China Daily on Obama Win
YESＷＥCAN!!!!!! OBAMA!!!!!!!!!!!
Where to go on Election Day in Shanghai, China?
Vlad and Friend Boris on Palin
Chinglish, Engrish? I dunno. Here's a mix from Shanghai and Wuhan.
The Legend of Bruce Lee
Watch Debate Replay in Shanghai
Soulfire in Nanjing!
Keeping Up With The Wangs???
Where I'm going tomorrow night:
Check Out My New Marriage Blog
Great place to get cheap and good sandwiches in Shanghai
China BOTY Soundtrack
More on today's floods
Floods in Shanghai
This hug was a little too long, Yao...
Olympics is done, but I had fun watching!
LEAVE LIU XIANG ALONE!!!
China's Opening Ceremony for the 2008 Beijing Olympics
SOULFIRE IS COMING TO SHANGHAI!!! 8-18!!!
For Those That Wonder If I Still Break...
Typhoon In China
Busy weekends this weekend and next weekend...
My Jeju Review
Redstar interview on Interhiphop
Chinese Drama On Trying to Make It With Hip-Hop
50 Moganshan Lu is the bomb
The Greenwich Village has finally come to Shanghai
Oh snap... Liu Xiang, WATCH OUT!
In Jeju, Korea two weeks from today...
Monsoon Season has arrived!!
No more plastic bags!!!
SOULFIRE IS COMING TO CHANGSHA!! 6-16!!!
Need Studio Space for rent in Shanghai? Soulfire's got your back.
YES WE CAN!!!
DJVibe.CN
Chinese Hip-hop Tune dedicated to the Earthquake
Graff in Shanghai
Take a day off, fool! It's Dragon Boat Festival!
HA HA HA: The Movie
I Heart Beca.
Response to Sharon Stone by Chinese Actor
Hiphop.cn's Xi You Ji Volume 2 Mixtape Is Out!!!
Sharon Stone on China Earthquake
The Last Time We're Going to Kowloon Ice House.
Last Stop - Xuzhou
Back to the Roots @ The Shelter - This Friday
The Forbidden Kingdon (Gong Fu Zhi Wang)
Saved after being trapped for over 180 hours... and gave birth!
How to Dress for Mourning...

Vlad and Friend Boris on Palin

China borders Russia... Can Palin see Zoe and I?

I am so proud of our Middlebury Alumni. =)

Chinglish, Engrish? I dunno. Here's a mix from Shanghai and Wuhan.

These are all from my cell.

"Take care of the gap." Make sure it gets plenty of food and water.

OK! OK!! OK!!! I'll be cautious!! My bad!

"Striving for national civilized city, I know, I participated in, I dedicated. Renovated during the construction period, cause inconvenience to you, after updating" ... I have nothing to say to this one...

Typhoon In China

A lot of water, a lot of typhoon.

7/28, 7:30 AM: Zoe and I head over to the gym and we notice a strange gusts of winds blowing through our complex. The clouds are moving at a super fast speed. It's hot, but cool at the same time and it's been sunny way too much for the last months.

This must mean only one thing...

7/28, 10:00 PM: All is warm and dry outside like normal. We're walking back to our apartment with bags of groceries from Carrefour and some shoes we got from the underground market near the 2 metro stop when all of the sudden.

WHOOOOOOOOSHHHHH!!

It's sudden downour. The open doors in our house shut loudly... BLAM! Oh! The windows are open! It's a fury of wind and rain for 20 minutes...

This must mean only one thing... A typhoon has finally hit Shanghai. It's that time of the year!

7/29, today: cloudy, cool, strong winds, but nothing that could knock over people, cars or buildings, but stong enough that you know the weather has changed a ton. Kind of feels like Fall.

Actually, I like the typhoon, I can actually breathe again after all this humidity!

Chinese Drama On Trying to Make It With Hip-Hop

I was kinda shocked to see this myself...

I don't know how many shows there are, but you can take a look, they are all on Tudou.com. I think Tangking told me about this...

The Greenwich Village has finally come to Shanghai

This was taken on the 2 line in Shanghai... How did I miss this?

The guy in the red with the glasses looks a little... uncomfortable...

"It's gotta be the shoes."

On the note of 'interesting' people on the train, there's this portly guy who (I saw him on the 1 train with my wife) gets on the train, starts ranting away some speeches, preaches about life and current events on the train out loud. It's kind of funny. If anyone can find videos or stories on this guy, please send them in.

Legalize it... China did!

Well, not really, but it's a city name!

Belive it or not, China has a city called "Weed" (Marijuana). The characters above are "Da" and "Ma" and they match the same strokes of the famous leaf. I found this gem at the Linping bus station as I was heading back to Shanghai.

By the way, Linping isn't Hangzhou, it's a suburb of Hangzhou... I thought we would perform in the center of Hangzhou... oh well. The gig went well and Zoe and I were able to land this great picture!)

China's pretty OPEN, huh?

Xuzhou next week!!

My Wedding Pictures

If you like this, you'll love the other pictures we took!!!

Taking wedding pictures is an expereince, an all day experience. And in China, it's unforgettable.

Zoe and I went to the Shanghai's Forest park, took some more pics in the studio, and even headed to the Bund. Al of this was by Masa LiLi. It was fun and the price wasn't too bad. The wedding market is pretty big out here, so of course, the quality matches the price just right.

