While you were sitting around in the same old club, bored, checking your Facebook feed and listening to out-of-date music, three hundred people were dancing up on a rooftop to a charismatic performance by Reggae singer Million Stylez.
The occasion last Saturday night was True Skool’s 3rd anniversary and the event featured a major lineup including DJs Gruv, Lion Scratch, Mafio, and Christian. The two-hour set by Million Stylez was the climax of an already impressive night.
DJ Gruv
The True Skool regulars built things up with a variety of Reggae and Dancehall classics. DJ Gruv was the first to go on, followed by Lion Scratch who had the honor of spinning just before Million Stylez came on.
DJ Lion Scratch
A frequent guest at True Skool events, many of Lion Scratch’s selections are essentially one-of-a-kind tracks. The customized songs, called dubplates, feature Reggae singers doing renditions of their songs and integrating his DJ name at crucial moments throughout the cuts. Dubplates are the ultimate in exclusive stuff, and Lion Scratch has a whole set of them!
Things went up a notch when Million Stylez took the stage. Backed by DJ Prince, the duo preformed a tight set that wound though his original material and also left him room to freestyle and converse with the crowd.
DJ Prince
The music covered a diverse range of Reggae from uptempo Dancehall beats to slow jams. Many times throughout the night he gave respect to Hong Kong and True Skool.
Even at 4am the rooftop was still filled with people dancing and feeling the vibe. DJ Mafio aka Shabaga took over the turntables, followed by DJ Christian.
DJ Mafio
DJ Christian
A quick look around during the night and you could spot the founders of Clockenflap, XXX, and The Getup, as well as other individuals that have contributed to Hong Kong’s music scene.
Although there was a good crowd in attendance at the anniversary, it should have been much bigger.
Hong Kong rarely has Reggae performers, (in ten years I can count them on one hand,) and it was a shame that for all the organizer’s efforts, there wasn’t as much support for an event of this caliber.
For all our city’s international appearances, underneath the facade, Hong Kong (frustratingly,) still has nowhere near as much musical sophistication as cities such as Tokyo, Beijing, or Seoul.
For future True Skool events, stay tuned to Hong Kong Hustle, or join their Facebook group.
