Asian Rap Worldwide v2.0!!

What's up guys. I am moving Asian Rap Worldwide into a different platform (finally!). Say goodbye to blogger! It was fun while it lasted. Say hello to weebly! I am also giving the new website a brand new name: Asian Hip Hop Times. Asian Rap Worldwide will NO LONGER be updated as I will move everything to Asian Hip Hop Times. I'll be keeping the old website for archive purposes. My twitter and facebook and email will be the same!

Ciao! Cya there! Last one there is a stinky tofu!

http://asianhiphoptimes.weebly.com/

Kate - Get out of my life feat Lisha

Get out of my life by Kate featuring Lisha is song produced by the Cambodian label Klap Ya Handz Productions. The song although distinctly Khmer, it has some dance and R&B elements fused into it. This song I assume is about a woman's frustration about her man's infidelity. It's fascinating how both Kate and Lisha adopt similar attitudes to that of American R&B singers when singing about this subject.

Jin - Say Something Mixtape

Its finally here. Jin's long awaited ENGLISH MIXTAPE Say Something. A lot of great introspective songs on this mixtape.

Track Listing:

01 Say Something
02 I Tried
03 Chillin' In HK
04 Touch The Sky
05 Hard
06 Running Thru My Head
07 Beautiful Story
08 Angels


DOWNLOAD: Jin - Say Something Mixtape

MizzNina - What You Waiting For feat. Colby O'Donis

This is MizzNina's latest single What You Waiting For featuring American pop singer Colby O'Donis. Its a feel good single with a boy-meets-girl theme.

MizzNina started off as a rapper in Malaysia. She was originally part of a rap group called Teh Tarik Crew. She was one of the more prominent female MCs in Malaysia.

Study claims that Chinese people evolved from Indians

According to this recent study I'm not only Chinese, I'm also African and Indian. This might explain my fondness of rap music and curry.

If this study is true, then Columbus was right in calling the Native Americans, "Indians". LOL.

Frankly, I'm skeptical about this theory, but it does provoke some thought. I think Tibetans, Bhutanese, Thais and Burmese people share similar features with Indians though...

via dnaindia

The Chinese evolved from Indians: Study

Vineeta Pandey / DNA
Friday, December 11, 2009 1:44


A genetic study has found that Indians are the ancestors of the Chinese and other East Asian populations.

The study, a joint project of 10 Asian countries, found that India received a wave of migration from Africa 60,000-70,000 years ago and these early humans subsequently moved to East and Southeast Asia. The earlier belief was that humans from Africa reached India and East and Southeast Asia separately.

The study has important implications, especially in the understanding of human migratory patterns and in the investigation of genetics and disease.

The findings of the five-year study — conducted by a group of 90 scientists, including those from India, in a consortium of 40 Asian laboratories under the Human Genome Organisation — have been published in the journal Science.

The study analysed genetic data of 1,900 individuals representing 73 population groups. The findings showed that Asian genetic ancestry correlated highly with ethnic and linguistic groups and “considerable gene flow was observed among sub-populations of the clusters” that were studied; the clusters included “groups believed to practice endogamy (marriage within a group) based on linguistics, cultural and ethic information”.

“This large study establishes that Indians are ancestors of the Japanese, Chinese and all other East Asians. All these populations have a common genetic origin and it shows that India represents a microcosm of Asia’s genetic diversity,” said Samir Brahmachari, director-general, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research — a participant in the study.

Motion - So In Love instrumental

This is an instrumental from Malaysian producer Motion. Pretty cool slow-tempo beat. Anybody want to rap over this beat?

Urban Rage freestylin over Hypnotize beat

Urban Rage is an Asian guy from Vancouver that makes YouTube videos. He makes some pretty funny Youtube videos and in some of them he freestyles in them. I thought this particular video where he's cruising around and rapping to Biggie's Hypnotize instrumental was pretty cool.

The Airtights x D-City x Paul Skratch - Soulful/The Remedy

Live footage of D-City with The Airtights and Paul Scratch performing Soulful and The Remedy

Jin - The A List

Jin gives his shoutouts to a whole bunch of Asian American and Asian Canadian rappers doing their thing!!

FUNNY VIDEO!!! Welcome to the Jungle (Time Chasers Cover)

WELCOME TO DA JUNGOOO!! hahaha!

YK - 夜上海 (Ye Shanghai) feat. Young Cee

This is a Beijing-to-Shanghai collaboration between Beijing rapper YK (aka Young Kin) and Shanghai rapper Young Cee. Young Kin is a very well known Beijing rapper, probably one of the best in Beijing and all of China. I'm not too sure about Young Cee, but he sounds pretty dope as well.

This song, 夜上海 is about Shanghai nightlife. The funky beat was sampled from the original 夜上海 by Zhou Xuan which is considered a Chinese classic. The original song has a similar feel to Frank Sinatra's New York, New York. That song was made during the time when jazz music from America was THE SHIT in Shanghai.

