You better not be too exhausted after your raunchy Chinese Valentine's romp as this weekend gets off to a banging start with the arrival of some old school rap legends in Taipei. Tonight at Luxy the rap group Naughty By Nature will be spitting rhymes and dropping beats. The famous trio from New Jersey comprises MC Treach, MC Vinnie, and DJ Kay Gee.
The New Jersey rap group was spotted by Queen Latifah, and was signed up with Tommy Boy, after which they dropped the hit single OPP ("Other People's Property"). This immediately made them rap superstars and unlike a lot of other groups they were able to stay street and achieve pop status, continuing to release hits like Hip Hop Hooray and Hey! Ho!. Problems arose in the group and DJ Kay Gee decided to leave and concentrate on his production career. Fortunately, even with this loss, Naughty By Nature still had the skills to create hot tracks.
The Vinyl Word has got some good news and bad news this week on the rap front. First, old school legends Public Enemy won't be turning up this week so don't believe the hype. They were supposed to turn up this Wednesday at MoS, but the gig has been postponed. Now the good news: On Aug. 26, someone who isn't old school will be rocking MoS, namely N.O.R.E..
PHOTO COURTESY OF LUXY
Tonight MoS will be featuring DJ Backside -- so-called because she has a nice ass. She is also known for her ability to keep the club hyped and being the first lady on DJ Rolo1-3's (founder of the legendary Pirate DJ) new crew, Core DJ Family. DJ Backside also runs the radio show The Hot Spot on 106 KMEL in the US. Guest starring tonight will be US DMC Champion DJ Imperial.
Saturday night at Luxy will be Hybrid, a night of progressive beats and house by DJ Reason and DJ Kaoru. DJ Reason has released such vinyl works as The Toolz Press and DJ Kaoru won the first IRON DJ series.
This Saturday will also feature the return of G-Club to MoS. G-Club is made up of Gerald Elms, Dan Tait, and Shovell. Gerald Elms is the producer/DJ of the group, and known for being involved with Roger Sanchez and DJ Disciple, plus helping remix the likes of Mary J. Blige and Sophie Ellis-Bextor. Dan Tait is the technically skilled DJ in G-Club and Shovell, a percussionist, has worked with the likes of M-People, Chemical Brothers, and Primal Scream. Unfortunately he's an Arsenal fan.
For all you people out there who were disappointed by the typhoon ruining Aquaboogie 3 last week, there's supposed to be a party at Daxi Beach this weekend. But don't bank on it because it looks like another case of rain stopping play.
In recent weeks the Trump Administration has been demanding that Taiwan transfer half of its chip manufacturing to the US. In an interview with NewsNation, US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick said that the US would need 50 percent of domestic chip production to protect Taiwan. He stated, discussing Taiwan’s chip production: “My argument to them was, well, if you have 95 percent, how am I gonna get it to protect you? You’re going to put it on a plane? You’re going to put it on a boat?” The stench of the Trump Administration’s mafia-style notions of “protection” was strong
Every now and then, it’s nice to just point somewhere on a map and head out with no plan. In Taiwan, where convenience reigns, food options are plentiful and people are generally friendly and helpful, this type of trip is that much easier to pull off. One day last November, a spur-of-the-moment day hike in the hills of Chiayi County turned into a surprisingly memorable experience that impressed on me once again how fortunate we all are to call this island home. The scenery I walked through that day — a mix of forest and farms reaching up into the clouds
Late last month US authorities used allegations of forced labor at bicycle manufacturer Giant Group (巨大集團) to block imports from the firm. CNN reported: “Giant, the world’s largest bike manufacturer, on Thursday warned of delays to shipments to the United States after American customs officials announced a surprise ban on imports over unspecified forced labor accusations.” The order to stop shipments, from the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP), came as a surprise to Giant, company officials said. Giant spokesman Ken Li (李書耕) said that the CPB never visited the company’s factories to conduct on-site investigations, nor to interview or
“Eighteen years ago, people didn’t even know the name of this ingredient,” says 58-year-old Gil Sa-hyeon, holding up a cluster of dried brownish stems. “Now it’s everywhere.” His shop, Joseon Yakcho, sits in the heart of Seoul’s Yangnyeongsi Market, South Korea’s largest traditional medicinal herb market, its streets lined with shops displaying buckets of herbs such as licorice root and cinnamon bark that spill on to the pavements, filling the air with their distinct, earthy aroma. The ingredient Gil is referring to is hovenia dulcis, known in Korean as heotgae — the oriental raisin tree that’s become the cornerstone of South Korea’s