Keena's Crusade: Making New Friends....

One of my new friends here in the K, part of the Seoul Family (a group of American's that hang out together in Seoul), named Sis Sha [pronounced Shaw] sent me an email telling me that Slum Village was going to be in concert here in Seoul. WHAT? Slum Village from Detroit? Somehow when you are away from home, no matter how good the place is that you are in..., you always gain a greater of appreciation of home & the things of home. So as I was saying, it was definite, I was going to that concert!

Just for some of you that might not know Slum Village, let me tell you a little about the group. Slum Village is a hip-hop group from Detroit, Michigan that came out strong on the music scene in the late 90's. Although the group would be considered to those unfamiliar with the hip-hop moment as mere rappers, they have a unique styling that has differientated them from the negatively charged hard-core rap music as portrayed in the media. Slum Village has a style that is frequently associated with the Neo-Soul movement. They have quite a HUGE underground following & have gained plenty of commercial success in the US and abroad.

Detroit's Own SLUM VILLAGE

ANYWHO! The fellas were coming to town to perform in Hongdae, Seoul. So we were quite stoaked to hear geniune hip-hop here in Asia, (they have it here but you know that music is never really as good as at it's place of origin.) Plus, I was really excited to see how the concert would be here in Korea, 'cause at that point I had not been to any of the hip-hop or urban clubs here in Seoul. I have seen how crowds react in the US to hip-hop, but what was Seoul gonna feel? After all, what did Seoul know about the fellas that grew up off 7 mile road in my home town? We would soon find out!

THE SHOW

When arriving at the venue, I was quite surprised by the eclectic mix of people present. We must be realistic here though, mostly Korean's were present for the performance. But, a few foreigner's were also present from different ethnic backgrounds i.e. African, European, Indian, etc., you know the mix I'm talking about. While the warm up act was performing true Korean rap at it's finest, the girls & I got settled (Lou, Ashley, Sha & I). Now let me admit something here:

Before I went to this concert, I was familiar with who Slum Village the group was, but a member of the group could have walked up to me at E-mart(Korea's version of K-mart or Walmart) and I would have never known who he was.

The concert began, and I have to be truthful, those fellas put on a GREAT SHOW!! The audience was absolutely loving them & it would have been difficult not to get caught up in the pure adrenaline coming from the stage & permeating in the place. The excitement was so thick it could have been cut with a knife. Guys & girls were jumping & dancing, yelling out Slum Village lyrics with enthusiasm. I was just geeked and caught up in the excitement of how the crowd was receiving the guys from my home town. It's kind of funny how despite the fact that you don't know someone (like Slum Village), if you share some type of commonality (like being from Detroit), there can be a sincere moment of pride that one feels just knowing that a person achieved something good.

Please excuse me as I digress for a moment:

For example, being an African American woman, I am soooooo excited about Obama Barack's potential to be the Democratic National parties choice for Presidential Candidate. (Don't get me wrong, I have researched all the candidates & their positions and have made my decision for a candidate based on policy & platform facts.) Despite that, there is just an overwelming amount of pride that I feel regarding his campaign. Think about it, ... in 2009, there is a REAL possibility that we could have an African American as President of the United States of America!!!!! The potential alone is truly a victory for African American's everywhere....to realize that we can achieve great things too, despite this countries long history of racial injustice. Good luck Obama, Keena's rooting for you here in Korea!

..... ok sorry for the distraction, I'll get off my podium now!

AFTER THE SHOW

While the guys were signing autographs & taking pictures, I felt that it just wouldn't be right if I left and did not show them any hometown love. Therefore, being the Ever-gregarious Keena, I walked up to one of the guys & shook his hand and told him how much I enjoyed the show. I also had to drop in there that I was from Detroit...immediately, that changed the WHOLE game! I was no longer a fan, I was a home girl! So we continued to chat, & I was then promptly introduced to the rest of the group. They turned out to be really nice guys who my friends & I ended up hanging out with the early hours of the morning. Even though T3 of the group wouldn't eat anything but rice at the Korean restaurant, we had a good time hanging out. For a brief moment I forgot I was away from home, until the next day when I got a chance to play tour guide (kinda).

The funny thing is, in my own world in Detroit, I never would have come across these guys. We exist in two totally different circles. I was surprised to find out that one of the group member lives less than a mile from my house. But never had our paths crossed, until one cold night in Seoul, Korea. I had to travel over 7000 miles from home, to meet some people who live around the corner from my house. Imagine that!

We had a fun time together those two days...I look forward to hooking up with those guys again when I make back to Detroit.

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Just in case some you may not have heard any of this groups hits, I have taken the liberty of adding a couple of their music videos below; ENJOY! Slum Village "Selfish" Video