Maverick, meet genius. Two contenders to the hip-hop throne in one stellar bill.
Concrete & Grass presents a very special Beijing sideshow for our annual Shanghai music festival.A$AP Ferg, pope of the ‘hood, lord of the wordplay, and Little Simz, the UK Hip-Hop prodigy with rapid-fire delivery and astonishing imagination. A special late night mid-week gig.
First time in China for both. What an introduction it’s going to be. Wednesday, 14 September, 11:30pm onwards at Yugong Yishan. On support duty, Beijing’s own rogue historian / madcap rapper, the wushu shifu battle master Dawei 大卫.
Yep, 11:30pm. We’re calling it: it’s going to be the craziest hip-hop party to roll through Beijing this year. Ticketing info is coming soon – just follow our Wechat channel for updates!
A$AP FERG
“Splendidly diverse and dynamic.” – The Guardian
Harlem born and raised. It doesn’t get much realer than A$AP Ferg.
New York has nurtured the rise of an almost endless list of big players in the rap game (Notorious B.I.G., Ol’ Dirty Bastard , Jay Z). Harlem’s A$AP Mob only doubled-down on the city’s dominance in 2012 when A$AP Rocky’s mixtapes garnered widespread critical acclaim. Ferg’s own big break came in the same year; his track ‘Work’ an absolute standout in the Mob’s Lord$ Never Worry mixtape.
His debut solo effort Trap Lord gained universal plaudits, drawing comparisons to legends of the genre. 2016 follow up Always Strive and Prosper is already a contender for album of the year. It’s brutally honest. Deep in both content and production. It’s Ferg at the top of his game.
Vice asked in an interview, “Can Ferg be his generation’s next great visionary?”
All things considered, we think he already is.
LITTLE SIMZ
“A technically astonishing MC.” – The Guardian
“She’s phenomenal” – Pitchfork
“I’m a King. Yeah I said it. Who can tell me different?”
At the moment, no-one can.
Charismatic, fierce and lyrically mature, Little Simz’s ascent has been nothing short of spectacular. She’s been endorsed by André 3000, Snoop Dogg, Timbaland and Kendrick Lamar, clocked studio hours with Dizzee Rascal and had her mixtape featured by Jay-Z. All before her debut album dropped in late 2015.
She’s tipped to become rap’s next great hope by everyone from Complex, VEVO, i-D, XXL andVariety to The Independent, the BBC and The Guardian. On record, her verses are works of art – freewheeling and breathless, containing more in a verse than other rappers do in entire albums. Her signature stop-start rhymes are laser-focused, supported by jazzy, downtempo instrumentation.
On stage, she’s just as sharp, “going into songs as she might go into battle, eyes narrowed, ready to conquer.” It’s scintillating. All “Red-hot ambition and technical flair.”
DAWEI
Rogue historian, madcap rapper; wushu shifu, battle master. Dawei is a major paradox in a small package, a true poet provocateur. He began training himself in the art of battle rapping while still a high school freshman, inspired by online videos of MC duels. He gained instant underground credibility when he won his first ever battle at now-defunct Lucky Street club White Rabbit, destroying opponents who direly underestimated the short kid in the Beijing public school uniform. Like his most famous fan, Cui Jian, he’s a staunch critic of the story being told, and one of the most respected voices spitting an alternative.
Dawei released his first major work, Lust, Scars, The Insulted Man, in early 2016. A psycho-libidinal, alt-historical parable comprising the young artist’s worldview in sound (CD), image (DVD), and word (poetry book). With his lyrically complex, often openly political songs and poems, Dawei remains a witting pariah on the outskirts of the Beijing hip hop underground, rejecting mainstream fame, wealth, and stability in an unflinching commitment to truth and purity in his art. Self-deprecating while self-aggrandizing, he’s the epitome of and antithesis to any MC stereotype.
A$AP Ferg + Little Simz Show Information
Date: September 14, Wednesday | 11:30pm
Venue: 愚公移山Yugong Yishan
Address: 3-2 Zhangzizhong Lu, Dongcheng district (北京市东城区张自忠路3-2号)
Doors: 11:30pm
Tickets: 300RMB
Support: Dawei 大卫
Tickets once sold cannot be refunded!
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Concrete & Grass 2016 (Shanghai)
Date: 16-17th September (Fri & Sat)
Venue: Shanghai Community Sports Club (上海滩运动公社)
Address: 2700 ZhangyangBei Road, near Wuzhou Avenue
(浦东新区张杨北路2700号，近五洲大道)
Metro station: Wuzhou Avenue五洲大道 (Line 6, Exit 1)
Advance Tickets: 230 RMB/day, 360 RMB for both days
Door Tickets: 300 RMB/day, 440 RMB for both days
Students: 180 RMB/day
Buy online: http://en.damai.cn/event/tickets_106550
http://www.smartshanghai.com/smartticket/concrete_grass_2016
About Split Works:
Split Works has been rocking in the free (ish) world since 2006. Working with inspirational artists from across the globe, the good people at Split Works HQ have been a key contributor to the continued rise of China’s music scene. Split Works has launched five music festivals and promoted over 400 tours to 30 Chinese cities, always striving to stay true to a familiar refrain: the music has to be special, every single time. From Godspeed You! Black Emperor to Sonic Youth, from Thee Oh Sees to Mac Demarco and Shabazz Palaces, from Black Rabbit to JUE and Wooozy to More Music, we love music, we love China and we love you.