And just in case if you aren't aware, Shanghai is busily preparing for the 2010 World Expo, which is probably why Young Kin and Young Cee remade the song to give their big ups to Shanghai. The music video was directed by Stanley Yang who grew up in Vancouver but is now based in Shanghai.

Thai army pulls back from protest clashes; 15 dead

Thai soldiers firing rubber bullets at the red shirt protesters
(AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

The Thai army is cracking down on red shirt protesters. 15 are dead, 650 are injured!

via The Associated Press

Thai army pulls back from protest clashes; 15 dead

By GRANT PECK (AP) – 3 hours ago

BANGKOK — A crackdown on anti-government protesters in Thailand's capital Saturday left at least 15 people dead and more than 650 injured, with no progress toward ending a month long standoff with demonstrators demanding new elections.

It was the worst violence in Bangkok since more than four dozen people were killed in an antimilitary protest in 1992. Bullet casings, rocks and pools of blood littered the streets where pitched battles raged for hours.

Army troops later retreated and asked protesters to do the same, resulting in an unofficial truce.

Four soldiers and 11 civilians, including a Japanese cameraman, were killed, according to the government's Erawan emergency center.

The savage fighting erupted after security forces tried to push out demonstrators who have been staging a month of disruptive protests demanding that Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajva dissolve Parliament and call new elections.

The demonstrations are part of a long-running battle between the mostly poor and rural supporters of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, and the ruling elite they say orchestrated the 2006 military coup that removed him from power on corruption allegations.

The protesters, called "Red Shirts" for their garb, see the Oxford-educated Abhisit as a symbol of an elite impervious to the plight of Thailand's poor and claim he took office illegitimately in December 2008 after the military pressured Parliament to vote for him.

Saturday's violence and failure to dislodge the protesters are likely to make it harder to end the political deadlock. Previously, both sides had exercised considerable restraint.

Abhisit "failed miserably," said Michael Nelson, a German scholar of Southeast Asian studies working in Bangkok.

Tanet Charoengmuang, a political scientist at Chiang Mai University sympathetic to the Red Shirt's cause, said he expects the fighting will resume because the protesters are unafraid and the government refused to listen to them.

Abhisit went on national television shortly before midnight to pay condolences to the families of victims and indirectly assert that he would not bow to the protesters' demands.

"The government and I are still responsible for easing the situation and trying to bring peace and order to the country," Abhisit said.

Nelson said he had been hopeful the situation would calm down after the troops pulled back but that Abhisit's TV appearance raised doubts because he seemed "totally defiant."

The army had vowed to clear the protesters out of one of their two bases in Bangkok by nightfall, but the push instead set off street fighting. There was a continuous sound of gunfire and explosions, mostly from Molotov cocktails. After more than two hours of fierce clashes, the soldiers pulled back.

Army spokesman Col. Sansern Kaewkamnerd went on television to ask the protesters to retreat as well. He also accused them of firing live rounds and throwing grenades. An APTN cameraman saw two Red Shirt security guards carrying assault rifles.

At least 678 people were injured, according to the Erawan emergency center. The deaths included Japanese cameraman Hiro Muramoto, who worked for Thomson Reuters news agency. In a statement, Reuters said he was shot in the chest.

Most of the fighting took place around Democracy Monument, but spread to the Khao San Road area, a favorite of foreign backpackers.

Soldiers made repeated charges to clear the Red Shirts, while some tourists stood by watching. Two protesters and a Buddhist monk with them were badly beaten by soldiers and taken away by ambulance.

A Japanese tourist who was wearing a red shirt was also clubbed by soldiers until bystanders rescued him.

Thai media reported that several soldiers were captured by the protesters. Red Shirts also staged protests in several other provinces, seizing the provincial hall in the northern city of Chiang Mai, Thaksin's hometown.

On Friday, the police and army failed to prevent demonstrators from breaking into the compound of a satellite transmission station and briefly restarting a pro-Red Shirt television station that had been shut down by the government under a state of emergency. The humiliating rout raised questions about how much control Abhisit has over the police and army.

Thailand's military has traditionally played a major role in politics, staging almost a score of coups since the country became a constitutional monarchy in 1932.

The Red Shirts have a second rally site in the heart of Bangkok's upscale shopping district, and more troops were sent there Saturday as well. The city's elevated mass transit system known as the Skytrain, which runs past that site, stopped running and closed all its stations.

Merchants say the demonstrations have cost them hundreds of millions of baht (tens of millions of dollars), and luxury hotels near the site have been under virtual siege.

Arrest warrants have been issued for 27 Red Shirt leaders, but none is known to have been taken into custody.

Associated Press writers Denis D. Gray, Jocelyn Gecker and Thanyarat Doksone contributed to this report.

Jin performs "Beautiful Story" on webcam

I'm a little late (okay, very late) on posting this video as it was released on March 11th, 2010. This is Jin doing a live performance of Beautiful Story, a biographical song about him and trying to make it with his hip hop craft (using the the instumental of Eminem's Beautiful). This is a really heartfelt song. The theme of this song is definitely perseverance. I like it. Beautiful Story will be on Jin's upcoming ENGLISH MIXTAPE, Say Something.

