Keith Madison had to leave college when he became a young father. He hopes to return to school someday and dreams of becoming a rap artist. (Michelle Toh)

This story is part of a Neon Tommy series exploring the lives of low-wage workers in South Los Angeles. In his State of the Union address this February, President Obama unveiled a plan for the minimum wage to be raised to $9 an hour from its current level at $7.25.

The issue of minimum wage became one of renewed pivotal importance in the final weeks of the L.A. mayoral election, with candidate Wendy Greuel pledging to support an increase in the wages of hotel workers to $15 an hour. Workers featured in this series earn wages below, at, or slightly above the California minimum wage rate, which currently stands at $8 an hour. These are the workers who would be affected by a new policy.

 Twenty-two-year-old Keith Madison was studying music at L.A. City College before leaving school for personal reasons. “I was at school or whatever…  But I had my first child, you know. She wasn’t born not too long ago. So I had to just, you know, worry about [that]…”

Today, Madison works at the University Village Flagship Theater on a part-time basis, earning $8 an hour. “I’m a cashier, concession worker, box office worker, all around,” the South L.A. native said.

His daughter is now 6 months old. “It was something I needed quick,” he said of the job. “I wouldn’t look at it as pressure, really. I try not to pressure myself too much.”

Before landing this position, Madison said he did “electrician work,” a job he was referred to by a friend. “It’s cool, I mean it was commission work,” he said. 

Madison worked for his friend’s father at this job for six months before business got slow. In the beginning, “It’s two weeks, honestly,” he said of the training. “Some pick it up faster than others.”

 “But I never rule school out. It’s going to happen, most definitely,” he said. 

His main passion, however, lies in rap music, working with a friend from high school who helped him produce videos. “Being where I come from, I use it because I’m a lyrical type of artist. I’m into poetry, you know what I mean? I was really deep into that,” he said. “There’s [sic] a lot of things I want to learn about different instruments. I like to learn the drums, because that’s a big part of my sound.”

Madison said he wanted to use his music to tell his everyday story. “Because I feel like people should know the type of life I live. Everybody talks about materialistic things in hip-hop. And they don’t really talk about what’s going on in the neighborhoods of today.” 

Unfortunately, the plaza’s revamp to the aptly named “USC Village” will threaten the livelihoods of dozens of workers, Madison included. “I heard they were tearing this thing down soon,” he said, gesturing to his surroundings. “So I might be out of a job.”

The young father is currently preparing to begin a new job as a security officer in a few months.  “I always have a back-up plan,” he said.

For more stories from this series, click here.

Reach Assistant News Editor Michelle Toh here.