After taking so many pics in the hot weather... I started to get sick. Zoe held on pretty tight, so I'm pretty proud of my little model. =) Love you, babe!

So yeah, if you are in China, there's a lot of options for wedding pics. I think Zoe and I made a great choice... Next stop... actually having a wedding! haha! =)

Redstar Intro on Hip-Hop.CN

MoJo reppin' Redstar for Hiphop.cn

(The following is a translation/transcript by yours truly.)

Ready? OK.

I'm MoJo from Brooklyn, NY, but now, I'm in Shanghai with Redstar, we are a dope hiphop group. Redstar is revolution. We Are Revolution.

We're going to change the shape of China Hip-Hop by giving it more elements, depth and sophistication. This is us, we represent Shanghai, we represent real hip-hop, international hip-hop, China hip-hop, we got it all.

Check it, we were on NPR, and even they wanted to interview us. Take a look at that! Now we're on HipHop.cn. Shoutouts to Hip-Hop.cn for supporting us. We need that support. We need more people like us, more hardworking hip-hop groups.

This makes me think about a picture we have where we were walking down this street and there's this long road behind us in the picture. That picture represents the long road an mc has, a producer has, a band has, particularly a hip-hop band has long and difficult.

But now we're here for the service of the people. The service of China and the service of the entire world. This is our most important and main goal. Holler... Hiphop.cn 4 liiiife!

(Singing "Who We Be" Chorus with Tangking)(Beatboxing)

---------------

Back to the music... Enjoy this tune called "Xun Zhao" (Searching). It's not done yet, but I think you'll still like it.

Nanjing... we back in tha building!

1912 in Nanjing

Once again, I returned to Nanjing and when I arrived, I realized so much has changed. Firstly, the town is a lot greener with more trees. Secondly, there are way more foreigners living there than I've ever seen. Lastly, 1912 has finally become a huge part of Nanjing's dining, nightlife and overall entertainment experience.

1912, as you might know, is called 1912 because in 1912, Nanjing became the capital of China with the country's first president, Sun Yat-sen. (Not far from 1912 is the Presidential Palace.) 1912 was a great time for Nanjing because it shows Nanjing at a time when it was bustling and becoming the true epicenter of China.

Almost 100 years later, it's getting back to that feel from 1912 at the formentioned entertainment district. Full of cuisines from Thai, local Chinese to KFC and more bars and clubs that you can shake a stick at. I perfromed there with Chivas last Saturday night at a place called Fei Bi Club (aka Phoebe Club). The place had a bit too much neon lights and metalic frames for my tasts (which is very common in Chinese clubs), so I did take a trip to Little Scarlet along with my wife, DJ Melkman, along with local friends Yuichiro (my Midd class mate and GT representer), Miki (From F&W and in-nanjing.net) and his girlfriend, and Kai.

If you're looking to move away from the 1912 spots, I would sugest two more places also worth checking out:

Nanjing's Underground Mall (aka Fashion Lady)

You want sneakers, high heels, dresses, shirts, hats and sunglasses for cheap (or relatively cheap), you got it all here. There's like 2-3 floors ful of tiny stores where you can bargain for all your clothing needs. I find that the fit for most of the clothes here is a bit small for me, particularly in the shoes department, but otherwise, it's great if you are a gal looking for a bargain and different styles that, chances are, other people won't have.

The place is full of people, I would recommend going on Sunday afternoon where it is a little easy to walk through. The spot is not far from Xinjiekou across the street from Dong Fang Shang Cheng Shopping Mall (which now has the real Gucci and Armani stores???) near the Jinling Hotel.

Planta

Planta is a Thai food/lounge/bar/club in Nanjing. It's pretty far away from other clubs and kinf of hard tofind because it's way behind some science building. When you areive at Planta, you'll find plenty of couches, dimmed lights and chill music. When I was first there with Aric in '06, there was noone there. Last Saturday, When I was there with Zoe, I thought I was at Glamour Bar on a Friday night. It was packed with people, Chinese and foreigners alike, all dressed in black with downtempo and acid jazz playing and folks schmoozing. Call it pretentious, call it cool, but this is a change for Nanjing, finally, an alternative for all.

Anyway, that's all for now. This Friday is Hangzhou at Lin Ping Ben Se.

Just when you though Facebook was the last straw... Here's Shanghai Stuff...

This weekend in Shanghai... Which I will miss...

Ashanti and Zhang Xue You do a duet?

The Way That I Love You by Ashanti

OK, I lied... there's no duet, but is it just me or does Ashanti's "The Way That I Love You" sound a little like Zhang Xue You's (Jacky Cheung) "Yi Qian Ge Shang Xin De Li You" (how to translate... A Thousand Reasons That Cause My Pain...). Check out that piano! Is the riff from a classical song or something?

"Yi Qian Ge Shang Xin De Li You" by Zhang Xue You (Jacky Cheung)

Anyway, Zhang Xue You's is first to begin with... Just look at the video! He's got that early 90's look going on there. You can't miss that.

Both are great songs in my book.

