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"General" Jeff Page (born July 07, 1965) was a West Coast hip hop pioneer and activist in the Skid Row community of downtown Los Angeles.

= Biography = General Jeff was an actor and West Coast hip hop artist from the late 80's through early 90's from South Central Los Angeles who became a social justice activist later in life. General Jeff graduated from Crenshaw High School in the early 80's with contemporaries such as Ice-T and Darryl Strawberry. General Jeff has acting credits in Grand Theft Auto V (2013) and Sunset in the Golden State (2019).

=West Coast Hip Hop Pioneer= General Jeff was a DJ affiliated with Uncle Jamm's Army who first got his start as a part of Bobby Jimmy & The Critters. He wrote for Russ Parr aka Bobby Jimmy from 1984-1986 and starred as the rapping roach in the popular parody song “Roaches” in the group’s song and video. General Jeff joined the duo of Rodney-O & Joe Cooley as a rapper and producer, appearing in songs and album covers between 1988-1991. Although the group kept the duo’s name in the title, General Jeff played a big part in the group, making it a trio. After parting from the group, General Jeff remained in the industry as an assistant and advisor to DJ Quik. In 1995, General Jeff appeared on the west coast posse cut "Keep Tha 'P' in It" on DJ Quik's Safe + Sound album. On March 9, 1997, he went with Quik and his Posse to the Vibe party in Los Angeles the night The Notorious B.I.G was murdered. While they were waiting to get in the venue, shots rang out nearby and people started panicking and running. Because Quik was spotted running outside of the venue during this chaotic scene, he became a person of interest by the Los Angeles Police Department who wanted to question him about the murder. Quik wasn’t sure if Biggie’s death meant it was open season on rappers and could possibly be a target himself, so he and General Jeff went underground and remained in hiding until they got word that Quik was only wanted for questioning, at which time statements were given and Quik was ultimately cleared of any suspicion.

=Skid Row Activism=

“Issues and Solutions”
“…when I first got here in 2006 I would go sit in on a whole bunch of meetings at the nonprofit organizations in Skid Row…I got so sick and tired of them only talking about the issues. My concept was—let me find the meetings where they’re talking about the issues and the solutions. You know, ‘cause usually they talk about some stuff—complain, complain, complain—okay, that’s it for today…And I’m thinking—when are we going to get to the solutions? That was the impetus for me to name my organization Issues and Solutions. Kinda’ like, remind people, every time they say it, the last thing out their mouth is solutions. Well, that’s subliminal programming on my behalf, to get people to focus on the solutions for Skid Row more so than the issues.” – General Jeff

General Jeff founded the organization Issues and Solutions in 2007 to provide charitable public benefit services to Skid Row residents by immediately addressing the needs of the homeless and extremely poor through activism, advocacy, community research, planning, development & education. General Jeff also served on California’s Office of Health Equity Advisory Committee.

The Skid Row 3on3 Streetball League and Nike Basketball Court
In 2006, General Jeff began lobbying various city officials for a new basketball court to replace the cracked concrete surface area residents had been using. Eventually, he helped work a partnership with the Department of Recreation and Parks and the LA84 Foundation, which uses leftover funds from the 1984 Olympics to pay for athletic programs throughout the city. The foundation had its own partnership with Nike, which donated a new court surface fashioned from the rubber of recycled shoes. That’s why Nike’s trademark “swoosh” is painted on the center of a court in Skid Row.

Access To Clean Drinking Water
Not only was the park furniture and basketball court in disrepair at Gladys Park, but the water fountain was corroded too – yet another symbol of the longstanding neglect Skid Row suffered from. In May 2008, General Jeff initiated an inquiry to The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) regarding the drinking water at both Gladys and San Julian Parks. This resulted in the Department of Recreation and Parks not only replacing the drinking fountain units, but also most of the adjoining underground pipes at Gladys Park. General Jeff also advocated for additional drinking fountains outside the parks in the Skid Row neighborhood.

Christmas in Skid Row/Gladys and San Julian Parks
In December 2008, General Jeff organized a project with the LADWP called “Christmas in Skid Row/Gladys Park” which included a Christmas tree, lights and decorations meant to bring joy to area residents. This project continues to this day in both Skid Row parks, now with the full support of the Department of Recreation and Parks.

