MOJO IN CHINA

«	January 2009	»
				1	2	3
4	5	6	7	8	9	10
11	12	13	14	15	16	17
18	19	20	21	22	23	24
25	26	27	28	29	30	31

SOULFIRE IS COMING TO CHANGSHA!! 6-16!!!

admin | 05 June, 2008 12:36

CHANGSHA, ARE YOU READY?!?!

106.1, Changsha Music Station

June 16th, 2008... Soulfire's coming to a radio near you... (We on either at 4pm or 5pm.. something like that...)

DJVibe.CN

admin | 04 June, 2008 10:37

DJVibe now also has...

This!

Props to Jason and Graham for getting this started. Keep it up, and keep the Redstar props comin!!

Graff in Shanghai

admin | 03 June, 2008 15:47

Props to Adam S. from Danwei on this one. (AI DE MAN 4 LIIIFE!) Graff = Graffitti = Cool Street Art

Hiphop.cn's Xi You Ji Volume 2 Mixtape Is Out!!!

admin | 28 May, 2008 07:59

Get your copy here.

Check out Redstar's 'Who We Be'. Very different from what's on our myspace. Enjoy!

How to Dress for Mourning...

admin | 21 May, 2008 07:50

Dressing fashionable for your memorial?!?!

I was sent this website Yoka.com by my coworker, simply because we use a lot of fashion and style ideas for Soulfire and another webstie for inspiration never hurts. I showed this site to my wife to see what she thinks and she showed me a section on how to dress for a memorial. You can take a look here.

After Zoe and I reviewed the section, we thought it was disrespectful and tacky. So if you are from Yoka.com, please take this down. Now's not the time to worry about how your blacks match with your whites, but rememebring those affected by the tragedy.

All Chinese Websites are in Black and White

admin | 19 May, 2008 21:12

This is usually in Red and Blue. Baidu's main page...

All in Black and White.

Help Out The Victims Of The Quake

admin | 16 May, 2008 08:24

IN CHINA: Text message the number "2" to 1069999301 to donate 2 kuai to the Red Cross' earthquake relief fund. (This might work outside of China, I'm not sure...)

Everywhere else around the world: Check out the Red Cross site.

Thank you for the tip, Miki.

I'll try and cover as much as I can regarding this tragedy.

Chinese Hip-Hop in Wikipedia

admin | 15 May, 2008 12:36

We made it! We're going down in history!

Check Redstar out in Wikipedia!

Redstar Intro on Hip-Hop.CN

admin | 14 May, 2008 08:58

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!

admin | 14 May, 2008 07:25

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...

admin | 07 May, 2008 16:20

Shanghai Stuff

Go check it out. Ning is making it happen with the Shanghai-Ning...

Suzhou, Jiangyin and Ningbo... Oh My!

admin | 03 May, 2008 11:04

Suzhou

It's Labor Day in China!!! Time for me to get back to work on this blog!!

"The Venice of China" is what people say about this city, full of canals and waterways. I've been there about three times already, so I'm all watered out.

So what do you do if you've seen all major attractions of Suzhou? Simple. You shop!

I suggest you go around "Guan Qie Jie" and there's a pedestrian street full of shops where you can bargain, malls where you can get all kinds of quality, international products and there are restaurants galore. Don't sleep on this spot.

As for Jiangyin, that place didn't leave very much of an impression on me, except for the club I perfromed at with Chivas 12 Y.O. called "Armani". Yes, spelled the same as the Armani we all know... (So much for Intellectual Property Rights...) Anyway, it's the hugest club in Jiangyin and it looks like a warehouse... If you want to see how Chinese people party in Jiangyin, go there...

But you won't see me there again unless they pay me...

I'm in Ningbo now, and I'll fill you in on what I think of the place in anohter post. Zoe and I are off to get our hands on a Ningbo Guide. Later!

Whatcha gonna do when Yiwu goes wild on you!

admin | 21 April, 2008 09:27

Yiwu: The Wholesale Market Capital of the World!

So I took a trip with Chivas 12 y.o. to Yiwu this past Saturday. Heard a lot of things about this place... actually... not so many... but I know that there's a HUGE wholesale market there with a lot of stuff for cheap.

Of course, you have to try to find things you like and buy a lot of it before you can go on and say how much of a great deal all of this is. Clothes, bedding, silverware, utensils, they got it all there for cheap.

Saw tons of Middle Eastern, African and Easter Europeans there getting their deals on for their business... Sometimes, it felt like there were more foreigners there than in Shanghai.

