HANS K & MICRODOT

I was thinking the other day that Auckland is such a rich and diverse melting pot of cultures in which Hip-Hop thrives. Most of Aucklands races are represented in local Hip-Hop, although I’d never seen a rapper from the Asian community. Were there any? And If so where are they?

Well, it turns out the Universe heard my question. A couple of nights later, I found myself at a Visual Base Media gig at Juice Bar in Parnell. I was there watching some local talent including two very talented rappers Hans K and Microdot.

Hans K grabbed my attention immediately. Pretty much the polar opposite to the Hip Hop stereo type. I was looking at a slightly awkward looking teenager with glasses who then began to rap. "Wow" I thought. This guy has got something unique. Hans K aka Hanju Kim is only 17 years old and comes from Keri Keri. Hanju is of Korean descent and lives in Auckland. Hans K has been rapping and writing songs since the tender of age of 14. He’s come a long way in a short time and at such a young age and with such a huge amount of talent, he will definitely be one to watch out for.

At the same show another rapper of Korean descent named Microdot performed. 21 Year old Microdot aka David Shin has had a song on the radio recently called For the road to riches. When I heard the song on the radio I just presumed it was another American track because of its professional sounding quality. The fact that a lot of the song is in Korean didn’t seem to even connect. Then I saw his video and was like oh cool he’s Korean and he’s an Aucklander. Microdot was a sensation in Korea as a child as a part of a child rap duo called All Black and he was signed at a very young age along with his older brothers to a Korean Label. Hip-Hop has always been a big part of his life with his older brothers also being rappers and producers.

Both performers put on a great show that night and really stood out to me as charismatic gifted performers. So rappers from the Asian community are out there and they are representing hard. Although despite Auckland massive Chinese population I still haven’t found any Chinese rappers. Where the Chinese rappers at?

 

Check out Hans K’s song Nostalgia

 

 

Check out Microdot’s song For The Road To Riches.