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I Love Chicks

Taiwan's biggest rapper on stage this Saturday - By Marcus, Jan 25, 08

The weekends are usually jam-packed with things to do in the concrete oasis known as Shanghai, but this Friday night is just staggering. Jin the Emcee, Jason and Blake along with the super skills of Team Canada are at Volar. Mixmaster Choyce Kutz is opening for the always-impressive Basement Jaxx at Muse. The inspirational DJ Shortkut of the World Famous Beat Junkies will be dropping bombs at The Shelter for the Uprooted Sunshine Sound System. Even Sasha will be across the Huang Pu at The Wall doing that thing that top five DJs do.
But that's not all, folks. For the first time in Shanghai, teens, teenie-boppers, tweens and everything in between will be out in full force to see one of Asia's biggest rappers, MC Hot Dog. Known as Taiwan's 'godfather of rap', Hot Dog rise to superstardom wasn't overnight. In 2001, he started out by rapping with his crew on the streets of Ximending, Taipei's ultra hip hangout for high schoolers. Soon, he was signed to a record deal and put out four EPs that sold well. But Hot Dog's budding hip-hop career came to a screeching halt when he had to go away for his two-year mandatory military service. Instead of becoming a sharpshooter or sniper, Hot Dog spent his days and nights following around a general and shooting photographs to be published in the weekly military newsletter. When asked about this time in his life, Hot Dog shook his head and said one word, "Sucks."

Instead of letting the armed forces break him down, Hot Dog spent every second of his down time writing rhymes and concocting new ideas for songs. In 2006, Hot Dog reintroduced himself as the bad boy of Taiwanese pop with his CD Wake Up. His beats were infused with G-funk and his lyrics were Eminem-light, but instead of being just an obnoxious rapper who would shout out swear words in English for the hell of it, Hot Dog became a critical and commercial success. He sold out the 7,000-seat Taiwan World Trade Center and at the 2007 Golden Melody Awards (Taiwan’s version of the Grammy Awards), Hot Dog preformed live and walked away the statue for Best Album of the Year.

MC Hot Dog's biggest hit is his ode to the beauty of the girls from Isla Formosa, Wo Ai Tai Mei (I Love Taiwanese Chicks). With it's playful attitude and easy going melody that sounds very similar to The Spinner's classic I'll Be Around, the song immediately became an anthem for the Mandarin-speaking population on both sides of the Taiwan Strait. There was a rumor that the song was requested so much in Guandii that it was still playing when the bulldozers came in to knock the walls down.

Hot Dog shares the bill at the Shanghai International Gymnastic Center with the anti-hero of Taiwan's indie slacker culture Zhang Zhen Yue and his band Free 9. These two have toured all over Taiwan and through the US together so their live shows are tight as they bounce between hip-hop, rock and roll and love ballads.

Event Listing with ticket details and address-taxi-printout here.

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