Now only if they work on their social scene...

Overall, in between my trips to Shaoxing and Yiwu, I realized something... A good number of folks in Zhejiang province are really well off.. why? because they got into their businesses early and made something out of nothing. From selling a lot of cheap stuff, making millions off of zippers, or even manufacturing... Zhejiang is loaded.

Shanghai Jazz

admin | 19 April, 2008 02:57

This guys's got it...

Wanna know how I know so much about Jazz on Soulfire... Here's my origional teacher, JQ Whitcomb. He's been involved in the jazz scene in Shanghai for YEARS and he knows what's up... SO, if you wanna know about the jazz scene in Shanghai (as well as the rest of China...) Check out Shanghai Jazz Scene.

For those that don't know, Shanghai has a pretty rich jazz history, from swingin' at The Paramount back in the hey days, to vibin' at The Peace Hotel, to jamming out at JZ Club, Shanghai is all about jazzing it up...

I'm still looking for folks to work with me on a jazz/hip-hop collabo!!

The Expat Directory Warms My Heart

admin | 19 April, 2008 02:39

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....)

P1

admin | 17 April, 2008 22:42

I just got stopped by these guys on the street today.

They're called P1 and they are a social networking /party picture/ style site targeted for Chinese with social spending power.

I know, I'm not Chinese... I guess they saw some dude dressed with a little bit of style and thought I was interesting... Anyway, check it out. You might even see me on the site.

Chinese MSN users aren't very happy...

admin | 16 April, 2008 14:40

The heart of a bilion people coming at you on MSN

If you go on MSN messenger, and you got friends from China on your list, check out their names... Most likely you'll find a heart and CHINA in bold letters next to the heart. It's a freakin' phenomenon, man. I have about 30+ people on my list with hearts all over the place... (See Example...)

I thought it was Valentine's Day... again!

This is a new and interesting form of support by most Chinese MSN Messengers for the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics in response to comments made about China from CNN and other media outlets we all know and love. The topic? It's one that I hear about all the time everytime... Tibet (Xizang in Mandarin) and the Bejing Olympics.

Check out this Chinese blog post on the topic and the comments below.

Thoughts?

UPDATE: Now people are saying don't shop at Carrefour, don't buy French products... What is this? World War II? Oh well.. At least Carrefour won't be as crowded now... =)

Look for Urban Culture in China via Urban Magazine

admin | 21 March, 2008 10:07

Urban Magazine

Who said China doesn't have street culture?

Urban Magazine is a free, Chinese language mag on urban life in China. They cover mostly Chinese street fashion and gear, but also get into a bit of hip-hop music and general hip-hop trends in China.

Again, it's free and you can pick 'em up at The Lab.

On this month's cover, China's bad boy of 2008 Edison Chen is on the cover... No dirty pics though... I just read this copy and it's cool with a bunch of old school pics of Nike in China in 1984 and Eno's premium line mixing street wear with Chinese minority attire. Slick.

On the topic of urban lifestyle and music, if you are in Shanghai tonight, do check out Quality Control/The Lab Second Year Aniversary at The Shelter with Redstar and DJ Roli Rho.

I just found out Roli Rho's been to Shanghai about 6-7 years ago to play, so that goes to show that Shanghai's history in hip-hop and the international scene goes pretty far back.

Neocha

admin | 13 March, 2008 12:07

A video I found on You Tube on NeoCha.

NeoCha, aka Xin Cha (New Tea) is like MySpace for creative types in China. Redstar is on there too. Here's our (currently so-so) site.

It's started by Sean L. and John L., one dude from B6 and another cat. Sean, John and I go back in our Hopkins-Nanjing days. Crazy, huh?

Sean, if you reading this, get the site fixed. Don't tell me you guys are blocked already! See you at The Lab's 2-year aniversary next week at The Shelter? (I can't make it tomorrow, I'm going to the dentist and I got a marriage aniversary to prep for over the weekend. I'll be at the one after!)

Jennifer Love Hewitt and Jessica Simpson Speak Chinese???

admin | 06 March, 2008 07:39

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.

DoingShanghai.com

admin | 04 March, 2008 15:10

Here's the pilot episode for DoingShanghai.com!

I found another vidcast series on Shanghai online and this one's called DoingShanghai.com. It's all about the do's (and dont's) in China. Great for folks who've never been to Shanghai and see what it's like on video.

Chris and Kris (formerly of Soulfire) are cooking up something mighty interesting... And it ain't just from the wet market!

Good luck, guys!

calendar

recently...