Contrast Magazine

Bambu
Emcee
@BambuDePistola
www.bambu.la

As a mestiza (tagalog for mixed ancestry, usually Filipino combined with another ethnicity, in my case caucasian), Los Angeles emcee Bambu, has a stage presence that is unforgettable and empowering. He had me shouting out, “Who’s that BRRROWWWWNNNN?” at the top of my lungs during his Rent Money Tour show at Nextdoor. This was my third time seeing Los Angeles emcee Bambu perform in Hawaii and after introducing myself formally to him during his visit with Blue Scholars (just to make sure he wasn’t a diva, best part was that he remembered me!), I knew that I had to get some kind of interview with him.

Riana: What is the Rent Money Tour?

Bambu: The Rent Money Tour is a continuation of a series of tours I’m branding. We did The Smugglers Tour last year and we’ll probably bring that one back in the Spring, and we might bring The Rent Money Tour back in the Fall… Traditionally, I usually just travel with my DJ and my manager and find local acts to fill the support (just like Honolulu’s stop), but this time around we decided to take the whole package out on the road. For the majority of the dates we brought along an artist new to the touring world, Kixxie Siete, and he’s been killing shit. Also, we rolled out with one of Northern California’s newest noisemakers, Rey Resurreccion — amazing live performer. DJ Felt1 has been our ringmaster and he’s been holding the turntables down strong!

What was your inspiration for your new album “One Rifle Per Family?”

My family. After the last 30+ city tour with Blue Scholars, I needed to just chill and find a comfortable space to create. It was a challenge trying to juggle writing and recording for a new album and maintain any kind of structure or schedule with my family, but it ended up being a great source of inspiration.

Who designed the album cover?

Manila Ryce. He also created the …paper cuts… EP cover. He and I are really good friends and comrades, and as the cover shows, he’s an amazing visual artist. He hates that I do this, but I literally asked him to complete both of those covers in such short periods of time — like a week. Haha. He’s awesome though. If you look in the woman’s left boot, you can see Manila’s signature in the laces.

Would you say you feel a strong connection to Hawaii? Why?

I do! For a number of reasons. The most superficial, but still very important, is that there are a gang of brown people! Haha. You know, some folks might take this as an opportunity to call me a racist and say that I ‘hate’ white people, but that usually comes from some deep guilt. Walking around in an America that doesn’t feel like my own (even though I’ve sacrificed my life and health to defend it via USMC/USN) is difficult. This isn’t something I’m making up either… It’s hard to feel empowered growing up where I did and living where I live. We are treated as second class citizens and we truly feel as such — with that said, to be around a bunch of brown folks is empowering. So, I enjoy Hawaii a lot. The other reason is that on a socio-economic level, this is one of the greatest examples of colonization at work… From the education structure (or lack thereof) to the exploitation of the culture and the people secondary to tourism — Hawaii’s a great place for study and political work.

Why is there rumors going around that the Nextdoor show is possibly your last show here in Hawaii?

Oh NO! Not at all! I’m trying to come back in January! Haha.

Hawaii hip-hop veteran Creed Chameleon Back In Hawaii with DJ Packo on Wednesday, August 1 at Nextdoor with performances by Creed Chameleon with/ DJ Packo, Prie with Sample, Ill Hill Society, Mox, Jim Hurdle, and more.

Doors will open at 9PM. Ages 18 and over are welcome.

Entry will be sold at the door: $10 for under 21, $5 for 21 and up.

Brought to you by:
GoldenHI
Flip The Bird Entertainment
Got Rice? Show
Rudified Media
Workhouse
Renegadez of Funk
Got@WanIt.com
Prototype
LVL
Enemy Groundz Streetwear
and Defend Hawaii

For more information, visit NextdoorHNL.com or GotRiceShow.com.

Attention enthusiasts of DIY, punk rock, music festivals, and NO SUCK! No Suck Fest 4 is around the corner kicking off on July 26, Thursday at Mercury. This is the 4th NSF and it’s definitely not one to miss. This year, they have Toys That Kill and FYP gracing Hawaii with CHOKE local bands and I don’t know about you but I’m EXCITED.

Three days filled with ear happiness. Don’t miss this.

To purchase your tickets (AND THEY ARE CHEAP) and more event information including the tentative set list for all three days, visit NOSUCKFESTHAWAII.

Today I had the pleasure of talking to a lecture hall of UCLA & UH students about the visual representation of Hawaii, courtesy of Professor Rod. For a lot of them, this was their first time in Hawaii and a lot of them had misconstrued perceptions of Hawaii. Some imagined a lot of beaches, some imagined grass shacks, let’s just say that they had no idea what they were about to be served up.

It was crazy, my friend Jon, Made You Look, another fellow photographer in the hip-hop scene, showed these students how Hawaii looked through our eyes and showed our perspective through photos. We showed photos we’ve taken not only in the hip-hop scene but the Water Writes mural, potlucks, fashion, other music scenes here, basically all the different cultures that Hawaii had to offer. We showed them that hey, just because we’re on an island, Hawaii can be urban too.

After talking about our cultures, it made me go back and reflect that we are so lucky we have so many different kinds of music scenes here and what sucks is that nobody outside of Hawaii is aware of them. All those students had no idea how rich our music culture was and after seeing footage, they were curious and I do love some curious thinkers.

So for them and of course you, this is a special Hawaii hip-hop edition, all tracks bred in the 808.

Of course you have to have EMIRC or now Tassho Pearce’s “Honolulu.” I love this track and music video because if you’re from here, you’ll know how difficult it is to get shots like fire dancers and hula dancers in the background.

