Overheard at Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf in Xintiandi:

African-American man in his 50s: I love rap music. You heard of Tupac?

Chinese girl in her late 20s, clutching an electronic dictionary: No.

Man: What about 50 Cent? You know him?

Girl looks puzzled and shakes her head.

Man: Snoop? Snoop Dogg?

Girl still clueless.

Man, now becoming irritated: Gangsta Rap. Do you know what Gangsta Rap is?

Girl tries typing into her dictionary. More blank stares ...

“Overheard in Shanghai” is inspired by the site New York Overheard. Feel free to send us interesting/funny/odd/disturbing/stupid things you overhear in Shanghai to tips(at)shanghaiist.com and we'll publish the good ones once we get enough of them. Overheards can be in English or Chinese. But if they are in Chinese, please translate them to English, as well. Be sure to mention where you heard these interactions. Lastly, no fiction, please -- make sure your Overheard submissions really happened.