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August, 2010

Breakdance / Joleethal — 2 Comments
30
Aug 10

What is a B-boy?

By: Joleethal (Joe Lee)

B-boys, or b-boying, is not a trend, a fad, or even worse, a hobby! It is a revolution with an impact and scope far beyond comprehension. It can be seen in your friend’s basement over a thin piece of linoleum. Its presence reaches far beyond the borders of our country, and creeps into the depths of even the most remote of places, where b-boys dance with no audience beyond that of their peers. It can be seen at stadiums in China, Korea, and Germany,  where battles are held on a stages with the piercing eyes of thousands of spectators.

A b-boy does not simply “dance”; he lives and breathes a culture, inspires and creates, overcomes the challenges of the mental, the physical, bending the limitations of the imagination and defying the laws of gravity.

Joleethal, Summer Practice King

Ambrose McDuffy / Bake Phouikham / Breakdance / Chicago / Documentary / J Funky / Kid Jungle / Video — No Comments
25
Aug 10

Rocking Downtown Chicago with Our B-boys

Check out filmmaker Bake Phouikham‘s first vlog: fun behind the scenes footage from our Shanghai documentary, featuring Ambrose, Kid Jungle, and J Funky!

Chicago / Music / St. Bagu — No Comments
20
Aug 10

What is Hip Hop Music?

what is hip hop

By: Moises Pacheco (guitarist from the band St. Bagu)

St. Bagu calls itself a “Hip Hop fusion band.” What the heck? Supposedly that means we are “fusing” hip hop music with other styles. But what is hip hop music? How do you define it? The past several weeks I have been teaching a hip hop clinic at Chase Elementary School and I learned some things about this “hip hop.” When I had the kids listen to two tracks, one by Public Enemy and the other by Run-DMC, they told me that those songs were in fact not “hip hop”–at least not real hip hop. According to these kids, real hip hop includes songs like… “Pretty Boy Swag.” I found this to be quite depressing. These kids are so lost when it comes to the real art of hip hop. Then I asked myself, “What would adults think of hip hop?”

I began to think of some of the music and videos I was big on in the ’90s: “Baby Got Back,” “I Get Around,” “Hay,”… and the list goes on. When you compare St. Bagu music to these tracks, there are many differences. Now I start to ask myself, “What do I think ‘hip hop’ is?” I began to do a bit of research and found an interesting documentary called Hip-Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes. It has some graphic language in it, just as much of hip hop does (not St. Bagu, though), but it addresses a number of significant topics when it comes to what hip hop has become.

What do you guys think? What has hip hop become? How is that affecting our children and the world around us? What will it be like in the future and how can we affect that? I’d love to hear your feedback. If you haven’t seen the documentary, you can check it out below. Stay tuned.

Chicago / Events / Rico Sisney — No Comments
19
Aug 10

Support MC Rico at North Coast Fest Finals!

Congrats to Hip Hop ChicaGO artist MC Rico’s band Sidewalk Chalk on making it to the finals in the North Coast Music Festival’s “Toast of the Coast” competition! The winners will be chosen from 10 finalists to fill the last 3 open slots on the fest’s main stage and perform alongside headliners like The Chemical Brothers, Nas and Damian Marley, Umphrey’s McGee, Lupe Fiasco, and De La Soul.

The final battle will be held Thursday, August 26 at 8:00pm at Tonic Room (2447 N. Halsted, Chicago). Come out and show some love for our man Rico!

MC Rico & Sidewalk Chalk

Breakdance / Chicago / Events / J Funky / Joleethal — No Comments
16
Aug 10

B-boys Rep at Chicago Korean Fest

Hip Hop ChicaGO’s artists were out in full force at Chicago’s 15th annual Korean Festival this past weekend, with J Funky taking home the b-boy battle win! Congrats, J Funky! Watch his winning round here.

Joleethal also made a strong showing:

Hip Hop ChicaGO artist Joleethal vs. InVINHcible

Joleethal vs. Bonnie (you’ll have to rotate your monitor…or your head)

JUST ADDED! Joleethal and J Funky battle it out!

Chicago / China / Events / St. Bagu / World Expo — No Comments
12
Aug 10

The Road to Shanghai: 2

road to shanghai

By: Tony Pozdol (vocalist from the band St. Bagu)

Shanghai, China. World Expo. US Pavilion. These words still seem like far fetched fantasies to me. I’m not sure when the reality of St. Bagu merely 6 months from their first gig, performing at the World Expo in China will set in. I mean, we’re a tad over a month away and it still feels quite surreal. Will it set in on the plane? On the stage? When we get back? For me, the latter might even be most likely.