Skid Row City Limits Mural
The Skid Row City Limits Mural was installed in compliance with the city's mural ordinance, the project was created and organized by General Jeff by his Issues and Solutions organization, with mural installation led by local street art crew Winston Death Squad. It was carried out solely with volunteer labor from Skid Row citizens and without the aid of any non-profit service organizations.

Skid Row Neighborhood Council
General Jeff was the lead organizer for a 2017 effort to create a Skid Row Neighborhood Council that included a highly contentious "subdivision" election. The election was required by the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment in order for a new council to be formed. Prior to this, he served several years on the Downtown Los Angeles Neighborhood Council representing Skid Row. This push would have given local stakeholders their own advisory body, which would have been part of the city's neighborhood council system. The Dept. of Neighborhood Empowerment claimed the votes were not enough to form a new council. However, the city imposed several last-minute rule changes, including the addition of "electronic online voting" which had the effect of disadvantaging local residents. A special panel was convened regarding the subdivision election that recommended an independent investigation (which was never done). General Jeff took the city to court over the matter. Even though the City Attorney ultimately admitted that the city destroyed all records of "electronic" votes cast (ballots), so that any re-count would be impossible, a Superior Court Judge decided against the formation of a Skid Row Neighborhood Council.

“I hear a lot about progress, but the progress has not been made on Skid Row, only around Skid Row. And that’s exactly why Skid Row wants to have the chance to represent itself.” - General Jeff

=The Skid Row Park Advisory Board= General Jeff felt strongly that green space and physical activity were important components for a healthy community which is why his early activism focused heavily on improvements to Gladys Park and San Julian Park, both within the Skid Row neighborhood. General Jeff lobbied the Department of Recreation and Parks to help form an official Skid Row Park Advisory Board (PAB) which held its first meeting in October of 2020. The Skid Row PAB can advocate for resources to implement park programming and ongoing improvements.

=General Jeff Park= On February 23, 2022, Los Angeles Councilman Kevin de León initiated a Motion to rename Gladys Park, "General Jeff Park". The naming became official by City Council vote on May 13, 2022. Part of the Motion reads, "General Jeff began to advocate for Gladys Park, with the idea that green spaces were an important component of a healthy community. Working alongside the community, “Issues and Solutions" was able to replace the broken park benches, fix the cracked surface on the basketball court, upgrade the drinking fountain, and get increased cleaning from the Department of Recreation and Parks (RAP)." Details of signage inside the park were being worked out as of late 2022.

=References=

=External links=


 * Get to Know General Jeff, the Multi-Talented Mayor of LA's Skid Row - Curbed LA, Mar 10, 2016


 * General Jeff Says It Loud - theLAnd (thelandmag.com)


 * RedefineHipHop: General Jeff Interview Part 1 of 2 (West Coast Pioneer!!) - YouTube


 * RedefineHipHop: General Jeff Interview Part 2 of 2 (West Coast Pioneer!!) - YouTube


 * General Jeff on Uncle Jamm's Army Starting Street Teams & the '80s Were LA’s Greatest Era, Unique Access Ent. - YouTube


 * General Jeff on Uncle Jamm's Army Having the Baddest DJs on the Planet & Buying His Signature Hat, Unique Access Ent. - YouTube

March 11, 2021 Dec. 24, 2020 Aug. 20, 2020 May 20, 2020 Feb. 6, 2020 Jan. 2, 2020 Oct. 24, 2019 March 13, 2019
 * One On One With Jasper Cole: THE HORRORS & HEROES OF HOMELESSNESS with General Jeff July 1, 2021


 * Slauson Girl Speaks With General Jeff on the Homeless Industrial Complex in Los Angeles, Racism and Money, Jan 19, 2021


 * RIP To West Coast Veteran And Skid Row Activist General Jeff » West Coast Styles, Oct. 21, 2021


 * The powerful legacy of General Jeff Page, 'mayor of skid row' - Los Angeles Times (latimes.com), Nov. 2, 2021


 * Rest In Power Jeffrey "General Jeff" Page L.A Activist & Hip-Hop Pioneer (slausongirl.com), Oct. 25, 2021


 * DTLA Mourns the Death of Skid Row Community Advocate and West Coast Hip Hop Legend General Jeff Page (dtlaweekly.com), Oct. 27, 2021