Rock and roll
Rock and roll mulai muncul sebagai gaya baru dalam bermusik di Amerika pada akhir tahun 1940-an sebagai percabangan musik country dan western produk budaya orang Amerika berkulit putih, dan musik rhythm and blues (R&B) yang merupakan produk budaya orang Afrika-Amerika. Unsur-unsur rock and roll sebenarnya sudah bisa didengar pada lagu-lagu country tahun 1930-an dan lagu-lagu blues dari tahun 1920-an. Walaupun demikian, genre musik yang baru ini tidak disebut "rock and roll" hingga pada tahun 1950-an. Bentuk awal rock and roll adalah rockabilly yang memadukan unsur-unsur R&B, blues, jazz, dan dipengaruhi musik folk Appalachia serta musik gospel. Bila ditelusur lebih jauh lagi, cikal bakal musik rock and roll bisa ditemukan di daerah slum Five Points, kota New York pada pertengahan abad ke-19. Di daerah tersebut untuk pertama kalinya terjadi percampuran antara tari Afrika yang ritmis dengan musik Eropa, khususnya musik untuk tari rakyat jig asal Irlandia yang sangat melodius.
Seni dan budaya Los Angeles
In the 1960s the Sunset Strip became a breeding ground for bands like The Byrds, Buffalo Springfield, and The Doors. Randy Newman also started his career during this time, and the Beach Boys were founded in nearby Hawthorne during this same decade as well. Much hard rock has come out of Los Angeles, including hard rockers Van Halen from nearby Pasadena, "hair bands" like Mötley Crüe, Ratt, W.A.S.P., and Guns N' Roses, thrash metal acts like Megadeth, Metallica (who later relocated to San Francisco) and Slayer (from Huntington Park), and also 90s rock bands such as Jane's Addiction, Korn and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Softer rock acts also flourished, as evidenced by the Eagles and Linda Ronstadt during the 1970s. There was a sizeable punk rock movement which spawned the hardcore punk movement featuring bands like X, Black Flag and Wasted Youth. In the 1980s, the Paisley Underground movement was native to Los Angeles. In the 1990s, Los Angeles' contribution to rock music continued with acclaimed artists such as Beck, Sublime of Long Beach, Tool, System of a Down and Rage Against the Machine. Other notable rock acts formed in Los Angeles during this decade include Linkin Park, Thirty Seconds to Mars, and No Doubt. In addition, the gangsta rap of N.W.A, and later the solo careers of Dr. Dre, Eazy-E, Ice Cube, 2Pac and Snoop Dogg, among related acts, reestablished Los Angeles (particularly the communities of Long Beach and Compton) as a center of African-American musical development and G-funk as one of hip-hop's major living styles. The 2000s saw a further flourishing of the Los Angeles rock scene with acclaimed acts such as Maroon 5 and a resurgence in West Coast hip hop in the form of rappers such as The Game. The Black Eyed Peas gained even greater popularity during this decade, and Disney stars such as Hilary Duff, Ashley Tisdale, and Miley Cyrus also anchored their singing careers in the Los Angeles area as well.