Halca：首先，我感到不安的有多少人会来到会场，如果他们会回应我们的好方法在。 However, the result is that audience liked the music and came to the venue with joy. It's a universal situation regardless of countries. 有一件事情我很高兴的是，美国人民对我们的反应，并表示他们的感情非常清楚。
Yucali：当我们首次亮相，我们15岁，什么都不知道。 So, I felt our adult staff created and produced us like a toy. 目前，我们正在HALCALI享受。音乐风格和以前一样，做音乐活动自由的基础上嘻哈。我们的座右铭是'HALCALI和生产者创造幸福的音乐“。
Yucali：我们正在做我们自己编排的，所以视频剪辑意味着很多向我们展示我们的歌曲。 Choreography is created based on meaning of lyrics, so we're happy if you notice them. 这是非常困难的选择最喜欢的片段，但'串联'和'步操三月'是我的最爱。
张宇：在您的歌词，您所提到的阿姆，斯利克瑞克和公敌，仅举几例。谁是你最喜欢的美国嘻哈艺术家？
Halca：米西埃利奥特，野兽男孩等
Yucali：肯伊威斯特，制作人法洛威廉斯，米西艾略特等
汤米：谁是你最大的日本音乐的影响？
Halca：屎烂帮
Yucali：屎烂帮，Schadara帕尔
汤米：最近，你一直在时尚杂志的特色。 Do you have plans to continue with fashion or pursue any other ventures apart from your music?
I have decided the world officially works in strange ways. When I sat down to write this article I was in a miserable mood. Having just gotten caught in the rain on my way home from work I was soaked, cold and cursing out my lack of an umbrella. I popped in Transitions , the first full-length album from Dutch producer Arts the Beatdoctor to get my mind on to other things. As the rain continued to pour outside my window, I cracked a smile and couldn’t help but realize I had found the perfect rainy day nocturnal hip-hop.
在2003年正式推出了他艺术生产的主赛勒斯 œDiamondsṛ4Everâ中频格林一起汇编轨道。随后，欧洲议会有权建立一个记录片段，意外被释放。当讨论到他的音乐产业的突破，荷兰说唱艺术提到皮特费城和额外收入，两位艺术家保险业监督€™米自豪地说，以前在飞行808所。 Arts says, “I have to thank Pete Philly a lot. He picked up one of my demo CD’s when I was still in my ‘indescribable abstract music’ phase. I guess he heard the potential, because we talked a bit and decided to make some music together.†Arts has since contributed with Pete Philly on albums and on a joint tour in 2007. Transitions was released in 2007 on Amsterdam-based record label Unexpected Records.
As a producer’s producer, Arts has created an album that sounds like the work of a small jazz band, not a one man-show, and definitely not the work of a one-man producer. Featuring keyboard, drum and bass sounds as well as guest appearance from Dutch rappers Pete Philly, Sense and The Proov the songs seamlessly transition from jazz to ethereal piano to trip-hop beats. Each song has a laid-back, cinematic feel that creates a specific ambiance, that of smoky bars, late-night conversations, and the wee hours before dawn when the world is eerily quiet yet also amazingly alive.
One of the best tracks on the album is the title track, Transitions . Capturing a late night ride home on the subway, the track is laced over a repetitive piano line and a saxophone sample. With sounds of the subway screeching in the background Proov rhymes, “Clearing out the mind/ peering out the window/watching the world pass by me so quickly/reflects who I am but also contradicts me/Rattling ringtones from babbling bimbos/Toilet decay, too many delays/Fuck it, its all part of the norm/Finally, last stop, station, last platform.â€
on you tube (no video, just audio)
Also check out The Anthem featuring Pete Philly. Definitely the most up-beat track on the album, the track bounces along over a sexy bass line with a chorus that chants “Arts the Beatdoctor, just give me a beat and I’ll spit something proper.†About halfway through the song, the instruments cut out, and an endearing a capella stylized with doo-wop harmonies harks back to barbershop tunes.
There are also a ton of tracks floating around on the Internet that are not his album.
Check out the Hide Remix featuring Senna, a soul singer from the Netherlands. The song blends Res-like melodic lines over a chill trip hip-hop beat. On that note, if you haven’t, please check out the American hip-hop/soul singer Res. She was featured on Talib Kweli’s Reflection Eternal as well as on her solo album How I Do . (shameless plug for music I love that I think you should love to)
After getting my Arts the Beatdoctor fix, I have to say I now know exactly what kind of music to put on the next time it rains all day and honestly I hope it rains again tomorrow.
