(Photo: Sy Smith)

The Crenshaw District in South Los Angeles was the hot bed for jazz and R&B from the 1920s to the early 1950s. It was once the stopping grown for the legendary Etta James. Director and local resident John Singleton has called it “the black Greenwich Village.”

But in recent years, it had gone unnoticed, forgotten and left, until now. Capri Capital Partners are in the process of doing a $30 million upgrade to modernize the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza, and there is much more to come. The goal is to make it an entertainment district, along the lines of LA Live or The Grove.

Already heating up this summer is the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza concert series. Promoter/organizer and music executive Angelia Bibbs-Sanders, says the series’ mission to bring back the “vibrancy of the neighborhood by truly showcasing artists from the community.”

Next on the calendar is indie soul artist Sy Smith who has performed with such artists as Usher, Whitney Houston, Macy Gray and Jaime Foxx. She takes the stage on Thursday August 5.

Also headed to the series in the coming months are the soul, jazz and funk sounds of Goapele, hip hop luminaries Cali Swag, mambo kings Lucky 7 and Nick Cannon is presenting Aaron Fresh and the School Gyrls.

For more info go www.crenshawplaza.com.