Vice’s latest star Eddie Huang talks about the success of his book “Fresh Off the Boat” and now web series of the same name. Eddie explains how he found success with his East Village restaurant Baohaus while fighting against the stereotypes he experienced growing up as an Asian American. He keeps is rare and funky by offering some inspiring word for you to chase your dreams and experiences. Eddie makes it clear that he does things on his own terms and not let others attach stigmas and stereotypes to his identity. Find out what his favorite moment from the “Fresh Off The Boat” series has been so far. If you haven’t checked out the web series, watch these previous episodes: Fresh Off The Boat With Eddie Huang: Back in Taiwan Fresh Off The Boat With Eddie Huang: Los Angeles Fresh Off The Boat With Eddie Huang: Bay Area Fresh Off The Boat With Eddie Huang: Taiwan
Eddie Huang talks Fresh Off The Boat, and Baohaus with Hypebeast (contains profanity)
From director Walter Hill, comes the action thriller “Bullet to the Head” starring Sylvester Stallone as Jimmy Bobo, a career hitman who enters into an unlikely alliance with by-the-book detective Taylor Kwon (Sung Kang) to bring down the ruthless killer of their respective partners.
Sung Kang, who stars opposite Stallone as the man on the right side of the law in this pairing, observes, “They’re like oil and water: no matter how hard you try to shake them together, they are constantly splitting apart.” Kang continues, “My character figures out that there’s a connection between the deaths of our former partners. Taylor lives by this real rigid code of honor and a moral integrity that’s been ingrained in him. He wants the entity behind the hits, so he’s willing to team up with Jimmy to chase down the bad guys, even though he knows Jimmy is a criminal himself.”
Taylor is willing to compromise on his values for the sake of the greater good, but there’s still a limit to how far he’ll bend. Sung Kang asserts, “Generationally, they’re completely different; morally, they’re completely different; and ethnically, they’re completely different. Jimmy Bobo comes from a time where there was no political correctness, so he’s the type of guy that just says what’s on his mind.”
Coming into the project, Kang says that he was excited about the opportunity to work with both Sylvester Stallone and Walter Hill. “I pretty much grew up watching Sylvester Stallone movies. One of the first movies my father took me to was ‘Rocky.’ So getting to work with him was a pretty amazing experience, definitely one of those things on my bucket list,” he smiles. “And from the get-go, Walter Hill was so open to ideas; he was such an ally for me as an actor in that respect.”
Bullet To The Head Giveaway:
To support Sung Kang’s new film “Bullet To The Head”, channelAPA.com is giving away tickets and posters for the film. To enter, simply tweet us on twitter with:
“@ChannelAPA I want to see Bullet to the Head! #APAProblemSolver http://bit.ly/11uIWA8 #BulletToTheHead“
All entries must be submitted by Sunday, February 3, 2013 at 11:59pm PST. Limit one (1) entry per person. Winners will be randomly selected and will be notified by direct message (DM) via twitter. Open to US Residents only. Good luck!
Bullet To The Head Interview with Sung Kang
More about Sung Kang
SUNG KANG (Taylor Kwon) recently co-starred with Vin Diesel in the blockbuster hit “Fast Five,” directed by Justin Lin. He and Lin first worked together on the critically acclaimed drama “Better Luck Tomorrow,” which premiered at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival, garnering a Grand Jury Prize nomination. Kang subsequently worked with the director on “The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift,” “Fast & Furious,” and “Finishing the Game: The Search for a New Bruce Lee.” They are reunited on the upcoming “The Fast and the Furious 6,” slated for release in May 2013.
In addition, Kang was featured in “Ninja Assassin,” directed by James McTeigue; Philip G. Atwell’s “War”; and Len Wiseman’s action hit “Live Free or Die Hard.” Kang also starred in the Michael Kang-directed independent films “4 Wedding Planners” and “The Motel,” the latter of which was an Official Selection at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival. Additionally, he starred in and produced Chris Chan Lee’s “Undoing,” an Official Selection at the 2006 Los Angeles Film Festival. Kang’s other film credits include roles in Denzel Washington’s “Antwone Fisher,” Michael Bay’s “Pearl Harbor,” and the short “9:30.” His television credits include guest starring roles on such series as “Monk,” “Cold Case,” “Threat Matrix,” “Without a Trace,” “The Shield,” “NYPD Blue,” “Girlfriends,” ”Spin City,” “Felicity” and “Marshal Law,” among others.