I’m in love with Maryanne Ito. And to put Dilla beats and her together? Magic. She’ll be releasing a very special Dilla album pretty soon…

Check the rest of her tracks here.

Take Em To The Hill. I feel like Ill Hill Society is pretty much every local girl’s boy crush band. Just listen to the lyrics, how can you say no to that? I swear I’ve been waiting forever for them to release another album but only time will tell…

To listen to more of their music or solo stuff, click here. Free downloads, say what?

Navid Najafi, Na Hoku Hanohano hip hop album of the year “Illnomadic” never ceases to amaze me. Every time I see him perform live, he has a whole different set-up and is always experimenting with either a live band, an MPC, or even an acoustic guitar. To see an artist adapt and change up his style is something I admire because it keeps the performances interesting. Be sure to check him out live.

One of my favorite Audible Lab Rats’ songs, named after one of the most searched local man…”Manapua Man.” They’re always looking for new ways to put out their music whether it be producing tracks on their iPhone or even recording and chopping up iPhone footage to make a music video. They’re one of the few local hip-hop groups that actually press their albums and have tracks on iTunes.

Buy their new album now, available on iTunes.

What is there to say about K-Luv and Pro? Every time they put on a performance it’s always high energy and a good time. They actually opened up for Donnis at the most recent In4mation party and they repped Hawaii hip-hop hard. And that’s the thing with them, they could be performing in San Francisco and they still rep Hawaii with full force.

Mo Illa Pillaz…do yourself a favor and purchase ANY of their albums. Hawaii hip-hop veterans and lyricism at it’s finest.

Check their albums here on iTunes.

These are only a handful of the amazing talent we have here in Hawaii…if I could put everyone in this blog post I would…

Enjoy

5/6/12 12:01 AM

Nicki’s music video she filmed here in Hawaii is finally out!

-Soohee

Stopped in The Realness Tattoo of Blaisdell Hotel on Fort Street Mall and Tony Harris was doing some work. Originally he had wanted to be a graphic designer, ended up doing graffiti, and eventually tattooing. Definitely love his style and his studio is super fresh! Let’s just say I know who I’m going to for my next tattoo. Enjoy.

Video by Riana Stellburg

“Day Job?” the Photo Exhibition POW WOW Hawai’i 2012

For me personally, I’ve been extremely fascinated by the approach many of my peers have taken in the realm of photography. A lot of these people have become successful in their own right with their primary professions including publishers; designers; brand founders; retailers; artists and musicians. But seeing their creativity applied on a photographic platform that is purely their passion with no financial reward really inspires me.

-Eugene Kan - Managing Editor of Hypebeast

The opening night of “Day Job?” the Photo Exhibition POW WOW Hawai’i 2012 will take place on Saturday, February 18, 2012 at Loft in Space between 6 pm and 10 pm (details below). Each print will come framed and printed with archival inks on Hahnemühle FineArt paper.

Participating Photographers
Edward Chiu / Hypebeast.com - Senior Editor / Hong Kong
Ephraim Chui / Capita Snowboarding - Art Director / Hong Kong
Nick Estrada / TheCombined.com - Founder / Las Vegas, USA
Jules Gayton / Leilow - Founder / Honolulu, USA
Minami Haynes / Honolulu & Los Angeles, USA
Ben Hooper / TheOriginalWinger.com & Bumpy Pitch / Los Angeles, USA
Bobby Hundreds / The Hundreds - Founder / Los Angeles, USA
Kyle Ito / Morals Fiber - Founder / Honolulu, USA
Eugene Kan/ Hypebeast.com - Managing Editor / Hong Kong
Ryan Lau / Aloha Fixed - Founder / Honolulu, USA
Frank Liew / Qubic - Founder & Writer / Auckland, New Zealand
Matt Ramalho / Honolulu, USA
Jarrett Reynolds / Nike Sportswear - Global Senior Design Director Apparel / Portland, USA
Jason Ryan / Honolulu, USA
Brandon Shigeta / Designer / Los Angeles, USA
Cassy Song / Contrast Magazine - Fashion Editor / Honolulu, USA
Jon Warren / Vans - Head of Design / Los Angeles, USA
Jasper Wong / Loft in Space - Director & Stud / Honolulu, USA
Rocky Xu / Converse - Asia Pacific Premium Merchandising Manager / Shanghai, China
Anthony Zerga / Photographer / Honolulu, USA

“Day Job?” the Photo Exhibition POW WOW Hawai’i 2012 Opening Night
Saturday, February 18, 2012
6:00 pm - 10:00 pm
Loft in Space x Fresh Cafe
831 Queen Street
Honolulu, Hawaii 96813
p: 1.808.223.7462

Contact
Eugene Kan
e: contact@eugenekan.com
p: 852.6392.6163

About POW WOW

POW WOW IS A GATHERING OF CONTEMPORARY ARTISTS THAT ENGAGES WITH THE BROADER COMMUNITY IN THE PROCESS AND CREATION OF ART.
The beauty of art is most commonly enjoyed during its final stage. All the blood, sweat and tears happen behind closed doors. However, that is where the real grandeur lies. The process. Imagine for a moment a gathering of internationally renowned artists in one place. A place that will allow them to do what they do best: be creative. We give them the tools, the space and the freedom to paint for one week. We make that process open to the public, allowing them full engagement and interaction between the artists and their audience. They witness the creativity in its entirety and become an essential part of the artists’ process. It’s about the breaking down of those closed doors and making art accessible. Now take a step further and imagine transforming a whole neighborhood with art within a week. Seeing creativity happen all around you from beginning to end and bringing people together through the act of putting paint on surface.
A POW WOW.