On The Scene: Tango 11-12-2011

One of the pleasures of living in Beijing is seeing how music from back West is processed, filtered, and finally made over for a Chinese audience. Hip-hop for instance, one would think would have no place in China. The language doesn’t, at least at first hand, seem compatible with the quick, bouncy rhythms accompanying most hip-hop tracks. And content-wise, it would seem that most rap would be too vulgar or racy to digest. Yet, living here has proved that this is the contrary. Hip hop has in fact seeped into the city at every corner – into the clubs, into the fashion, into the homes of high school kids who shabbily wear their baggy school uniforms and Dr. Dre headphones like badges of honor. The underground rap scene has been gaining more and more attention, more legions of fans, and if my brief visit to Tango last Sunday was any indication, more attitude. I present to you Nasty Ray & the Boyz.