MoJo in Good Magazine

Chillin' with the China peeps

Firstly, I want to apologize about MoJo In China's mysterious disappearance from the web. It's been about a year of MoJo In China and we've grown up A LOT... Which means my website expired. But we're back with more posts.

Speaking of getting posted, internationally, I was recently featured in Good Magazine about Strangers in a Strange Land. Decent name for a post, but I defeinitely don't feel strange here... Wanna see strange? Go to a third (or second if you in eastern or southern China) tier city karaoke or club at around 12am. That's strange.

Good Magazine has done some really good stories lately on China, particulary leading up to the Olympics. I bet all the Tibet related stuff going on in the world is really blowing up their mag. Anyway, thanks for the article and great pics, Ariana! I'm still waiting for my copies!!!

The Expat Directory Warms My Heart

Props!!

Check out what the China Expat Community from The Expat Directory have to say about MoJo In China (And I didn't write this!):

"....Probably the most energetic Expat website I have had the pleasure of reading through. The site is about MoJo and his take on life in China as a hip-hop MC, China academic and whatever else. You won't regret browsing this very interesting, funny and entertaining site! Highly recommended..."

This is the part when I start to tear up... Nah, man!! It's just dust in my eye!!, Alright?!?!, Just dust!... From all the construction and developing a harmonious society! Nah mean? I'm still a man! A sensitive one... but still!!... Hehe

I'll keep jia'ing my you (jia you) for the world to learn more about China, from MoJo's eyes... Xie xie, dajia!

(Note to self... Write book on MoJo In China... make millions... MUAHAHAHAHAH....)

MoJo in Shaoxing

Waterways and canals can be found throughout Shaoxing.

My wife and I are in Shaoxing located in Zhejiang province, for one stop on a nine city tour for sevan weekends through Zhejiang and Jiangsu provinces for Chivas 12 y.o. I'm mcing and beatboxing the shows, which is fun. When ever I do these kinds of shows, I get to see bits and pieces of these cities, but it's never long enough...

Anyway, my wife's family is originally from there (Father-in-law's side, grandfather...) and it's been nice to see it... There are a lot of canals and waterways, much like Suzhou, but I find Shaoxing to be more quaint, at least at first glance.

Next up, Yiwu. Looking forward to it!

Faxing in China is really annoying...

And Dated!!

I work... and we all do.. Sometimes, we gotta send things, and sometimes those things need a signature... And one of the best ways to do it (if you don't have a scanner) is via fax... If you don't have one at home, you can go to a center to do that for you...

I've found faxing in China as a chore... and it's tiring and it can be costly.. Hong Kong, although is a part of China, is still included as an international number so even for sending to certain parts of the country.. It's more expensive...

I would like to see a Kinko's in Shanghai who can just take your stuff, send it away, and do it all for one low and great price... "Yi Tiao Long" (One Long Dragon... which is kind of like everything in one place...), that's what we need... I'm tired of sending from business hotels and spending more than I have to!

Note to self... Buy a scanner...

Second note to self... develop a perfect fax machine, bring it to China and rule the world... MUAHAHAHAHA... ummm... I think I'll keep my day job.

Things you shouldn't do in China... and why.

Why did you split the pear????

Every now and then, I'll throw up a post on things you shouldn't do while you are in China. Tradition and superstition is pretty big out here, even as China becomes a modern society... here's some stuff you NEED TO KNOW.

1. Don't split your pear and share the other half with your loved one.

Pear in Chinese is "Li Zi" and to say divorce in Chinese is "Li Hun"... notice that both pear and divorce in Chinese contain the word "li" they are written differently with different vocal tones, but are similar because of the li pronunciation. Li, in this case, would mean "to split" or "break up".

Don't give your loved one the other half of your pear... Get a second pear and both you eat a whole one... and don't have so many "li's" going around!

2. Don't giving anyone Chrysanthemums.

Stupid idea. I've done it (And I won't say to who, but that person knows I didn't mean it...). They are are pretty, but they are closely related to Tomb Sweeping Day. Yep... Death Flowers.

The movie Curse of the Golden Flower is also closely related to Chrysanthemums... and at the end of the movie, just about everyone dies.

Get tulips instead.

If I Hear "HELLO" One More Time, I'm Gonna...

I'm all about comunication. Heck, my major in college was a language. I've worked for a PR firm and currently host a radio show, which is all about media and communications. Relating to people is a must for me. So greeting people with a hi, what's up and sometimes "hello" is key...

But not all the time!!!

If you are a foreigner in China, or you look relatively not Chinese, and you are in China, be ready to be told hello... and a lot! And the hello, isn't any random hello... it's a HAAAAAAAAALLLLLOOOOO! (Major stress on the A and O... don't know how the "e" in hello changes into such a strong and harsh "a", but it does.)

I guess it's people being friendly, so I can't be all that mad. The olympics are coming and people out here are taking major and minor steps to be worldly... But please, not so much "hello", we get it all day! And it sounds almost like a 5 year-old saying hello, and I don't even know you! This is why I carry my ipod.

Imagine if I walked around saying "Ni Hao!" to people around China or every Asian looking person I saw... That wouldn't be cool... (And I know people who do that too, they should stop as well.)

In China, don't be surprised if someone uses hello to call you over to remind you about something or to do something... they won't say "hey, you!" They're gonna say, "Hello!", because you look like a foreigner. it sounds like of rude and can defeinitely come off that way, but most people don't know, "Hey you", or "Yo..." You might get a "Lookie Lookie" though.

