Where we're going tonight: So Much Soul

We know we've had our fair share of gripes with the hip-hop scene in Shanghai, but fear not, gentle reader, this won’t be one of those occasions. For tonight there’s a change in the air, and no, we're not just talking about the sudden chill that's setting in. Positivity is contagious, and there’s nothing quite like an old-fashioned block party to get those juices flowing, those feet shuffling, and the contented murmur of music aficionados, uh, murmuring. It’s a feeling that we haven’t had in quite some time, and while we know better than to count our chickies, well, let’s just go ahead and count them anyways. Because what we’re trying to say, in our typically long-winded fashion is this: go to the launch of So Much Soul at Tang Hui. Tonight.

So Much Soul is the brainchild of the hardworking folks at The Lab, which some of you avid readers might remember us unfairly labeling “too small” a few weeks back. In fact, it’s a great resource for aspiring turntablists and those interested in hip-hop as an artform—in all its ragged and resplendent glory. Get familiar. As for Tang Hui, if you’re at all like us and tired of seeing salsa lessons every Thursday night with nary a soul in sight, it’s a refreshing change, and one, we might add, that precludes your presence at Guandii or Attica, venues hopelessly in need of savvy DJs, rather than salacious ones. SMS is a much-needed antidote to top-40-itis, featuring hip-hop, funk, soul, and reggae by people who know their Blackalicious from their Black Eyed Peas, and in the kind of venue that favors intimate, chilled-out vibes over mountains of bubbly and freak-a-leek histrionics. Scratchmasters DJ V-Nutz, Mr. Tsang and Fortune will be on hand, as well as mic-wreckers RedStar, and a host of cats hungry to show off their freestyling skills. Think of the famed Back to the Roots parties (also hosted by the Lab), except on a weekly, not monthly basis.

Of course, it’s always better to hear these things straight from the source. Cue Gary Wang, aka DJ V-Nutz, co-founder of the Lab, and a man who definitely knows his Dilated Peoples from his D-12.

“We’re into playing real hip-hop: not just old school, or golden age, or Kanye West—though we’ll have that too—but really good hip-hop.”

Word.

Photo by The Lab.