Singapore Is #1 City For Expats And Asians To Live

via ECA International

Singapore retains pole position as No.1 place for Asians to live for 11th consecutive year

24 Mar 2010

• Australian and Japanese locations offer some of the best quality of life for Asians
• European locations dominate the top 30
• Air quality and health facilities remain an issue in many Asian locations.
  

Singapore continues to offer the best living environment for Asian assignees, according to the latest Location Ratings for expatriate living conditions published by ECA International, the world’s leader in the development and provision of solutions for the management and assignment of employees around the world. This is the 11th year in a row that Singapore has held pole position.

Published annually, ECA International’s Location Ratings system is used to assist International HR departments to establish expatriate allowances which compensate staff for the difficulties of adapting to living in their assignment location. The ratings are based on an analysis of living standards for more than 400 locations globally based on categories including climate, health services, housing and utilities, isolation, social network and leisure facilities, infrastructure, personal safety, political tensions and air quality.

"Singapore’s high quality infrastructure and health facilities, combined with low health risks, air pollution, crime rates and a cosmopolitan population help make the city an easy place for Asian assignees to live in,"explains Lee Quane, Regional Director, Asia, ECA International.

The Japanese cities of Kobe, Yokohama and Tokyo along with Hong Kong are the other Asian locations in the top 15.

The Australian cities of Canberra and Melbourne also feature in the top 15 for Asian expatriates as well as New Zealand’s Wellington. These are joined by the European locations of Copenhagen, Dublin, Antwerp, Brussels and Bern along with the Canadian city of Vancouver.

Baghdad (254) remains the least favourable location to live in, followed by Kabul (253) and Karachi (252).

"According to our latest Expatriate Salary Management Survey, over 70% of companies will pay a location allowance when there is a need to compensate for the difficulties associated with adapting to a new living environment," says Quane.

"When we analyse quality of living we take into account the home and destination country," continues Quane. "The impact of a number of factors, including distance from home and differences in culture, language and climate, will vary according to where someone comes from. This helps to explain why although Singapore ranks at the top for Asians, it ranks 55th for someone coming from Western Europe. However, these particular factors cannot be considered in isolation. Scores given for better air quality and health facilities in a number of the top ranking non-Asian locations, for example, can counterbalance the scores awarded for distance from home. Location ratings are about looking at the new environment in its totality and its merits relative to home."

Asia

Joining the top five Asian locations are Taipei (55), Macau (57), Kuala Lumpur (62), Bangkok (62) and Georgetown (62).

Shanghai (77) tops the list of mainland Chinese locations in the survey, followed by Nanjing (97) and Beijing (100). While China has generally seen improvements over the past few years, the country’s air quality and health facilities remain an issue. The level of personal security, recreation and education facilities remain mixed throughout the country with cities such as Wuhan (142) and Chongqing (154) scoring less favourably in these areas compared with Shanghai and Beijing.

"Improvements in the quality of living in China have been significant in recent years," notes Quane. "We now find that in terms of the availability of decent housing, access to recreation and low crime rates, Beijing and Shanghai are on a par with Taipei, Hong Kong and Singapore. However, the persistence of issues such as poor air quality, as well as less advanced medical and transportation facilities, contribute to these locations ranking lower within the region and globally."

Taipei which ranks 6th of the 49 Asian locations studied and 55th globally is among the locations whose score has improved the most this year. The city generally scores better in terms of air quality than most Asian locations. It also does better regarding the availability of goods and services, recreation and socio-political tensions than mainland China locations.

Hong Kong’s long-standing air pollution problems contribute to its position behind Singapore and the Japanese locations. Air pollution in the SAR is worse than most of the other Asian cities analysed and it remains in 5th position within the region. However, in other areas, including housing and schooling, it offers good quality facilities for the international community. Slight improvement in an already good transportation and communications infrastructure has contributed to a rise in the ranking since last year from 11th to 8th position.

In India, Bangalore (145) scores the most favourably ahead of Chennai (149), Mumbai (156) and New Delhi (185). Compared with these locations, Kolkata (206) does less well in terms of availability of schools, housing and goods for expatriates. Health facilities remain an issue in all the Indian locations.

Air pollution remains a significant problem in a number of Asian locations. New Delhi, Beijing and Hong Kong are amongst the worst locations studied in terms of air quality. Health facility provision is also a problem for many parts of the region.

Globally

For Asians coming to live and work in Europe, Copenhagen, ranked 5th globally, offers the best quality of living followed by Dublin (10) and the Belgian cities of Antwerp (13) and Brussels jointly with the Swiss capital, Bern. London, Barcelona and Stockholm share 37th position ahead of Paris and Rome which share 46th place.

Slovenia’s capital, Ljubljana (48) tops the Central and Eastern European locations followed by Croatia’s Zagreb (60). Prague (61) and Warsaw (84) are among those locations to improve the most over the year, mainly as a result of improvements in personal safety there.