Although b-boying and hip hop dancing has become the dominant form of hip hop in Southeast Asia, every locale has a few crew trying to hold it down for real hip hop music. In Taiwan, the TriPoets (pronounced Zam-P in Chinese) are one of a few underground hip hop crew grinding away for years to master their musical craft and gain respect and a bit of notoriety along the way.
Founded in the summer of 2002, TriPoets consists Teacher Lin, Ill Mo and Shortee. They purposefully pattern themselves after their American Golden Age idols such as Black Moon, Common and A Tribe Called Quest. Subsequently, their music is often jazz-sample based. They rhyme in Mandarin, a language so difficult to rhyme in that it has taken years to find a way to make it sound natural. TriPoets released a mixtape in 2004, “Listen & Speak†and have done performed in Taiwan with such acts as Ice-T, Public Enemy, Supernatural, Toni Blackman and Kero One (San Fran).
Ill Mo took a minute away from finishing his Master’s Thesis (an analysis of Spike Lee’s film “Bamboozled†relative to post-modern black identity issues) to spread some knowledge of Taiwanese hip hop and the essence of TriPoets.
Can you tell us about how hip hop first came into Taiwan?
Mo: It came to Taiwan in many ways. Around late 80′s, influenced by the movies “Flashdance”,”Wild Style” and “Beat Street”, young kids start to b-boy. And big companies such as Coca-Cola started to host big dance competitions. As time went on, the competitions started to generate attention from the record companies and TV shows, so they decided to create pop groups who incorporate a hip hop image and dance moves to attract the young audience.
After that, the most popular group called LA Boyz was born, consisted with 3 members born in the US, with strong image looking like Kris Kross, they were very successful, who also started a trend for street dance. And then there was Ju Tou Pi, he was a musician who incorporates the technique of sampling and rapping to reflect the political and social issues in Taiwan.
However, none of the above had a clear image of an “MC.” Until the year 2000, MC Hotdog released his first single with the style similar to Eminem, criticizing the pop-music scene in Taiwan, the idea of a rapper became more clear. However, with the strong influence from the early days, the dance aspect of hip hop is still the strongest in Taiwan.
TriPoets – Anaconda (feat MC Hotdog):
I know MC Hotdog was a big deal in hip hop there. Were there any other like him doing their thing in hip hop?
MO: Yes, there are, shout out to my man Dog G. He played an important role to MC Hotdog's success, also accompany him on a lot of his early works. Dog G released his independent album in mostly Taiwanese, the native language in Taiwan. He is known for his political stand and had been interviewed by many foreign media such as CNN and Time magazine, for that he is strongly supportive of the independence of Taiwan. He is also one of the most influential figures in the hip hop community, especially in the southern Taiwan, in his hometown Tainan City.
Is hip hop in Taiwan mainly represented by music (MCs and producers) or do the other elements also shine (graffiti writing, b-boying, DJing)?
Mo: As we mentioned above, the b-boys and street dance is still the dominant element of hip hop in Taiwan. They can be seen behind pop stars doing dances. It doesn't matter mainstream or underground, the b-boys are very active in Taiwan. As for DJs, they can be seen in clubs spinning, and graf writers can apply their skills to modern art and designing. Sadly, there are not too many “true” hip hop acts here in Taiwan as far as music is concerned. And that is exactly why we are still doing our thing.
What is the hip hop scene like in Taiwan right now?
Mo: Commericialized. And there are less and less shows and gigs for true hip hop supporters. There are die hard fans for it, but most of the times they are just not enough for the people working hard, fighting to make good music.
How did you first get into hip hop?
Shortee: When I was in junior high school, I first heard of Kris Kross. It caught my attention immediately. And for the events, I first went to the party held by Def Soul (the first organization to promote hip hop parties in Taiwan). Around year 1999, DJ Chicano was spinning, and he is still spinning till now, he is a strong influence in my early days.
Mo: My first hip hop CDs were Biggie's “Ready to Die”, Snoop and Warren G's first albums. It was also around my junior high school days. And I also went to Doobiest (the Tribal Streetwear Clothing shop founded by DJ Chicano and his friends), it was the hip hop information center back then with dancers and DJs. And I also went to some of the Def Soul parties as well.
How did TriPoets get together?
Mo: We first met in 1999, when one of our member Teacher Lin received a head position in Hip Hop Culture club in his university. Based on our passion for music and similar taste, we started to write rhymes and perform together. By 2002, the TriPoets was officially formed, after we had accumulate enough works, we released our first underground mixtape, which was also the first underground hip hop/rap music release in Taiwan. From then on we worked even harder to reach better quality, and finally we are putting out our official release in 2008 June through True Color, and the name of the album will be called “The Beginning of Rhymes.” It is our heart and soul in the album, hope the audience can feel our passion for the music.