Chinese People Exersizing Early In The Morning

This isn't a cult, people! It's old people exersizing in China!!

(I hope this doesn't offend anyone, this is just an observation!)

My wife and I wake up everyday at 6am to get ready for work. I generally walk her over to the subway and send her on her way. This is great for two reasons: 1. I send my wife off feeling energized and ready to go, whcih also makes me feel energized to work that day as well. 2. I can watch old Chinese people geting in some good early morning exersize!

(Note: It's prety much never younger Chinese because they are generally busy getting ready for a long day at the office.)

This morning, from my terrace, I watched an old Chinese woman in her 70's clapping her hands while walking and sitting around the pond in the middle of our complex. There was no music playing. She wasn't applauding for a show. Nor was she trying to compose a Just Blaze beat. She was just clapping.

I'm used to seeing this interesting form of exersize having lived in China for over three years, but I had to ask my wife for myself just what the heck is going on...

Me: Why is this lady clapping her hands like she's calling to aliens or something?

Wife: (Smiles) What do you mean?

Me: Y'know, she's clapping her hands like she's doing a rain dance or reaching out to her ancestors through ESP or something. (Note: Today's Qingming Jie by the way... so I have my reasons fo the ancestor thing..) She's staring around her too... Yo, look at this!

Wife: (Laughs) No, that's just to get more circulation through her body, that's all...

Yes, so it's all exersize. If you see old people walking around slapping and hitting their own bodies, walking backwards, or singing opera songs to themselves, they aren't possessed... it's exersize.

I have to give these people a lot of credit though, I mean, if this is why Chinese live so long, maybe we all should get into these crazy looking exersizes as well... Alas, gyms are starting to take form out here (I work out at a gym myself...), and well... these exersizes do kind of look goofy... to the untrained eye...

I heard that a lot of these movements are a part of a traditional Chinese exersize called Qi Gong. (And Qi Gong makes any weak looking person feel pretty darn gangster.

Anyway, here are some more videos of old people doing some interesting "exersizes". Respect the game, don't hate the player.

This is my favorite video because in the begining of the video, the ldy in the blue is basically popping. She makes the corny song sound pretty dope!

Happy Spring!

Will Chinese Hip-Hop ever take itself seriously?

Getting your wisdom tooth removed in China..

Jennifer Love Hewitt and Jessica Simpson Speak Chinese???

Well... Kind of!

Here's some proof positive that more celebs are getting themselves out into the China market. Here's american Actress Jennifer Love Hewitt and singer Jessica Simpson in a TV commercial/Paid Advertisement for skin care product, Proactiv. Here's the commercial translated:

Jennifer Love Hewitt:

Ni Hao! Wo Shi Jennifer Love Hewitt! (Hello! I am Jennifer Love Hewitt!) Gao Lan Yao Fu, fei chang hao! (Proactive is really good!)

Jessica Simpson:

Da Jia Hao. Wo Shi Jessica Simpson. (Hi everybody. I am Jessica Simpson.) Wo Ai Gao Lan Yao Fu. (I Love Proactive.)

If I were to do a Chinese language battle between these two Hollywood starlets, Jessica Simpson would definitely win. She sounds more natural, smooth and chill, just like the way when someone normally talks to you. Jennifer Love Hewitt has that foreign voice that most Chinese out here make fun of foreigners for...

But these guys are celebs and Chinese is hard... Kudos to the both of these guys for speaking the language and speaking it pretty clearly!

By the way, the first lady in the show is named Annie Shizuke Inoh, also known as Yi Neng Jing... she is a popular singer and actress from Taiwan and is married to singer-songwriter Harlem Yu - Yu Chengqing. I love that he's named after the black neighborhood of Harlem. DEEP down inside... Harlem Yu's a brother.

Foreigners singin' Chinese songs...

Below some videos of original Chinese songs and foreigners (aka lao wai) singing new English versions... If anyone can find any more stuff like this, let me know... (Other languages? Whatever, just pass it on...)

Wang Fei (Faye Wong) "Wo Yuan Yi" (I Want)

Not sure of the artist's name... But does it sound familiar? (Ahem... the one with Wang Fei!)

Jacky Cheung (Zhang Xue You) "Wen Bie" (Goodnight Kiss)

Michael Learns To Rock, "Take Me To Your Heart". Hey... This sounds the same as...

Wang Fei and Jacky are huge out here, and "Take Me To You Heart" is played to death in every shopping mall... I think the new "Wo Yuan Yi" will be big out here too... No matter what, it looks like Chinese music is finding it's own ways to spreads it's wings internationally...

I just want to hear more Redstar. Holla!

I need protein powder!!!

If anyone can help me find stuff like this for cheap in Shanghai.. I'd appreciate it!

As of the last 2 months, I've been going to the gym about five times a week. (Thank you, thank you, please hold the applause!) But I've recently run out of protein powder and it's hard to find this stuff (at a good price) in Shanghai. The last time I got this stuff, it cost me about 800 RMB... (Over 100 USD)... It really works, but I would rather SAVE money than spend it... (400-600 RMB is more reasonable for me!