For Asians going to North America, Vancouver, ranked 10th, is the most favourable destination. The Canadian city is followed by San Francisco (16) and Miami (30). Within South America, Puerto Rico, in 62nd position, offers Asians the best quality of living.

Security and pollution are major issues in a number of South American locations. Santiago (91) in Chile along with Mexico City (149) receive some of the worst scores for air quality. A number of the continent’s locations are among the worst in the survey for personal security including Sao Paolo (127), Rio do Janeiro (127), Mexico City and Caracas (181).

Africa is also home to some of the most difficult places for Asian assignees to adapt to living in. Socio-political tensions as well as personal security issues can be particularly problematic. Gaborone in Botswana ranked 84th offers the best quality of life for Asians coming to the African continent. South African locations including football World Cup destinations, Cape Town (103) Johannesburg (117) are among the top ten most liveable of the African locations analysed. However, personal safety is still a major issue.

In the Middle East, Manama (68) offers the best quality of life followed by Dubai (71) and Abu Dhabi (74).

The top 15 best locations in the world for Asians to live

Rank 2010	Location	World Rank 2009
1	Singapore	1
2	Sydney	2
3	Kobe	3
4	Yokohama	4
5	Tokyo	6
5	Copenhagen	6
7	Canberra	8
8	Hong Kong	11
8	Melbourne	4
10	Dublin	11
10	Vancouver	9
10	Wellington	9
13	Antwerp	11
13	Brussels	11
13	Bern	11

Asia ranking

Asia 2010	Location	Global Rank 2010
1	Singapore	1
2	Kobe	3
3	Yokohoma	4
4	Tokyo	5
5	Hong Kong	8
6	Taipei	55
7	Macau	57
8	Kuala Lumpur	62
8	Bangkok	62
8	Georgetown	62
11	Seoul	71
12	Shanghai	77
13	Bandar Seri Begawan	94
14	Nanjing	97
15	Beijing	100
16	Xiamen	105
17	Senzhen	115
18	Guangzhou	117
19	Tianjin	121
20	Hanoi	123
21	Dalian	124
22	Ho Chi Minh City	126
23	Chengdu	138
23	Depensar	138
25	Metro Manila	142
25	Wuhan	142
27	Bangalore	145
28	Ventiane	147
29	Chennai	149
30	Chongqing	154
31	Shenyang	156
31	Mumbai	156
33	Ulaanbaatar	162
34	Xi'an	164
34	Colombo	164
36	Phnom Penh	171
37	New Delhi	185
38	Jakarta	191
39	Yangon	198
40	Kolkata	206
41	Kathmandu	210
41	Surabaya	210
43	Tashkent	216
44	Dhaka	229
45	Ashgabat	232
46	Islamabad	243
47	Pyongyang	246
48	Karachi	252
49	Kabul	253

Lakas Ng Pagbabago (James Layug Magdalo) - D-Coy feat. Artstrong

Title: Lakas Ng Pagbabago

Performed by: D-Coy feat. Artstrong

Written by: James Layug

Directed by: Bembol D.

Produced by: Dax

Source: http://www.youtube.com/user/bemboldiaz

Philippine election is near, just few months away. Everybody are taking their stand, choosing their candidates carefully and supporting those candidates whom they believe is the best to lead the country. A nation with more than 90 million people and is composed of more than 7,100 islands is now gearing up for the country’s first automated election. Even hiphop crews, rappers, producers, singers, artists are taking their stand to be part of the Filipino nation’s democracy. D-Coy, Artstrong and the rest of their crew are also taking their stand in support of the candidacy of James Layug (Magdalo). Check out the video.

Posted by madshock, blogging from the Philippines. Props to Royal of Asian Rap Worldwide. Also check out Rapista @ www.rapista.blogspot.com for other Pinoy Rap updates.

Drew Deezy, Nump Trump & Thai - Go Hard MV

The music video for Go Hard by Drew Deezy, Nump Trump & Thai Ngo is out. Its pretty decent MV. The video was directed by Tha Razor from 454 Films.

On a non sequitur note: When I first saw Drew Deezy, I immediately thought that he looked like someone familiar...but I couldn't quite put my finger on who exactly. Now it just dawned on me. Drew Deezy looks just like Big Pun (may he rest in peace) BEFORE Big Pun gained weight!!!

Here's a side by side comparison. You be the judge!



LOLLL! Drew Deezy is actually Samoan, but he does pull off that Latino/Puerto Rican look pretty well with the corn-rows and all.

D-Pryde - Forever (Youtube Remix) MV feat. Traphik, Dumbfoundead, Dyme-A-Duzin, Prince EA, & Ahmir

D-Pryde - Forever (YouTube Remix)

D-Pryde, a 16 year old Spanish/Filipino rapper reppin Brampton, Ontario has just released the music video of his Youtube Remix of Drake's Forever featuring fellow YouTube stars: Traphik, Dyme-A-Duzin, Dumbfoundead, Prince EA, and Ahmir. The song was released a while back in December 2009. Traphik and D-Pryde both killed it! Hey what do you know?! I spotted fellow Pinoy rapper Mike Swift making a cameo appearance in D-Pryde's scene.