What is the purpose of your music?
Shortee : To get paid and get laid (just kidding). Seriously, we aim to entertain and educate the audience through the music.
Mo: To incorporate our lives into rhymes, and to show that it is possible to overcome the obstacle of language and affect people with the rhymes. Basically, to make dope rhymes and dope music to touch people like how hip hop moved our hearts.
Tell us about your process of writing songs. Do you start with lyrics or beats? Is it hard to find recording studios there?
Shortee: It happens in both ways. There is no limit to it.
Mo: Thank God for Shortee. He has some equipment in his house where we can record the demos and he does production as well, and True Color has a official studio called Insert, which can provide quality booth and microphone and amp.
Describe your live stage show.
Mo: We tend to interact with the audience while getting our message across. It is very powerful and live. Also, we try to expand on the musical side by collaborating with bands and DJs as well.
What can we expect from your new album?
Shortee: The Golden Age type of hip hop, reminiscent of the good ol' days, true skills of Mandarin rap and the art of sampling.
Mo: It is doable for listeners, we created the album based on the blueprint of classic hip hop albums, also to pay homage to the forefathers who paved the way in the past, much respect to them.
TriPoets – Used to Love Her:
What plans do TriPoets have for the future?
Shortee: Keep focusing on Mandarin rap skills development, to show that with the Chinese language we can still create dope hip hop music. And just to create dope hip hop music in general for music is the universal language.
Mo: Just to make good hip hop music that can touch people's souls. And of course we'd like to step outside to Asia or different places of the world. We're down to collaborate with dope artists all around the world, perhaps we will be doing something with Kero One soon. Hope that we can spread our music around the world. Also, don't forget to check out “The Beginning of Rhymes” dropping in June 2008. 和平！
The more esoteric and remote the artist, the more exciting my job gets. This post began when I stumbled upon Grundig, a Russian underground legend- compared by fans on a message board to Tupac and Pushkin- who died at 25 to a heroin overdose. I then discovered that he was 1/2 of the duo which translates as “Slaves of the Lamp:” a reference to drug addiction. Grundig wrote all of the lyrics and composed most of the beats for Rabi Lampi. Last but not least, the discovery of the video “TV Shit” on YouTube put me over the edge. I had to do some deciphering, and by no means am I done yet.
Above is the original cassette cover art for their first and only release, 1998′s “This Is Not Painful.” Below is the artwork from a more recent reissue. Decidedly less gritty.
In 2001, after Grundig's death, the album was re-issued to feature the track “Dedication” – a song by the remaining Slave (“Jeep”) featuring the DOB Community and YG. Somehow, I navigated a website entirely in Russian and nabbed some mp3s from the album. Check them out, along with the “TV Shit” video:
My friends often ask me how I find the artists for Flight 808- how I find myself capable of judging non-English hip-hop. My answer is always a combination of production, flow, and what I read about their “message” from other websites. While I'm excited about the story of Rabi Lampi and specifically Grundig, I really haven't found anything about the content of their lyrics. Grundig also has a book out (I'm assuming it's poetry), so this info is waiting for me somewhere. Flight 808 will get to the core of this mysterious, short-lived duo… stay tuned for Slaves of the Lamp pt. 2!
EDIT: Shouts to Konstantin for ripping me a new one on numerous errors in my post. Hopefully, things look better now. Konstantin also informed us that while Grundig was only half of the group in terms of members, he wrote all of the lyrics and composed most of the beats. Thanks again Konstantin. Translations forthcoming!
I once made the statement that Nomadic Massive was single-act embodiment of international hip-hop, but Maga Bo just might make me eat my words. A DJ / Producer based in Rio de Janeiro, Maga Bo has recorded in Morocco, South Africa, India, and Senegal. In World Up's Mixtape , Maga Bo blends traditional and contemporary sounds from around the globe, providing a diverse soundscape for hip-hop giants Saul Williams, Gift of Gab, and K'Naan , to name a few of the English speakers that I could detect. The mix, almost 62 minutes long, can be heard in its entirety on the player below:
In other news, Flight 808 is growing every day! Whoddathunk it? That said, we're looking to add a few more writers before we get into all sorts of trouble this summer. Really, all sorts; it's going to be an exciting time. If you're interested, there are opportunities to do interviews, short pieces, long pieces, whatever. It'd probably be more professional to figure out if my @ flight808 email addy is working, but I'm just going to leave my personal email address up here for a few days so people can get at me: tommyabu @ gmail . 的COM
Think it over yo! More goodies coming up in a few days. 和平。