If you have any ideas, post me a comment or you can reply to this post I left on City Weekend. Thanks! (Boy, do I wish GNC was in Shanghai...)

***** UPDATE: Thank you Jordo960 for the helpful site!!*****

Bring China's Hip-Hop Granny to BOTY China 2008!!

Lonely God Chips...

If your name is Zeus and you are single... Then these are for you.

I just had a bag of these chips (They look kind of like Puffed Cheese Doodles, but not as cheesy and a bit sweeter), and I noticed the name of these chips, "Lonely God". The name is quite poetic and prolific but a bit too deep to be the name for a bag of chips, and it doesn't really match the goofy cartoons on the package. (There one pic with the Wang Wang boy - see below - celebrating Chinese New Year.)

This guy is TOO happy about those chips.

The stuff is called "Lang Wei Xian". I don't know a good translation for this, (Babelfish says "Wave Taste Immortal") so if you are reading and you know, leave me a comment. Just know that there's always a Lonely God looking out for you, especially when you are hungry!

Amazing translation by Chinese reporter from Edison Chan (Chen Guan Xi) press conference

I'll never be able to top this reporter...

Anyway, if you guys haven't heard about the latest news on entertainer Edison Chan (Chen Guan Xi), do a google search cause there's a lot out there about this and people in China talk about it everyday...

Edison speaks English in this one (He's Canadian), so for all the Yankees, Brits and speakers who use the words: the, that and those in their common language, it won't be a problem understanding him...

The part that caught me the most was the translator who is a reporter on this news channel. The simutaneous translator is superior and accurate... Also, I think he was an actor before he became a reporter because he sounds like someone trying to get an Oscar or working on a crtically acclaimed flick. And his speed is on point!

Anyway, that's it from me. I hope things boil over for Edison and all the other folks involved in this matter and they can live normally once again. Maybe an EDC-Redstar Collabo? Who knows... I'm out!

Nothing more fun than some Beijing Olympics gossip!

OWNED

I know this is old news, but this video is about (former) CCTV sportscaster Zhang Bin got totally played out by his wife Hu Ziwei at a media press conference for CCTV's kick off for the Olympics. This video is worth watching.

Basically, Zhang Bin cheated on his wife, wife finds out, wife goes to (ex)husband's biggest media event of his life 2 hours after the bad news (and CCTV's!) and calls his bluff in the biggest way.

This is translated in English and Chinese so you won't miss a thing, particularly Hu Ziwei's meaning and metaphorical usage. It's pretty deep...

To follow up, Hu Ziwei is now an anchorwoman for a new program on CCTV about a greener Olympics. As for Zhang Bin... I don't think China has heard from him since.

KARMA.

The Most Annoying Commercial in China

How could they let this happen???

The first time I saw this commercial was durng the Chinese New Year's Eve Special on CCTV at around 12:00am... Annoying, right? And it for some wool company... I was with my parents and Zoe at the time. Dad and I already downed about 2 bottles of Huang Jiu (Chinese Yellow Wine) and man... This thing came on...

They keep repeating the company's name which is "Heng Yuan Xiang" and they they are the sponsor of the Beijing Olympics and then they say an animal from the Chinese zodiac three times. Then they repeat the same commercial with another animal in the zodiac... and again... and again... There are 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac!!!!!

In terms of advertising, it is genius, because it is so annoying and so unforgettable... Zhen tao yan! (How annoying!)

Self-Contradictory

Or as the Chinese call it, Zi Xiang Mao Dun (Selling both the "Strongest Shield" and the "Strongest Spear") This was on my plane on the way to Sanya... I'm confused...

Hey... Smoking's OK?!

Wait... No it's not... I'm confused...

MoJo's China stories: Chapter 1

MoJo stars as Captain America

TRUE STORY: "I Hate Americans"

Last Tuesday evening, I was on my way to the gym near my house. I took the elevator and as I entered the elevator, I stood by the front so I could be the first to get out, show my gym card to the front desk and dash to the lockers. (I was already late for Body Pump class and my wife was waiting on me with al lmy equipment ready.) In the elevator were two young Chinese women, one to my left and another behind me. There was a bit of space in between all of us, since the elevator was pretty big.

The elevator stopped at the 4th floor and three middle-aged Chinese women got on the elevator. And one of them had some things on her mind that she HAD to spurt out for the entire elevator to hear... Of course... this was in Chinese:

"I hate Americans!!" (Wo Hen Mei Guo Ren!)

I had to pause at that moment. I though she said something else... I kind of hoped she said "Wo Hen Mei Li De Ren" which means, "I hate beautiful people", but that wouldn't make much sense... She continued her rant, and this time, with more confidence:

"I REALLY hate Americans!!" (Wo Zhen De Hen Mei Guo Ren!!)

Woah... Ok... I think my hearing was right at this point, I was ready to out on my Captain America suit, load up my shield, and defend my country, but I'm not much of a confrontational person, I needed a bit more... evidence...

"The people I hate the most are Americans!!" (Wo Zui Hen De Shi Mei Guo Ren!!)

THAT'S IT!!! Wow.. I was right all along... Now I don't know what her deal was, but I was floored by her very forward statement in such a public place... And her rants were consecutive... She didn't stop to think about it, she just went for it... Actually at this point, I WISHED she would say that line... and she did!!

