell the eucalyptus right now in the shower as I’m thinking about it. I’ll go to sleep around 10 or 11 p.m. on a Sunday. I have to take my son to school in the morning, so that’s the perfect time for me to get well rested, wake up and get back to work.
This story originally appeared on LA Times