DOWNLOAD: D-Pryde - Forever (Youtube Remix) feat. Traphik, Dumbfoundead, Dyme-A-Duzin, Prince EA, & Ahmir

University of Maryland March Madness Benefit Battle

March Madness Benefit Battle poster

DJ Tony Drake gave me a heads up about a freestyle battle tournament he's setting up for the top 10 freestylers from the DC/Maryland/Virginia area called the March Madness Benefit Battle. The winner of the tournament will get to choose a charity where all the proceeds will be donated to. A-Class will be competing in this tournament as well as another Asian rapper who goes by the name of Blasian.

The event will go down on March 30th at 8pm. In case you aren't in Maryland to watch the battle, the battle will be streamed live on wmucradio.com.

Press release:

UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND BENEFIT BATTLE- MARCH 30, 2010, 6-8PM

10 Emcees, 1 Winner, All Proceeds Go to the Charity of The Winner’s Choice

COLLEGE PARK, MD – On Tuesday, March 30, “The Blender w/ Miss DJ Gemz and DJ Tony Drake" on WMUC Radio (University of Maryland, College Park’s FM station) will put on one of the biggest Freestyle Battles to ever hit the DMV! 10 of the area's best rappers are coming together to battle it out for a good cause. All of the proceeds from the event will go to the non-profit charity of the winner’s choice.

What separates this battle from the countless other “freestyle battles” in the DMV? Rather than gathering 10 talented artists who will come and perform verses from their songs (which tends to happen at a lot of freestyle battles), all of the artists have been carefully chosen based on their ability to creatively compose bars on the spot based on current events, their competition’s appearance, and any other topic that immediately comes to mind. One emcee will be announced daily via twitter through Dj Tony Drake (@djtonydrake) and Miss Dj Gemz (@missdjgemz), starting Sunday, March 21 until the day of the competition. All of the emcees have a strong battle background and many of them have been featured on Grind Time Now, The World’s #1 Rap Battle, Scribble Jam, and WorldStarHipHop.com.

The event is free, but charitable donations of at least $3 are recommended to go towards the Grand Prize Donation. There will also be free give-aways provided throughout the event by the event’s various sponsors which include: Mcdonalds, EA Sports, Fuse Box Radio, Community Roots, Iota Phi Theta Fraternity Inc. and Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity Inc., (University of Maryland Chapters), BraeonArt, Art Lyfe Entertainment, The BaltimoreScene, Words Beats & Life Inc., Xclusively Yours, and Broccoli City.

If you can’t make it out to the event at the Nyumburu Cultural Center on the University of Maryland’s campus on March 30, it will be broadcasted live on wmucradio.com! That means as long as you have an internet connection you can be a part of this event! Be sure to tune into the "The Blender w/ Miss DJ Gemz and DJ Tony Drake" every Tuesday at 6PM EST on wmucradio.com for new music first and the hottest events in your community.

Chinese activist Ai Weiwei on CNN's Amanpour

Beijing-based artist and social activist Ai Weiwei was interviewed on CNN's Amanpour about China's media censorship.

Geniuz F - 三二七的殺機 (Mo Liu Mic Jo Gor Part 2)

Hong Kong rapper Geniuz F (formerly known as Future.G), has a new song called 三二七的殺機 which is a follow up to his last song Mo Liu Mic Jo Gor. The beat was done by 魚 and mixed by Hoax. This is a real mellow song. The feel of 三二七的殺機 reminds me a bit of Warren G's early tracks with an authentic HK flavor to it. Looks like Geniuz F really stepped up his flow. I'll be on the look out for more releases from him in the future (no pun intended).

Joe Wong does stand up comedy at RTCA dinner

Joe Wong does stand up comedy at the Annual Radio & TV Correspondents’ Dinner (RTCA). Vice president Joe Biden was at the dinner on Obama's behalf, who could not make it. There's something about Wong's vulnerable stage presence that seems to draw people to him. His material is very innocent and "cute". Watch for his debt collector joke. That one's a killer!

Thai PM Abhisit Vejjajiva on AlJazeerza's Frost Over the World

Abhisit Vejjajiva, Thailand's current Prime Minister says he is "open to talks" of fresh elections. I think that's what the red shirts are rallying for and throwing their own blood over.

Now the question is, will he have fresh elections?

Chinese Netizens are all over Zhang Lu, Wen Jiabao's female translator

Zhang Lu, Wen Jiabao's translator
(NetEase)

Chinese premier Wen Jiabao's translator, Zhang Lu (张璐) is now an internet celebrity in China. After translating accurately Wen Jiabao's quotation of classical Chinese poetry, she won the hearts of the Chinese media rose to stardom overnight. She is currently one of the top top search queries of people on China's search engines baidu and google.cn.