She obviously didn't see, me, but if she did when she walked in the elevator.. she might have said it anyway... Thining that I can't understand her... Man, she had another thing coming! It kind of reminded me of when I first got to China in 2002 and overheard this lady talk about black people... Yo, I had to jump in!

For the sake of clarity: The rater will be R, and I'll be M, for obvious reasons... This conversation/debate/punking out session was all in Chinese...

M: "So, you hate Americans, huh?"

R: "Yep!"

M: "Guess what? I am American!"

R: "Really?"(smiles nervously) "Well, you're probably not like all the Americans I'm talking about!"

M: "Listen, miss, you are absolutely rude. I know we may not have the best global policies in the world or a great president that can handle those policies, but do go on thinking all Americans are all the same and that we're all awful!" (The lady to the left of me laughs, probably because she's surprised that I can say global policies in Chinese and the pure fact that that lady just got punk'd!)

R: "Yes, but..."

M: "Next time, you best watch your mouth and be careful when and where you say things and who understands you! Watch your back!"

I left the elevator, politely asked for my locker key at the front desk and gave them my card... I felt like a champion, a fighter for Sino-US Relations...

I can't think of a clever way to conclude this story.. I have no diplomatic ending here... I can't defend Americans or Chinese on this one.. I just think people need to think before they make statements... Even I have to do the same, cause hey, you never know who is out there listening or watching.

Careful of the snow and safe travels!

It's Chinese New Year, have a safe vacation this snowy season!

I've seen nothing like it, a foot of snow in Nanjing, 150,000 passengers stuck in Guangzhou, slush all over Shanghai. Places that haven't been affected by snow in years are getting a taste of winter's medicine.

Just wanted to take the time to which everyone safe travels wherever you go and as the Chinese say, "Wear more, drink more warm water and stay indoors as much as you can!" Peace.

Chinese Inspiration and Leadership by Lao Zi

~ Lao Zi

For all "I-something" users on the Mainland...

MoJo In China (Daily)

I'm in this issue of China Daily and I don't know why...

But they put me in. Check out the article online here. It's about the things you normally hear on my blog: Redstar, Hip-Hop, Chinese, Future and Current Plans, and last but certainly not least, my family life. Respect.

Peace to Ida on the article and congrats on getting the 1,000 words!

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM CHINA!

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU AND YOURS ALL THE WAY FROM SHANGHAI, CHINA!

TO ALL MY FAMILY AND FRIENDS BACK HOME, I'LL BE BACK SOON WITH MY WIFE... COME TO CHINA, WE GOT AN EXTRA ROOM!

TO ALL OUR PEEPS IN CHINA, ENJOY THIS HOLIDAY SEASON AND DON'T BUG US UNTIL 2008!! BAH HUMBUG! HAHAHA!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Love, Peace and Hair Grease this holiday season!

-- MoJo and Zoe

Beatboxing in Taiwan

Check out this cool duo beatbox skit from Taiwan. Sent to me by my Co-worker Flora. Enjoy!

Pandas + China = Concept Art

Remember: Wednesday, September 25th China's Moon Festival

It's that time again...

Just want to send a reminder to all you guys out there, whether you're in or out of China. This Wednesday the 25th is China's Moon Festival. Check out that full moon cause this is as round as it gets all year long!

The meaning behind the moon festival is really cool. Finally, it's one time of the year where the moon is complete and for those relatives and loved ones that are far away, you can share the moon with them and remember each other together.

And on that note, here's a little diddy by Tao Zhe aka David Tao called "Yue Liang Dai Biao Wo De Xin" (The Moon Represents My Heart). This is a new and more R&Bish version (Respect to Deng Lijun! R.I.P. Keep the moon bright for us in heaven!!), but it's perfect for the '07. Enjoy!

Dedicated to my lovely wifey, Zoe!

Hey, China! Got problems with Flickr? Try "YuPoo".

YuPoo, I Poo, We all Poo!!

Granted, the name isn't very amazing, appealing or appetizing in any way, it sounds like a punchline from a third grade classroom joke, but it's memorable as heck and it whoops the pants off of Flickr (in China). YuPoo works for me!

Why doesn't Flickr work? It all goes back to the Great Firewall of China. I won't give a lesson on it all, but it stops me from doing the things I loved to do on Shanghaiist and still do with Mojo In China - upload personal photos and make full use of my 1800 RMB Canon!

Disclaimer: YuPoo has nothing to do with the actual substance and YuPoo is only in Chinese. Learn Chinese, man!

What questions do YOU get asked in China?

Cool song by XIV called 50 Questions.

I was just checking out this video by my man XIV up in Beijing (representing Beijing first hip-hop group, Yin Tsang), and I found some inspiration to get up a post this Monday morning. Here's the top 10 questions I get asked almost everyday in China:

1. Where are you from? (Standard question... I get this from foreigners too, except Europeans, they can smell the "American" on me.)

2. Wow, America, that's a great country! What are you doing in China then? (This one makes me feel like I made a mistake living here!)

