Forget the sake, screw the sushi, don’t look for bouncing balls and tacky television screens. The first Hip Hop Karaoke championship is more than boozy renditions of M.C. Hammer and Vanilla Ice. The 12 contestants scheduled to compete—K-Dot, Shawn J, Scooter, Chef, Elizabeth, Doni D, Pancho, Robin, Dashrun, RDJ, Camille and Axion—are all regulars and were selected from the monthly shows. They have been memorizing words, getting their costumes and props assembled and practicing their dance moves to celebrate hip-hop at its highest level.
Unlike the usual bar karaoke, Hip Hop Karaoke (HHK) rappers are serious and skilled with plenty of swagger, enthusiasm and creativity to impress their fans. They’re hip-hop lovers singing songs from the golden era as well as current chart toppers, including hits by the biggest and the best, such as A Tribe Called Quest, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Cypress Hill, Eminem, The Notorious B.I.G., Wu-Tang Clan, The Beastie Boys and Kanye West. But it’ll be up to producer Prince Paul, Ralph McDaniels from Video Music Box and Dres, one of the founders of Black Sheep, the three judges for the evening, to decide who is the best.
HHK is a monthly free event that started at Rothko’s on the Lower East Side a few years ago and moved to the Knitting Factory in 2006. It’s a feel-good night with die-hard involvement: Some people prepare for weeks with the assistance of a devoted group of followers. The rap nerds behind Hip Hop Karaoke—co-founders J. New, D.J.Wex and host Diggedy—have been huge hip-hop fans since they were teenagers.
“I’d heard about the karaoke show at Arlene’s Grocery for punk and heavy metal fans and I thought, why not hip-hop,” explains J. New. Though they still have day jobs, their true love is HHK, which has spread to Toronto, San Francisco, Miami, the U.K. and even New Zealand. Their goal is to further broaden the event around the country with a world championship held in New York City. A radio show may be in the offing, and they’ll definitely take calls from producers interested in a reality show, though none have come knocking just yet. So far most of the profits have been reinvested into the show.
“The contestants are fans, lovers of the music. They’re not just doing it for the dollars,” Wex explains. “Professional rappers don’t put nearly as much preparation into the songs as these guys do.”
But that doesn’t mean that the $1,000 grand prize doesn’t come in handy. Daniel, originally from Vancouver, is a part-time babysitter and raps under the name “RDJ” since he’s a dead ringer for actor Robert Downey Jr. “I love all of my competitors,” he says. “I’m so excited to perform with them, and I’m sorry they’ll go home empty-handed.” Hmmm. Does that mean he’s planning on winning? “Well, that’s certainly my intention. I need to pay my rent next month.”
Regardless if you’re wack or not, the show is for anyone who likes to watch people get up and give it their all. Too bad Tupac won’t be there and Lil’ Kim is busy, but they’ll be in our hearts as we root for the winner.
Jan. 25, Highline Ballroom, 431 W. 16th St. (betw. 9th & 10th Aves.), 212-414-5994; 10, $12/$15.
Unlike the usual bar karaoke, Hip Hop Karaoke (HHK) rappers are serious and skilled with plenty of swagger, enthusiasm and creativity to impress their fans. They’re hip-hop lovers singing songs from the golden era as well as current chart toppers, including hits by the biggest and the best, such as A Tribe Called Quest, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Cypress Hill, Eminem, The Notorious B.I.G., Wu-Tang Clan, The Beastie Boys and Kanye West. But it’ll be up to producer Prince Paul, Ralph McDaniels from Video Music Box and Dres, one of the founders of Black Sheep, the three judges for the evening, to decide who is the best.
HHK is a monthly free event that started at Rothko’s on the Lower East Side a few years ago and moved to the Knitting Factory in 2006. It’s a feel-good night with die-hard involvement: Some people prepare for weeks with the assistance of a devoted group of followers. The rap nerds behind Hip Hop Karaoke—co-founders J. New, D.J.Wex and host Diggedy—have been huge hip-hop fans since they were teenagers.
“I’d heard about the karaoke show at Arlene’s Grocery for punk and heavy metal fans and I thought, why not hip-hop,” explains J. New. Though they still have day jobs, their true love is HHK, which has spread to Toronto, San Francisco, Miami, the U.K. and even New Zealand. Their goal is to further broaden the event around the country with a world championship held in New York City. A radio show may be in the offing, and they’ll definitely take calls from producers interested in a reality show, though none have come knocking just yet. So far most of the profits have been reinvested into the show.
“The contestants are fans, lovers of the music. They’re not just doing it for the dollars,” Wex explains. “Professional rappers don’t put nearly as much preparation into the songs as these guys do.”
But that doesn’t mean that the $1,000 grand prize doesn’t come in handy. Daniel, originally from Vancouver, is a part-time babysitter and raps under the name “RDJ” since he’s a dead ringer for actor Robert Downey Jr. “I love all of my competitors,” he says. “I’m so excited to perform with them, and I’m sorry they’ll go home empty-handed.” Hmmm. Does that mean he’s planning on winning? “Well, that’s certainly my intention. I need to pay my rent next month.”
Regardless if you’re wack or not, the show is for anyone who likes to watch people get up and give it their all. Too bad Tupac won’t be there and Lil’ Kim is busy, but they’ll be in our hearts as we root for the winner.
Jan. 25, Highline Ballroom, 431 W. 16th St. (betw. 9th & 10th Aves.), 212-414-5994; 10, $12/$15.
