Their geri curls may be wigs, but these rappers insist they’re the real deal.
“We’re just being ourselves,” said Hong Kong Fever, a member of the rap-entertainment group the Notorious MSG, which parodies rap’s macho and street-savvy culture from the perspective — real or fictional, it’s anyone’s guess — of New York’s Chinatown, the neighborhood where the group claims to have met while working in restaurant kitchens.
As other critics have noted, a reference to Cornell University on a past album, potentially betrays a more bourgeoise upbringing.
Still the group, which dons strong accents, wigs and over-the-top lyrics that blend the hyper-masculine swagger of rap with Asian cultural references, insists that they are moving the ball forward with such ethnically charged performances.
“If you feel that being a sexy Chinatown bad-ass is perpetuating stereotypes, that’s your problem,” said Hong Kong Fever.
The group has gained some notoriety for in-your-face songs and music videos like “Straight Out of Canton,” “Dim Sum Girl,” and “Chinatown Hustler,” that include lyrics like “Comin’ fresh off the boat and livin’ on the street / we’re marching to our own beat / don’t give a damn what other people eat / we’re crazy / just gimme duck sauce and a bowl of chicken feet.”
And they’ll be bringing their act to Brooklyn Bowl on May 26, two days after they release a new album “Heavy Ghetto.”
The carnivalesque bowling alley will make the perfect venue for a performance that blends the real with parody.
“[I hope to provide] an unobstructed view of my chiseled glutes,” said Hong Kong Fever of the performance. “We’re plumbers, and we’re here to plunge all the turds clogging up your auditory canal.”
Well alright.
The Notorious MSG at Brooklyn Bowl [61 Wythe Ave. between North 11th and North 12th streets in Williamsburg. (718) 963-3369] May 26 at 8 pm, $5. Visit brooklynbowl.com.
Reach reporter Eli Rosenberg at erosenberg@cnglocal.com or by calling (718) 260-2531. And follow him at twitter.com/emrosenberg.