I’ve always been a big dreamer trapped in an ordinary routine mundane setting. Living the punch the clock lifestyle. The work because you have to, not because you want to lifestyle. Feeling like a superhero some times who spends 40 hours a week of his existence blending in and stuck in a creative sleep, only to bolt out of the doors at 5 30 PM, put on his cape and fly, or maybe just create, since I can’t really fly… yet. Nonetheless I find the life of a dreamer to be one of two extremes. There is the dreamer, who looks into the sky and fantasizes with their feet strapped to the ground. The ones who think “Oh that’d be nice but it’s not too likely.” Then there is the dreamer, who won’t allow failing to fly to be an option. Even though he keeps running and jumping off picnic tables spreading his wings and ultimately falling flat on his face. This guy is stubborn. But his diligence will never allow him to say he didn’t at least jump. The one who thinks, “I won’t settle for anything less than succeeding.” My prayer is I never stop being that guy, and one day the perception of that guy being an idiot gives way to that guy being a genius.

Taking it back to the Shanghai trip now. You can now get a feel as to how this could seem surreal to me. I’ve never been to Shanghai to perform. I’ve never performed even out of Illinois yet. I work a 9 to 5, I do robotic work, my Monday through Fridays look identical most of the time. I’ve been trying different things for years, always with the same dreamer mentality, and it’s hard to believe that soon I will be getting a running start, jumping off the picnic table, spreading my wings and actually flying instead of falling on my face and repeating. Now mind you just going to China and performing isn’t the ultimate fulfillment of my dream or destiny. But… I am mighty grateful for this as a grand deposit of what’s to come. I am also mighty grateful for the people who have given us this opportunity.

I’m not sure what to expect from China. I mean, no lie, I just barely visited China Town in Chicago this year for the first time. Whatever China will be like though, I am sure I will enjoy the experience to the utmost. I am sure I will be blessed by the journey and the community that develops between myself and my bandmates and the other talented artists we will be performing and traveling alongside. It is likely that September will be one of the highlight months of my entire life and I really have no grounds for complaint.

When you believe you’re called to do something, removing yourself from doing it is kind of like removing your SELF. I am glad to be a stubborn fool who won’t take no for an answer when it comes to fighting the odds. I know I am gifted by God, called by God, and I know perseverance develops character and character brings hope and my Hope will not disappoint. I believe I am living in a time in my life right now of Promises Fulfilled. It is the time we endure the falls on our face for. The pain, the doubts, and it’s more than worth it. Shanghai, China. World Expo. US Pavilion. I’ll see you in September. Till next time, LIVE BIG, LIVE CAPSLOCK!

Chicago / China / St. Bagu / World Expo — 1 Comment
4
Aug 10

The Road to Shanghai: 1

road to shanghai

By: Freddy Bustamante (vocalist from the band St. Bagu)

Shanghai, a city of history and technology. A city in the middle of one of the fastest growing economies; full of activity. A city so far removed from my surroundings that it will take nearly a full day’s worth of air travel to get to (21 hours)! It’s a lot to take in, and as I write this, it’s a lot to put out as I realize, ST.BAGU WILL BE GOING TO SHANGHAI TO PERFORM IN THE WORLD’S FAIR SEPTEMBER 15-22! That’s such a humbling statement to make.

I don’t know where to begin the preparation for it. We were told about this months ago, the band had been in its infant stages and we hadn’t even finished recording our first EP before that idea–traveling across the globe to perform in front of people whose first language isn’t English–was brought up. I thought Chi Can was lying at first, to tell the truth. But after a couple of practices together, the concept wasn’t too far-fetched. Not because of the band, not music, not musicianship nor vocal ability. What let the idea ring true to me was the nature of God. God took three hundred dudes to war against hundreds of thousands of men with Gideon in the front lines; why not allow six nobody hip hop heads travel to China to share some songs of hope and love with a public that knows nothing about them? Might sound a little hippy-like, but I believe in a God of miracles and possibilities.

So in a means to keep the updates coming, and not turn this into an 8-page thesis, I, my fellow band mates, and our Hip Hop ChicaGO friends will be periodically updating this blog section with our thoughts, worries, experiences, and funny stories along the way to Shanghai and back. But to leave with my last thought on the trip…I took a road trip once, a year ago, with my beautiful wife. We drove all the way to Orlando, Florida, from Chicago. I did the majority of the driving…and I nearly got us crashed dead a couple of times. Thank God I’m not the flight driver on this trip; it could end ugly. Stay tuned guys!


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