Here's some of Zhang Lu's quick-witted translations (via NetEase):

1. “亦余心之所善兮，虽九死其犹未悔。”

For the ideal that I hold dear to my heart,I'd not regret a thousand times to die.

2. “人或加讪，心无疵兮。”

My conscience stays untainted in spite of rumors and slanders from the outside.

Zhang Lu was born and raised in Jinan and is in her early 30's. In her formative school years her nickname was "class flower". She is also the chief translator for the Chinese President, Hu Jintao.

More pictures of Zhang Lu:








(NetEase)

Not bad, not bad. She looks well-poised and elegant. What's up with the bowl bob cut? I thought that went out in the 60's? Lol, I kid, I kid.

Read more about Zhang Lu at ChinaHush.

Rest in peace Nujabes

Nujabes in the summer of 2009
(yosuke moriya)

It was announced on Shing02's website that the Japanese hip hop producer Nujabes has passed away in a fatal car accident in Tokyo, Japan on February 26, 2010. He was 36 years old.

Nujabes was definitely one of the best that ever did it. Thank you Nujabes. You are a true inspiration and blessing. Your music will live on. Rest in peace brother.

via E22 (Shing02's website)

Today, I have very somber news for the international hip hop community, especially fans of the independent hip hop scene, and those who have followed my career.

It has been announced that Jun Seba, aka Nujabes, Japanese hip hop producer extraordinaire, passed away late February. Official statement from the label (in Japanese) here:
http://hydeout.net/hydeout/2010/03/_hydeoutproductions.html

We deeply regret the loss of a unique talent and a close friend. Through his soulful music, Nujabes has touched so many people around the world, even beyond his dreams. He was a mysterious character to most as he avoided the public limelight, rarely conducted interviews, so only a few got to know the man behind the signature production. Yet it continued to amaze me how young listeners of all backgrounds learned of his enigmatic name, and expressed support for his music.

As I write now from Japan, I had been leaving him messages the past couple of weeks, trying to get in the studio together, so the news could not have come any more unexpected. Even last week, I passed by his house and called him thinking he was still home.

I met Nujabes around 2000 and as an upcoming MC, I was fortunate to work on tracks such as Battlecry, F.I.L.O, Luv(sic) parts 1, 2 and 3. We had been working on the next trilogy of Luv(sic) over the past year (which we're determined to see through). The last time we talked in January, Nujabes emailed me to wish Jeff Resurreccion, a 19-year old beatboxer who had just passed way from cancer, his heartfelt condolences.

While we continue to respect the privacy of his family, we will work to preserve his legacy, and pay tribute to the body of work, some unreleased, that he has left for us to enjoy. Jun Seba will be dearly missed by his family, friends, colleagues, and fans worldwide.

in peace,
Shing02

Snapper feat. D-Coy at The Mosaic Music Festival Singapore 2010

Snapper feat. D-Coy at The Mosaic Music Festival Singapore 2010

Mosaic Music Festival showcases the music across Asia. It is a 10-day Music Festival ranging from different genres such as jazz, world music, indie-pop, techno, hiphop, rock and more. This year, D-Coy and the Beatmathics represents the Philippines.

Check out Mosaic Music Festival: http://www.mosaicmusicfestival.com

D-Coy with The Beatmathics (The Philippines)

Mix the west coast and the east coasts sounds of hip-hop together with that unmistakably fiery Filipino flavour and you have yourself D-Coy and the Beatmathics. Delivering hip-hop like no other, these guys promise a little bit of new school, a little bit of old and a whole lot of fun.

http://www.myspace.com/beatmathics

---excerpt from Mosaic Music Festival Website

Source: http://www.mosaicmusicfestival.com/2010/microsite/nms.html#dcoy

About Snapper

Snapper's spectacle of her ability to merge her passions into her work. Her imagination perplexing STREET FASHION and MUSIC. From Hiphop culture to Asian fashion, her fetish and love for fashion and music began early. Growing up in the City of Angels (Los Angeles, California). In the mid-90's, she was receptive of the whole party scene and distinguish different crews wich portray unconventional attire, influenced by the entire Westcoast Gangsta Rap Music she fell in love with Hiphop.

Now Snapper is studying at School of Fashion and the Arts Manila to extend pursuing and establish the First Female Urban Clothing Line in the Philippines. Working on her SOLO ALBUM entittled "You Can Nevah Fade Diz."

Hiphop heroine will soon ascent in the Hiphop scene with her promising album. Collaboration with Philippines legendary producers and artists.

---words excerpt from Snapper Facebook

Check out more of Snapper: http://www.youtube.com/user/MiZZxSNAPPER

Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJsOSHz6xRU

Posted by madshock, blogging from the Philippines. Props to Royal of Asian Rap Worldwide. Also check out Rapista @ www.rapista.blogspot.com for other Pinoy Rap updates.

Thailand's Red Shirts spill their own donated blood in protest

Anti-government protesters in Thailand - known as the Red Shirts - have spilt blood on the prime minister's office.