Originally from Gainesville, Georgia, Kang began acting at the Los Angeles based experimental theater group F.A.T.E. (Friends Artist Theater Ensemble).
Born in Quezon City on the island of Luzon in the Philippines, singer Tracy Cruz talks about her roots from her childhood to her music to her family. She started singing at the age of two with a positive music influence from her family. Tracy Cruz’s alluring voice is comprised of sounds old and new, resembling Jill Scott’s throaty moans and Sarah Vaughan’s lyrical accentuation, all while still managing to remain distinct. With a vocal range that stretches from unbelievable lows to soprano highs, Tracy pulls from her thriving passion of Filipino ballads, blended with the influence of her former vocal coach, Ledisi. A chance meeting of her future producer, now husband Allen Ross, in college produced 2 children and 2 full-length albums and an EP. Tracy is an upcoming talent based out of the San Francisco Bay Area fusing hip-hop, r&b, jazz, gospel, symphonic, and inspirational music.
Powder & Rails catches up with pro snowboarding legend Bryan Iguchi in the backcountry of Jackson Hole, Wyoming (i.e. the middle of nowhere). He demonstrates his mountaineering man-skills in a snow pit boning up on his knowledge of snow pack densities. The Guch has become an experienced backcountry guide and all-around snow wizard while maintaining his reputation as a pro snowboarder. We find out what the heck you’re supposed to do with a loop, a crystal screen, a big saw knife, and a snow pit.
Bryan takes us back to his Southern California roots as an up-and-coming skateboarder introduced to snowboarding at Big Bear Mountain. Around that time, Bear had become the first resort to let snowboarders, with the help of Mike Parillo’s chainsaw, build their own jumps, rails, and halfpipes. In this D.I.Y. terrain park setting Iguchi flourished, emerging as one of the leaders in the new snowboard park agenda. In turn, Bryan’s career with Burton took off and soon he became a staple of video parts with FLF Films, Mack Dawg, and Volcom. The culmination of this work came when Bryan and a bunch of friends camped out in Sonora Pass, CA with a few super 8mm cameras, their snowboards, and some serious bro vibes, yielding Volcom’s The Garden, one of the most classic videos of all time.
At the height of his freestyle snowboarding career, SoCal-bred Bryan Iguchi traded snowboard park notoriety for mountain man obscurity by permanently relocating to Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Most of his sponsors dropped him as a result, leaving him, as Pat Bridges said, quite literally alone in the wilderness. As the sponsorship checks disappeared Iguchi made ends meet by printing t-shirts for Bluebird and taking an apprenticeship as a sushi chef. But The Guch was now able to pursue his own mountaineering agenda, resulting in the pioneering of 90% of the filming spots now used in the Jackson Hole backcountry.
While scouting jumps to shoot via snomobiles, the crew pass by Mt. Maran and explain a fiasco in which Bryan and fellow pro-rider Jeremy Jones got lost while trekking to the peak. Without their combined mountaineering know-how, they may have both gotten permanently lost in mountain’s maze of gullies. Iguchi finds his favorite jump spot and lets the Volcom guys go on ahead, launching out on a one-man demonstration of why the Guch is still a pro.
A cast consisting of Travis Rice, Kevin Jones, Dave Downing, Bjorn Leines, Mike Ranquet, Billy Anderson, Pat Bridges, and Jackson Hole O.G. Willie McMillon throw in their take on Iguchi and why he’s become so important to snowboarding. Oh, and we also dig up some dirty ole hoars—surface hoars, that is. Like, frost.
North Korea is isolated and hungry, bankrupt and belligerent. It is also armed with nuclear weapons. Between 150,000 and 200,000 people are being held in its political prison camps, which have existed twice as long as Stalin’s Soviet gulags and twelve times as long as the Nazi concentration camps. They are clearly visible in satellite photographs; North Korea insists they do not exist. Very few born and raised in these camps have escaped. But Shin Dong-hyuk did.
