Freshwater Rapscallions
The Bentley Theatre. 9.00pm - 11.30pm. Free and open to the public
Since the Mountain Brothers became the first Asian American rap act to be signed to a major label (Ruffhouse Records) back in the mid-1990s, both mainstream music consumers and hip hop as a culture have been slow to embrace Asian American MCs. It seemed as if Asian Americans were doomed to a fate of being perpetually portrayed by the media as martial artists, nerdish investment bankers or submissive sex icons.
In 2002, however, everything suddenly changed when a then-unknown Chinese MC named Jin literally came out of nowhere to win B.E.T.'s Freestyle Friday seven weeks in a row and proceeded to announce that he was signing with Ruff Ryders Entertainment. Clips of Jin's consecutive victories circulated like an epidemic over cyberspace and compelled hip hop heads at large to feverishly dig and discover other Asian American MCs who had steadily been working the grind for years before that fateful summer.
Snacky Chan is one such artist who has long held the flag up for misrepresented Asian Americans with vitriolic anthems like his seminal track Part of the Nation which aggressively challenges Asian stereotypes in American society. Originally an artist on Detonator Records alongside the likes of C-Rayz Walz and a longtime collaborator with the GZA, Mr. Lif and Akrobatik, Chan is now enjoying the privileges of being the owner of his own growing label, Dynasty Muzik.
While Jin and Chan have been holding it down for Asians on the East Coast for some time now, California has found representation in the unstoppable trio, Far-East Movement. Comprised of Kev Nish, Prohgress and J-Spliff, FM (as they are often referred to) are quickly paving their way to the mainstream limelight with appearances on Fox News and feature films like this summer's The Fast and The Furious: Tokyo Drift. Constantly working on enhancing their ineffable sound and group dynamic, an FM live show is truly an experience that is not to be missed. Freshwater Rapscallions will be their first live appearance on the East Coast.
The Leslie Humanities Center and Unit Unique have come together to produce Freshwater Rapscallions, a monumental show that puts today's finest Asian American MCs together on one stage for the first time on the East Coast. Renowned West Coast graffiti artist David Choe will also be painting live onstage during the show, which will conclude his three-day mural project with Dartmouth's visual arts students.
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