Hip Hop Recap | Upcoming

Home

News

Upcoming

Hip Hop Recap

Kollaboration Hip Hop 2009
Written by Daisy Kim

Mantled behind the curtain of Hollywood Hills, 1,200-plus patrons attended Kollaboration’s first Hip Hop and Laugh Off on Friday, June 12th at the Ford Amphitheatre. Despite the sprawling trees that framed the theatre, the stage was painted in graffiti-inspired art, prepped more accordingly for the night’s Hip Hop show. It was visually an urban jungle- literally, with Hip Hop heads and BBoys dominating the stage in their bright colored kicks and loosely worn t-shirts amidst manicured lawns. Audience members ranged from families with their toddlers scrambling out of their strollers, to the Tweens eager to get a photograph of some of their favorite pop idols, to the many friends and supporters of the competitors holding up signs. The open-air venue appeared snug and felt intimate as audience members were in close-enough proximity to the performers to genuinely feel the rhythms and vibes of the stage.

The show’s program started out strong with thumping beats from DJ Denkym as introductions were made by Kollaboration’s Executive Producer, Roy Choi who ran down the stage to welcome everyone to the night’s show. Paul PK Kim, the Founder and host of the Kollaboration shows took over to start the Hip Hop and Laugh Off with his own mini-sets that poked fun at growing-up as an Asian-American that was asked if he ate rice everyday, to nostalgic references to the good old days’ of Hip Hop. As the competitors took the stage, the performances got fierce. Dance crew Funky Soul let loose on stage as they remained in tact altogether with their popping, breaking, and street dance moves come to play. Five different rap music acts exchanged blows on the mic: tier2- a duo of Kollaboration alumni; Dumbfoundead- an MC out of Koreatown; Verseatile- feat. Olivia Thai filled the entire venue with his crisp rhymes and her booming, rich voice; 3Strykes Krew- the Los Angeleno trio of emcees; and Starstudded- quick-witted lyricists from Cerritos, CA.

The battle between BBoy crews The Advent Children, 3D, Legion of Doom, and Zombie Hunters’ battle got the audiences wilding out, and left the special guest judges Project Soul Collective in a hesitant state over selecting the winner. Bboy Phoenix and Bboy Rookie of the internationally awarded Project Soul and Bboy Win picked Legion of Doom as the night’s winner. Project Soul Collective (also included Bboy Hong10, Bboy Physicx, and Bboy Born) which had flown in from South Korea for the show delivered an intensely energetic performance that made the crowd applaud for an encore.

The Comedians which left everyone’s sides itching from laughter- Edwin San Juan, Kevin Shea, and Gerry Bedknob made the night seem like a cherry-on-top-of-a-sundae. Edwin San Juan retold everyone of his pokes and jabs about the Pacquiao win; Kevin Shea was blunt yet hysterical; and Gerry Bedknob who had audiences whispering “Oh, it’s the 40-Year-Old-Virgin dude” unable to finish their sentences from laughing out loud. It was towards the end of the latter half of the show when audience members had their arms flaring in the air for Rubox the guest Beat-boxer’s enthralling “5 Elements of Hip Hop” skit.

The celebrity guest judges- Adrian Hong, the Executive Director of Liberty in North Korea and the Pegasus Project; Roscoe Umali, the Hip Hop/Rap artist; Brian Tee, actor from Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift and in the upcoming Wedding Palace; Aaron Yoo, actor from 21 and in the upcoming film Gamer; and Justin Chon, actor from Twilight and the upcoming film New Moon voted for the night’s big winner, Dumbfoundead. Dumbfoundead’s performance which paid tribute to his ex-lovers whom he dubbed as “broke-diggers” won over the judges and the $1,000 cash-prize. The Audience Choice Award sponsored by Verizon Wireless which was another $1,000 cash prize went to Starstudded which had the largest and most enthusiastic fan-base of the night.

Asian for Miracle Marrow Matches, another non-profit organization that Kollaboration has been working with as a supporter was actively presenting a donor drive at a booth that night. Kollaboration supporters joined Asian for Miracle Marrow Matches’s donor list at their booth to be a part of their growing registry.

Kollboration’s Hip Hop and Laugh Off was the first of two Kollaboration shows that are scheduled at the Ford Amphitheatre during this summer. As a partner of Ford Theatres, Kollaboration has been invited to be a part of their annual Summer Series which is an ongoing partnership with Los Angeles County and its Performing Arts Commission that is dedicated to bringing an array of music and theatre to enhance the cultural enrichment of Los Angeles County. Kollaboration Hip Hop and Laugh Off was also a part of Target Dance Series at the Ford.

Special thanks to our fans, supporters, and staff!

Set as favorite

Bookmark

Email This

Comments (4) Add Comment