Joleethal, Ambrose, DJ N.VS, Bake, and BraveMonk at the USA Pavilion Stage (photo courtesy of Bake Phouikham)
Our videographer extraordinaire, Bake Phouikham, filmed one of our biggest performances on the Americas Square stage at the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai. Check out our Videos page or click on the individual links below for a look at the whole show!
We also posted a great new promo video for the entire Shanghai trip:
There are few moments in life where everything slows down around you and you begin to wonder how exactly you ended up at that moment. As the drummer for St.Bagu and Hip Hop ChicaGO I have the advantage of seeing the performances from a unique point of view. It is as if I am part audience, part performer. While dancers spin in circles and emcees run to rile up crowds on different sides of the stage, I am stationary and have a complete 180 degree view of the performance and the audience simultaneously. I spent the whole set at last night’s music showcase on the Shanghai World Expo’s Americas Square stage frozen in time, trying to break down all the things that fell into place to bring this amazing group of people together. Never in my life did I think I would be in a band and share a stage with 8 breakdancers, an MC, and a DJ and ROCK a crowd halfway around the world.
Yesterday almost seemed effortless. I say almost because after the music showcase we began the next showcase with the complete Hip Hop ChicaGO crew. The crowd was warmed up and ready to see some great dancing. Everything was going well until we hit a snag when the DJ’s mixer went out. People were scrambling back and forth trying to figure out how to compensate. The band was ready to go and fill in wherever necessary. Luckily the mixer came back to life and we were able to keep the damage minimal. The Hip Hop ChicaGO crew came together and was able to put on yet another great performance. All the b-boys and b-girl were awesome. We all had a feeling it was going to be a special day.
We woke up yesterday morning to Ambrose on the front page of the Shanghai Daily. Hip Hop ChicaGO in Chinese newspapers overnight? Time freeze moment. It got better after that. After a few hours of shopping at one of the local markets, Tony, Freddy, and I took the train back to our hotel. As we exited Freddy looked up at one of the TVs playing the local news and shouted, “That’s us!!” Hip Hop ChicaGO was on the local Chinese news station? Time freeze moment.
By: Freddy Bustamante (vocalist from the band St. Bagu)
Here’s a view into the b-boy scene in Shanghai, China, as our Chicago-bred dancers embraced the culture in a dance jam at Fudan University. Check out the clip by our videographer extraordinaire, Bake Phouikham.
Hello, kind people of the world. I hope this post finds you well. Our stay in Shanghai continues and so do our updates on just what the heck is going on out here. So let’s get on with it.
Yesterday was our first day of live performance at the World Expo. It was the culmination of months of hard work and practices, different groups of Chicago artists coming together to present one cohesive set highlighting different elements of hip hop. St. Bagu, the live hip hop band. Rico, our good friend, the excellent emcee. Nick, aka N.V.S, playing DJ and hypeman role to the fullest. And then the dance crews executing choreography and b-boy moves that really wowed the crowd. The Shanghai people ate it up.
I have known about the Shanghai trip for a while. It never fully set in, till we got off the plane. It never fully set in that we were really in China till we hit the market on day two of our stay. And yesterday was the day we were finally able to do what we came to do. Perform, entertain, inspire. And I believe we all did just that.
By: Freddy Bustamante (vocalist from the band St. Bagu)
Humans are comfort creatures. As a representative of the human race I have to live by that when in a foreign country because sometimes, I just want something familiar. For a Chicago boy, born and bred, there’s nothing more familiar than pizza…well, maybe except the Sears Tower (the name will never change!), the Bulls, the “Crosstown Classic,” and the only two seasons we have (summer and cold time). But I digress. We filmed our experience eating pizza in Shanghai…take a look!
By: Freddy Bustamante (vocalist from the band St. Bagu)
This is what we went to bed to last night. The lights felt like Christmas trees…across the horizon. Please pardon my monotone anti-vocoder voice…I just got off a 15-hour flight, for pete’s sake!
Check out filmmaker Bake Phouikham‘s first vlog: fun behind the scenes footage from our Shanghai documentary, featuring Ambrose, Kid Jungle, and J Funky!
About
Hip Hop ChicaGO: Connecting Cultures One Beat at a Time is an initiative of the Center for Asian Arts and Media that explores global hip hop culture.
First stop: World Expo 2010 in Shanghai, China!
Up next: Chicago's Millennium Park on June 26, 2011!
