BFTE-Concert Endcap : The Shovel is in the Ground!

First off...Yes, I am relieved!

For those of you who weren't there (and that's MOST of you), what you guys missed was the Asian equivalent of Live Aid, Wildstyle, Rapamania, Harlem World, Sedwick Ave., and Cedar Park...Pioneers doing it for their community, their art, and culture in Montreal.

I cannot give you a play-by-play of everything that happened, since you just had to be there! But I will tell you what I take away from all this...

For those of you who chose not to attend, because you were skeptical that your own people were capable of rocking a party right, you are absolutely wrong! Not only did we enjoy almost 4 solid hours of entertainment, we broke every ignorant stereotype possible! And nobody wanted to leave, at the end, when the school's power-tripping security man came to throw us out! Man, what an ending...

On Dec.4, 6:45pm, I started off spinning some of my favorite cuts from Epik High, Dumbfoundead, Jin, Only Won, Paul Kim, Jasmine Trias, and Kero One.

Then at 7:30pm, with the crowd still filling in, I put on my radio drop from JIN and the crowd went wild! Then we went into the theme song of my radio show. From that point, the shovel was in the ground!

I came out to introduce myself to the crowd and told people about my radio show (most who've never heard of it...this will change soon, I hope!) and explained what my goals were, in putting together the show. Then I introduced TL Truong, as my co-host. She came out to the music of The Ting Tings - "That's Not My Name"...a trademark Blueprint Cru dance-tune. A hip hop show co-hosted by TL Truong?
This was JUST the beginning!


(TL performing on Vinnie's set - Photo by Yuju Lin)

She introduced an upcomming Montreal dance crew, called the Funky Kids, who set the bar for the evening with a stunning performance that even impressed TL herself!

And dance fans, if you thought seeing TL was enough, she brought along 2 VERY special guests from the dance world...Nathalie Levy (also from Blueprint) and Jet Li from POREOTIX!!! This was Heaven, for the Funky Kids, as they got to meet some of the very people who inspired them. And not to mention, I made the serious-reputation TL crack-up and helped her in embarrassing Nat (I hit on Nat...JC has NOTHING on me!)! lol

For me, it was a great experience, as I got to play the role of some of my greatest influences in comedy and late-night talk shows; Arsenio Hall, Donnie Simpson, William Shatner, and Ed Sullivan.

Personally, the biggest highlight of my show was that I got to back one of my favorite groups, as their DJ...Magnetic North and Taiyo Na! It's crazy to just be able to see them live. Crazier to have them perform at your show...but to be their DJ? What?!?!? Imagine a group that nobody in the audience is familiar with, belting out tunes that are only known in the Asian-American scene and still managing to make people scream and shout! Especially at the end of their Public Enemy-inspired banger "We Belong", the crowd erupted with the loudest cheer of the night! I was proud to have made so many people new fans of Magnetic North and Taiyo Na. Not only are they my friends, but their music really needs to be enjoyed by more Montreal fans than me. And I definitely succeeded, as many of my friends purchased their cd's. Even people who don't usually listen to hip hop!


(MN/TN/MV - Magnetic North, Taiyo Na, and me!  Photo by Yuju Lin)

Then it was time for our headliner to come out. And what a trooper she was! Making her way to Montreal in crutches, Masia One had the challenge of electrifying the crowd without the ability to showcase her electrifying dance moves.

She still manages to own the crowd with her dancehall-infused cuts, which will all be on her next album. She even opened up a dance-cypher with the Funky Kids doing their think on the dancefloor, with TL and Jet Li even joining in! All this at my show! WOW!!!

It's cool to see, in one of the youtube videos, that some of my most-square friends are even bobbing their heads to Masia's music! But just as everyone was really having a great time, some power-tripping janitor/security guy decided that our time was up and to throw us out..and nobody wanted to leave either!


(Masia One, DJ Dopey, and Sikh Knowledge - Photo by Yuju Lin)

Yes, I was pissed, but at the same time, it left people wanting more and not one person was unhappy with the evening of empowerment through entertainment!

After the show, the performers, friends, and I headed out to have poutine at La Banquise. It was quite fun to see our American friends (MN/TN, Jet Li, Jay Legaspi, and Amanda) stuff their faces with poutine...something that they've never before tried and all of us laughing about Direct's fantasy-statues and Battlestar Galactica DVD collection. Man, I am in a photo with MN/TN, two Blueprint Cru members, Jay Legaspi, and a member of Poreotix too! HOLY WTF!

Reviews on facebook came in the following day "eye-opening experience", "never knew so much Asian talent existed", "these guys know how to throw a party", "boost!", etc...

On Sunday afternoon, I had the pleasure of returning T-Vu, Taiyo, Dopey, and Masia to the airport. We had a very pleasure discussion and exchange. Also posed for an "illunimati" photo, all sitting in armchairs at the hotel. This picture, itself, is priceless to me as I'm sitting there surrounded by great artists who would've likely never met without my introduction. And if you ever hear of an MN/TN/Masia collabo, then you'll know how that came about :)

Our historical set:

1) Funky Kids dance crew
2) TL Truong intro
3) Budda Child
4) Ill Mestizo
5) Jason Ray
6) Jay Legaspi
7) Young Avz
8) Vinnie and others from his crew, with special performance from TL Truong!
9) Magnetic North and Taiyo Na
10) Masia One, accompanied by Sikh Knowledge and DJ Dopey

You guys are all pioneers and I am happy to have worked with you all.
Same goes to all the audience-members and my closest friends who helped me out with various tasks. You are all pioneers of something huge. Let's continue to build and promote. If not us, then who will?

We'll be baaaack!