Born in a prison camp, Shin Dong-hyuk describes how three generations of a family are incarcerated if one family member is considered disloyal. During a 60 Minutes interview with Anderson Cooper, he talks about his time at the notorious Camp 14 unlocking the secrets of the world’s most repressive totalitarian state. Shin knew nothing of civilized existence – he saw his mother as a competitor for food, guards raised him to be a snitch, and he witnessed the execution of his own family. Shin’s life and remarkable escape offers an unequaled inside account of one of the world’s darkest nations and a riveting tale of endurance, courage, and survival.
You can read about his harrowing journey in the NY Times bestseller “Escape from Camp 14” available here. Since it was published in March 2012, Escape from Camp 14 has been a bestseller in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, France, Brazil, Malaysia and Singapore. It has been or will be published in 20 languages, including Chinese, Korean and Japanese.
North Korean prisoner Shin Dong-hyuk escaped after 23 brutal years at Camp 14
Shin Dong-hyuk’s Odyssey told by author Blaine Harden
They’re fun, funky, and fashionable. I love that about men! They walk to the beat of their own drum, and yes, Boombox Saints create their music the same way.
The quartet, Freeky P, Adlib, Huggy Fresh, and DJ Relik, are fresh-to-def, sneaker fiends who carry a certain magnetism about them that goes beyond captivating….and they’ve got the skills to prove it. For a group that just dropped their debut album, Boombox Saints have already performed alongside the likes of Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Far East Movement, Jay Electronica, and many more.
You can’t really pinpoint their sound because there are so many influences (Hip-Hop, R&B, Pop) to it, which are all blended together to create the tune of this group.
Yes, Boombox Saints, in their style and music, was born to stand out. Just check their debut album, “For The Moment”, and listen for yourself (It’s free, bro). Did I mention it just hit #1 on the National Top 10 Hip-Hop Chart in Canada?
They don’t need the money (well…that’s going a bit overboard), but they do it “for the love, for the hate, for the joy and the pain, for the rest of their lives, forever, for the moment”.
The guys of Boombox Saints….just who are these guys?
The name, Boombox Saints, is quite memorable. How did you guys come up with it?
Huggy Fresh: The name Boombox Saints is a spin off from the movie Boondock Saints where the movie revolves around 2 brothers who kill in the name of God, except what we’re killin’ is boring & whack music (laughs) jokes jokes, not really (haha)
I hear a tour is in the works. So with four men on the road, I suspect a lot of junk food, television, video games, and some great performances for the fans. Is the rumor of the tour true? If so, what do you have planned?
Freeky P: Hell yah it’s true and long over due. The plan is to tour across Canada and then go south of the boarder. Maybe Philippines before, all depends on our agents and how they weave our busy schedules together.
You guys just dropped your debut album “For the Moment” for free because according to Freeky P, “We all know love pays the bills” (lol). I find it quite brilliant. You’re broadening support and gaining fans for the price of one debut album. Who was the mastermind behind that one?
Adlib: We just know how much more important it is to get the music out there, especially to first time listeners and who are we to charge people for our music when so many established artists are putting it out there for free. This album is really our first impression to the world so we got to make it as accessible as possible. Once you’ve had a listen, if you like it, then you have an option to buy it to show your support. Hopefully one day love will pay all the bills (laughs)
You seem like a quartet with a united love of sneakers (shoe game!), music, and style. How did all you kindred souls meet?
Huggy Fresh: Well what had happened was one day Adlib was breakdancing while Freeky P was beatboxing and it just so happened that DJ Relik was cuttin’ it up hard on the 1’s and 2’s…all the while I was taggin’ graffiti on the wall behind him…power went out, and turned back on, looked at each other and were all like…”Yo, this is hip hop…Adlib sing somethin’!” Believe me, there’s no way I could make that up!
*I’m giving them the side eye on this one….Hmmmmm….
Between the group, you have a sound infused with R&B, soul, and Hip-Hop. With all these different influences, I’m sure you feed off of one another. Who are your musical influences, and which member brings what sound to the table?