3. How much do you make per month? (I just met you, man!)

4. You are black? (Me:Yes.) But you don't look very Black. (What does black look like???)

5. You are American? (Me: Yes.) But you don't look American. (Assuming I should look, ahem - white... thanks, media!)

6. Do you watch the NBA? (White people get this too, it's ok. NBA is big out here.)

7. What cities have you been to in China? (I hate this questions because it takes me about ten minutes to answer this one! See all my travel related posts)

8. Is your hair real? (Imagine the questions I was asked when I had dreadlocks!!)

9. So you are married... How many kinds do you have? (Wow, it's obvious I have kids, so let's just go into how many, shall we?)

10. You studied Chinese in America? You can learn Chinese in America? (Yes, how do you think McDonald's and KFC made it here???)

That's it for my top ten. LEARN CHINESE, WHAT?!?!

Gyms in China

Rain is the official spokesperson for my gym in China

So what if he's from Korea, Rain knows how to run the Asian market and Asia's biggest market, China, is moving towards one goal: To be the best in athletics.

Rain's got the body for it, tons of Chinese Olympic athletes are working their butts off to go for the gold (and they already are in international competition), now it's time to get the people off the couch and in the gym.

Contrary to popular belief (in the west), most Chinese DON'T know Kung Fu and any kind of martical arts for that matter. You might see a lot of old folks doing the waltz on the street or doing a bit of Tai Chi, or some white collars coming home from badminton practice with their colleagues, but more and more people out here are hitting the gym.

My wife Zoe and I recently joined a gym my my house at Cloud 9 Mall (Which is like a whole city in one building! It's got everything!) and at the very top, you got Weider-Terra Fitness. Lot's of dudes pumping iron like it's nobody's business and ladies buring off that last little bit of fat to fit into that evening dress on the step machine.

Once again, contrary to popular belief (in the west), Chinese men very much have the capacity to be very built. I saw some dudes whose arms literraly looked like sewer pipes and were taller than your's truly (I'm 6'1/1.83 m). Damn.

All this fuss about working out, getting healthy, losing weight and gaining muscle makes me think of one thing, Beijing 2008. The Olympics is coming and there are tons of commericals on the boob tube related to the event. Next to that, there are plenty of tv shows, music videos, and magazine pictures of half-naked studs and chicks (like Rain in the picture above, or Taiwaneese superstar/"Dancing Princess", Jolin Tsai), thus the trend of more Chinese hitting the gym to get leaner, tighter, stronger and hotter. Welcome to a more fit China.

NANjing, NANning and now there's a NANchang too?

Is this guy looking to get shot??? (In Nanchang, Jiangxi Province)

Well, it wasn't like the city was just recently, but there are a lot of "Nan" (South) prefixed cities in China. I guess it's like "New" in the states. (New York, New Jersey, New Mexico.

So I just spent a day in Nanchang for a show at "Le Nest" with DJ DSK and Drummer extraordinaire, Sam Debell. (aka Mind Disorder or Unity Productions) Yes, the show was awesome and Nanchang people are great. Although I was only there for a day, quite a few things there caught my attention:

1. The Weather - It's is HOT! Way hotter than Shanghai and more dry.

2. The Local Artists - There's a small hip-hop community in Nanchang, but it's tight. I met a beatboxer called "Popper" (Sorry bboys, he does not pop... or lock, just beatbox.) He's got a crew with an MC and a producer/DJ. I wish them all the best of luck over there.

3. The National Army Pride - This city has tons of statues, museums and squares dedicated to "8-1" (ba yi) which is the date of the founding of the People's Army of China. There's even a local beer there dedicated to this founding and love for China's military history. (Very important date in China, also, all former soldiers recieve gifts from the gov't on this day) Then you enter the city, you'll see you'll usual Wal-Marts, Starbucks' and Nike outlets and next door, a 8-9 meter tall block dedicated to the army.

So that's all about Nanchang. Can't wait to see what's next!

Catching up with Director Bill Guttentag by the Bund

If you haven't seen it, go see it.

As I said in previous posts, I worked on a movie about the Nanjing Massacre called "Nanking". Although I worked on the project for only 2 weeks, each day we filmed was intense and the deeper we got intoo the story, the deeper I got into what the Chinese went through during that massacre. Because of that movie, I developed an ever closer relationship with Nanjing and an understanding of the Chinese people and why China's ultimate goal is to be the best country it could be from now on...

Last night, my wife Zoe and I spent an evening by the Bund and CJW with "Nanking" director Bill Guttentag and his wife, Marina. Over several glasses of wine and specatcular jazz from Shanghai, Philadelphia and Chicago, the four of us discussed Bill's visit to China to promote "Nanking", working with 50 Cent, hip-hop in China, and of course, why he chose to do the movie.

Zoe, as a Chinese, was very interested in knowing why he made this movie. To her, it was doing a service for her people. She asked me why Bill made the movie before we all met, but I figured we should just ask the man himself. Bill said something about why he made the movie that I'll never forget:

"When I first picked up the book (Iris Chang's The Rape Of Nanking) it had the words The Forgotten Holocaust Of World War II on the cover. From reading that, I was immediately interested in the book and then worked on the project."

I'm trying to keep this as close to verbatim as possible, again, we had several glasses of wine last night, hehe...

Anyway, those words are quite interesting: The Forgotten Holocaust. The massacre happened around war time and many Chinese died. Here's another point that Bill made as to why he made the film:

"Sacrifice. Many people sacrificed their lives for others during the massacre."

