A restless nite...

This is Fama's new song 富甲天下 (The Wealthiest in the World), a message in the wake of financial tsunami.

Vasco had a restless nite, mostly because Alice was dreaming bad dreams.

Vasco was thinking about MC Yan and the stuff he heard and read about 'conscious rap'...and he was a bit disturbed. #1: he might have 'reappropriated' the name YP from another Asian American rap group from the early 90s. It should also be stated that this reflection came from the reading on cultural studies in HK as well. Eric Ma said that in order to be published in English, local cultural studies are inevitably translating what is essentially a Cantonese experience into English; and in the process, exoticizing that experience.

Vasco was thinking that this was exactly the case with MC Yan and his 'conscious rap'. Vasco put the quotation marks for that kind of 'exoticism' and 'othering' through academic writing. Does an hip hop/rap artist/group have to use 'taboo' words to achieve 'a discussion on social/political issues'? Does the band have to be underground to be socially conscious? If the band is no longer 'underground' (in HK, that means you only have your mom and granny supporting your gig), the band is no longer 'socially conscious'? What is socially conscious anyway? Grumpy old man ranting? The hip hop band that does not use chou hau is not 'grass-root' (the HK term for the disadvantaged and the working class)? Only 'grass-root' claiming artists are allowed to be socially conscious? Or only those privileged by the academics? Give Vasco a break: that is all stigmatization and he just wants to say...WTF!

OK, that officially makes Vasco 'grass-root'...even though he drinks only bottled water.

Enough ranting from Vasco, and enjoy the music from Fama and My Little Airport, two socially conscious indie/mainstream bands, with a strong fan base among the HK 'grass root' and 'college boys and girls'!




This is a new song by My Little Airport 北歐是我們的死亡終站 (Northern Europe is our final destination before death)...