Huggy Fresh: We all grew up listening to pretty much the same genres of music, hip hop & R&B! We all pretty much bring our interpretation of what we got from those genres to the table. Freeky P brings that raw emcee skill mixed with the body romancing’, Adlib brings that sultry sound yet he raps too, and Huggy (myself) brings that rhythmic change up in delivery cuz just like love-makin’, you gotta switch it up when they least expect it.
Adlib: We all kind of grew up listening to all sorts of music, we all just bring our influences together and it comes out the way it does. We’re all different, but when we come together, it just works somehow. I’m just a big fan of the two of them, and they push me everyday musically and it allows me to excel at what I do, and I’m sure it works the other way around. We all just bring something unique to the table.
Freeky P: We all came up listening to R&B. Me, specifically I was into Jodeci, Boyz II Men, Dru Hill, then later came into hip hop through the bad boy era when Puffy was infusing the two together. I’d like to think that’s where my influences have come from and that I try to transpire that into what we are doing today.
“For the Moment”, like any good music, relates to things that have happened in your lives. People can relate to it because it’s real. Care to tell the stories behind some of those songs? Your choice on the songs and tales, but I do enjoy a good laugh.
Adlib: We really put ourselves out there on this album. It’s some real sh*t! That’s why I think people can relate to it in some way or form. They may not necessarily have gone through the same thing but maybe along the lines of. As a listener, I always connected with songs I could relate with, just tryna do the same. Me personally, I can’t really write about something I don’t know of or been through. You can’t fake the funk! Anyways as far as stories behind the songs, that’s all left up to interpretation, as it should be. (laughs)
I love the song, She Looks Like. From it, I know you guys like an independent woman, but, my sneaker fiends, what kind of kicks would she be rocking for you to do that double take, like Woah! ?
Huggy Fresh: For me personally I pay attention to detail, I have a huge respect for a female with a mean shoe game and it doesn’t have to be Jordans! A mean pair of heels, or open toes to notice her sexy pedicure yeah…Gahdamnit, that’s hot! Cuz let’s be honest, a lotta these girls runnin’ around sayin’ they’re sneaker heads or all about Jordans when they have less than 10 pairs to their name…it’s not swag and it’s not sexy. However I won’t knock you if you do BOOM BOOM
Adlib: She just has to have a kick ass personality! Ok just as long as she looks good in whatever shoes she wears, shit if she looks banging in a pair of Payless, then I’m about it.
Freeky P: Me, I like girls that don’t even wear shoes (laughs) and have nice feet. But mean heels or sandals, whatever, is cool. If she came out wearing some red bottoms that she paid for herself, then I would be impressed. Ormaybe some retarded Euro release Jordans then I would be like “gahdamn!”.
“For the Moment” was your debut album, which is a personal perspective of who you are and where you’ve been. From here, what do guys think the personal message in your music will be? Ultimately, what does Boombox Saints hope to voice to the masses?
Huggy Fresh: We hope to inspire and motivate those who relate to our experiences to chase their dream! It doesn’t have to be music related at all. If it is, then great. If not, then a lane that every wants to drive down. Also, just to have a good time with it, cuz if our fans are havin’ fun then you better believe we’re havin’ 10 times as much fun, poppin’ bottles, and wildin’ out!
Any last words?
Huggy Fresh: Last words? Take your left hand and make an L with your palm facing towards you, now take your right hand and do the same thing except your palm facing the opposite direction, now make the shape of a box! When you see us in the streets, throw that box up and yell out “BooooooomBox!!!” And when you do that, we’re definitely partyin’ cuz that’s love roite thayurr homie! EVERYBODY SAY BOOOOOOMBOX!
Adlib: Go download the album now! And share it with at least 10 people! www.boomboxsaints.com
Freeky P: Like what??? As if I was dying??? Naw. lol…Hi Mom!!!!!
Note to self: I’ll consider re-wording that question next time. Thanks Freeky P.
about the author
Zoey Flowers is a shamelessly eclectic, music-loving, zen-meditating freelance journalist. She has written for major magazines and online publications about Hip-Hop, Holistic Lifestyles, and the Music Industry. For more features, check Zoey at zoeyflowersportfolio.blogspot.com. Follow her on Twitter @ZoeyFlowers