They drew it from their own veins, but in the end it was nowhere near the amount they'd promised.

Al Jazeera's Wayne Hay reports

Is it just me or does the pouring of the blood at the gates kinda reminds of you the first Passover as depicted in the Bible? You know, at the time when the Hebrews poured blood on their doorposts so the Angel of Death would passover their house and not kill their firstborn? Yeah I know the pouring of blood for this particular incident has a different purpose, but heh, Passover was the first thing that popped into my mind when I saw it.

The blood that the red shirt are pouring is supposed to be a symbol of the 2006 coup d'etat that ousted the government of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra. Interesting way to protest... but I think its a bit unhygienic to pour blood, not to mention gross! Let's hope the people of Thailand can come to a peaceful resolution from this political crisis.

Ghost Style - Love Affair feat. Maggie Hou MV

Love Affair promo

Check out the newly released music video for Love Affair by Ghost Style featuring Maggie Hou.

Far East Movement - I Party MV feat. IZ & DB Tonik

Far East Movement - Animal

The Far East Movement's music video for I Party featuring IZ & DB Tonik was released last week. Its a pretty cool computer animation video produced and directed by Choz Belen. One funky thing about this video is that right in the middle of it, the guy in the video starts trippin out and sees a vampire girl. Let that be a lesson to you kids. Watch what goes in your drink! LOL.

N.Y.F.P. - New York Roots feat. Jaman & Pinoy District (MTV)

Title: N.Y.F.P.
Artists: New York Roots feat. Jaman & Pinoy District
Produced by: Paro Paro Beats
Directed by: Rolando David Jr. (Dreamz Production/Sigaw ng Tundo)
Album: Bago Ang Bagong Luma Album (Coming this March 2010)
Check out the original source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XHJiq1pgOsc

Props to Butchoy of Dreamz Production & Sigaw ng Tundo
Check out Dreamz Production: http://www.youtube.com/dreamzprod

Please also check out Paro Paro Beats on Beats of the Beats III

Original source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MhDZu0lvAuo

Check out Paro Paro Beats: http://www.paroparobeats.blogspot.com

Download NYFP for Free: http://tinyurl.com/nyroots

Posted by madshock, blogging from the Philippines. Props to Royal of Asian Rap Worldwide. Also check out Rapista @ www.rapista.blogspot.com for other Pinoy Rap updates.

First Filipino Rap Battle League - Fuego vs. Protege (English Conference Battle)

First Filipino Rap Battle League

(English Conference Battle)

Fuego vs. Protege

The first I’ve watched these videos I was laughing;

Can you see in the end they are both laughing;

They’re sick with brains like mad scientists;

At the end of the video all I can do is throw up my fist.

---sorry if my rhymes are lame haha... i just got carried away by the video.

This is the English Battle Category for The First Filipino Rap Battle League. It showcases the freestyle rap talent of some of the finest Underground Rappers in the Philippines. It has both English and Filipino (Tagalog) Categories. Check out the battle.

Check out FlipTop Battles: http://www.youtube.com/fliptopbattles

Posted by madshock, blogging from the Philippines. Props to Royal of Asian Rap Worldwide. Also check out Rapista @ www.rapista.blogspot.com for other Pinoy Rap updates.

D-City - Feelin Like Whatever MV

D-City - The Remedy

I remember about 2 or 3 years ago I saw a Caucasian high school kid wearing a black t-shirt with the words "D-City" on it. Up till then have never heard of the term D-City so I was curious and so I asked him what or where is D-City, because I'm thinking, aren't we in Vancouver aka VanCity? What does D-City stand for then? He told me D-City was a hip hop group and he was real excited to tell me about it too. Back then, I was pretty much under the dark about Vancouver's local hip hop scene (I still am pretty much). So I just shrugged off whatever he said.

Then flash forward to mid-February this year and I came across this music video called Feelin Like Whatever. Wow. I thought the song was pretty dope. The lyrics and production are on point. Heh, and what do you know, its done by D-City. Now I know what the kid was talking about! And from Vancouver too? Hey, that's a bonus.

D-City is a hip hop duo from North Delta comprised of Pinoy cousins Spot and Ess. The track Feelin Like Whatever is off their second album The Remedy (2009).

Steve Yoo Seung Jun with Jackie Chan on Asia Uncut

Yoo Seung Jun with Jon Nierrman, the host of Asia Uncut
(Asia Uncut)

Any of you guys remember Yoo Seung Jun the Korean singer/rapper that got kicked out of Korea because he wouldn't do the mandatory military service back in 2002? Well, he is now trying out his luck to be a star in China. Yoo Seung Jun is starring in a new Jackie Chan movie that was released last month called Little Big Soldier, which takes place during the Warring States Period in China. Yoo Seung Jun plays the villainous role of "Prince Wen". It really sucks for him that he can't come back to Korea, but hey, finding work in China and being signed to Jackie Chan isn't that bad of a deal.