Foreigners and Chinese living in Nanjing made safety zones for each other, evaded and tricked soldiers to stall them from killing more people and even sacrificed their own lives to save the lives of others...

This is what makes the Nanjing Massacre so tragic.

If any of you have a chance to come to China, do check out the Nanjing Massacre Museum and tell me what you think. I'm out. Thanks, Bill. Till we meet again...

The Art Of War

I lost my phone after DMC China last Saturday (Which was dope by the way!). I've lost the same phone at least about 6 times already, but always managed to get it back somehow. I guess it's destiny to let it go. But I got a new, slick Nokia for about USD 30 and I'm going to try to get my SIM number back at China Mobile today with my passport and 10 numbers I've dialed recently. Hope that works out.

When in trouble, you must prepare early, Sun Tzu would be proud.

I've been thinking about the book "Sun Tzu: The Art Of War" (Sun Zi Bing Fa) lately. It's one of the shows I'm working on for Soulfire. I've never read the book, but I've studied some exerpts from the novel in Classical Chinese class back in Midd. It's a part of China's army curriculum, Japanese business execs are required to read it for their companies, Brazillian soccer coaches use it in whooping the Brits (Sorry, Beckham... Good luck in LA!)... It's even been in the movie Wall Street:

In the 1987 film Wall Street, the main antagonist, Gordon Gekko (played by Michael Douglas), says: "I don't throw darts at a board. I bet on sure things. Read Sun-tzu, The Art of War. Every battle is won before it is ever fought."

I love that line! Anyway, The Art Of War is yet another Chinese Contibution that's made an impact on the world. Gonna pick me up a copy very soon. English or Chinese?

Shanghai weather is getting hot and humid!!

This is why I sweat everyday...

So it's getting really hot and humid out here, so all travellers to Shanghai... actually, all travellers to China, get ready for the summer heat.

Now, I'm a New Yorker, through and through, I've been through all the 100+ degree summers and all, and recently I spent a good two weeks in Thailand with my wife Zoe just before Monsoon season (know as one of the hottest periods in Thailand...) and nothing beats a Shanghai afternoon in the middle of June (Well... maybe Nanjing...).

Anybody with any thoughts on how to keep cool when your sweat sticks to your skin like white on rice??? All ideas are valuable!

Shanghaineese, Expats and My Take

MC PQ - Shanghaineese Rapper, Int'l Hip-Hop Style

An important question from Jordan posted to me from my Soulfire Love post:

I am a French blogger based in Shanghai. I saw you singing at 4 live along with Gary Wang on the turntables and than i read something very intelligent from you on a Entertainment local mag about hip-hop in Shanghai (you were saying that most of the hip-hop parties looked like mainstream mtv parties or something like this). I admire your dynamism and your love of chinese culture. You bring your culture (american music) and enjoy chinese artists too. I like surfing on western blogs about Shanghai but most of the time i am pretty disappointed. It gives me the bitter impression that we, expats, are only enjoying Shanghai for its western clubs, all you can drink parties and english speaking concerts. Apart from Shanghaiist, there is almost nothing on censorship and no critical posts of the chinese govt. So are Shanghainese young wealthy people on MySpace who speak so well english and seems to be only interested in clubbing and listening to black eyed peas.As if everything which sounded chinese was boring. Do you share a bit of my views? Are you more optimistic? I would i could be understood. Sometimes i have the impression that young people (i am 26 today) in shanghai are becoming superficial (because of us?)

Jordan, thank you for this great post. Looks like you are hitting me with three angles on this one, the expat side that sees Shanghai as a party city and rarely get into the deeper, more worldly issues regarding China and the Shanghaineese side where most young weatlhy Shanghaineese are "abandoning" their culture and lastly, it's because of us expats that we are making these Shanghaineese this way.

Here's my real take on the issue. Firstly, I think you are giving expats a little too much credit for making Shanghaineese "more western". I think the change was bound to happen with Shanghaineese one way or another. My wife (25 y.o. Shanghaineese) Tells me that about 15-20 years ago, Shanghai was quite poor. Taking China's 5000 year history, that's not too long ago. All of a sudden, Chinese, particularly Shanghaineese, get more and more money, not just for food, not just for clothing, but Chinese have the economic power to buy houses, start businesses and travel all over the world.

Think about it -- Before you had barely any money, but you wanted to do more, see more and feel more, but you can't cause you can't afford it. Now you got the money, you have the opportunity, you will go and grab all that you can from this world. Yes, seems quite superficial, but when you go from rags to riches in such a short amount of time, you'll want to spend it like it's the last day you'll ever have money again.

As for the expats in Shanghai themselves, for all the expats you see partying and enjoying Shanghai for it's english language entertainment, I am more than positive that there are expats that get out a lot from stuff more Chinese. (Like yours truly!) As for the Shanghaineese, a lot of them have been raised and educated to be quite patriotic. They may not seem that way at face value, but look a bit deeper and I'm positive these Shanghaineese are super proud to be where they are from.

Jordan, I would take a look at a show called "Da Cheng Xiao Shi" on Channel Young. You can find the channel on the SMG website. The show is completely in Shanghaineese and the audience is directed towards the young Shanghai crowd we've been talking about.

Soulfire Love