Yoo Seung Jun also did a little promotion along with Jackie Chan for Little Big Soldier on an episode of Asia Uncut (an English talk show based in Shanghai, China) which aired on February 10th. Yoo Seung Jun does a pretty cool entrance with the dancing with the nunchucks. Wow, he's still got it. The man can really dance! Yoo Seung Jun will be releasing an album this April. I think the album will be Chinese as he's trying to break through the Chinese-language market.

MastaMic - 09 HK Rap Up MV

MastaMic has just released his 09 HK Rap Up music video where he plays a news reporter relaying all the major Hong Kong news from 2009.

It looks like MastaMic has a new bowl hair cut. He now looks like one of the long lost members of Fama.

Check out MastaMic's 08 HK Rap Up from last year.

Tablo from Epik High disses allkpop on Twitter

In Kpop news today, Tablo from Epik High tweeted some nasty messages about allkpop for everyone to see. Tablo is pissed off that allkpop leaked out Epik High's new music video and put up their latest album Epilouge up for stream.

The tweets:



What an EPIK tweets.......!!! I wonder how allkpop will address the situation.

CNNGO interviews Utamaru from Rhymester

Utamaru from Rhymester
(CNNGO)


Patrick Macias from CNNGO has interviewed Utamaru, one of the OG's of the Japanese hip hop scene from the group Rhymester. This is a really great read about Utamaru's view on the development of hip hop in Japan and how he compares it with American hip hop.

Rhymester has been part of the Japanese hip hop scene since the early 90's and they are one of the more conscious rap groups that have been rapping about political issues and socio-economic issues affecting Japan. They recently released an album called Manifesto in February and a single called ラストヴァース (Last Verse).


Rhymester - Manifesto




via CNNGO

CNNGo: How has Japanese hip-hop changed since Rhymester debuted in the early 1990s?

Utamaru: It's been over ten years since Rhymester collaborated with (U.S. hip-hoppers) the Beatnuts and Buckwild. Back then, a lot of people wanted to emulate American hip hop, so it was a big deal that we got to work with them. But soon afterwards, I started thinking that Japanese hip hop needed to start developing its own style by itself. That feeling became stronger and stronger, and I started moving more in that direction.

CNNGo: After the 1990s, were Japanese kids becoming less interested in Western culture?

Utamaru: That happened too, but it wasn't necessarily the case with hip hop. There are still a lot of people who like American hip hop, myself included. But we needed to stop trying to copy it and compete with it. My generation thought hard about the problem of "How can we, as Japanese people, make rap music?" But the young kids today don't have that kind of issue. Some of them are much more influenced by the Japanese hip hop than American hip hop. Some of the artists in the underground scene, like SEEDA, sell lots of records even though they're not on major labels and don't get much promotion.

CNNGo: Are any of them thinking about targeting the foreign market?

Utamaru: There are some hip hop musicians in Japan have ambitions like that, but they're looking more towards the rest of Asia. To do Japanese hip-hop in America… maybe that's impossible.

CNNGo: Do you think hip-hop made by Japanese people isn't 'real' enough for Americans?

Utamaru: Well, we have to define what's real. Does being real just mean being really poor? If that's what's real, do I need to travel all the way to Rwanda just to rap? (laughs)

Back when I was starting out, I decided to make lyrics that were a reflection of my life and the people who listen to them. After all, that's what hip hop is all about.

Recently, Japan has changed. It's become much poorer than before, and poverty itself is increasing. There are people who live in places with no way to survive and with no hope or expectation for the future. So it's possible to experience a hard life like an American hip-hopper. Of course, there have always been people like that, but society denied their existence. Even poor people would deny that they were actually poor. But now, it's getting harder and harder to ignore. Look at the kind of crime (idol singer) Maki Goto's younger brother committed. He got arrested for stealing electric cables from a construction site to resell them. That's so ghetto! And he himself used to be an idol too!

CNNGo: What's your impression of the current idol scene?

Utamaru: You can't really say "I like idols" out loud in Japan. The only time you could was during the 1980s when idols were popular. But after the 1990s, it became real outsider culture. Now, there's probably more train otaku in Japan than idol otaku. Hardcore male fans are only interested in unpopular idols. They want to feel like, "I'm the only one supporting this girl or this group. Nobody else. Just me." Idol groups like AKB48 and Perfume have gotten so big recently. Their fans are now ordinary schoolgirls. So their original fans have had moved on to try to find even more niche, unpopular idols to follow. So it's impossible for this scene to become mainstream.

CNNGo: What do your fans think when you talk about idols?

Utamaru: Basically, I have two kinds of fans: Those that support me because of my music, and others who know me as someone who talks about pop culture. The two groups don't really mix. Even so, it's not normal in Japan for a musician to follow idols. Everyone thinks I'm weird. One time, I tried DJ-ing some idol music as a pre-show at a Rhymester concert. That was the coldest reception I've ever gotten on stage. I was thinking, "Hey! You guys are supposed to be my fans! Can you at least try a little bit to understand where I'm coming from"?