Kollaboration LA 2013 was my first Kollaboration, and it was really entertaining. I love seeing the new up and coming faces of Asian American entertainment, and this event didn’t disappoint.
Kollaboration has been around for a long time, and I first became aware of it when I saw this old video. (Watch till the end, it’s pretty dope).
But this year, I was dragged out to my first Kollaboration by a friend from college who was volunteering at the LA event. I thought it would be the perfect time to scout some of the awesome up and coming Asian talent in dance, singing, beatboxing, and rapping.
The Ford Amphitheatre where it was held was absolutely packed. Tons of Asians everywhere.
The host, Paul Kim, came on stage and it was finally time to get started. He was pretty funny. I looked him up after the show and turns out he’s a stand-up comedian from Los Angeles and also the founder of Kollaboration. Check him out here.
The first act was EVOKE. A dance crew. The thing is I hold Asian dance crews to such high standards nowadays since they absolutely dominate, so it’s hard for any dance crews to impress me nowadays. Although these ladies (and a few guys) aren’t the next Jabbawockeez, they were very entertaining nonetheless. Great choreography and very clean moves.
The second act was Verseatile, a Korean American rapper. He previously competed in reality shows and worked with guys such as MC Jin, Uptown (Korean hip-hop group), and DPG. A solid act.
PRISKA started off with the story of a turtle couple who decided to get a “divorce.” The host mentioned that she was bullied as a kid, which was great because it made her an underdog. She’s a great vocalist and has a very pretty voice. Props for being Taiwanese, though, since I feel like Chinese people aren’t very well represented at these talent shows.
Hana Kim has a really strong voice that I really liked. This Korean American singer graduated from UC Irvine and has travelled the world teaching and performing music. Great performance and great song.
Russell Curry explained to the audience that he decided to pursue his passion and give up his desk job. His rap was all about achieving one’s dreams. A great message and a great performance. I loved the positive energy that Russell brought to his performance.
The Rhee Brothers were my favorite act up to this point. They sung a song called “Sibling Rivalry” complete with an awesome “trumpet” solo. It was a perfect blend of humor + great vocals that made their performance a blast. The song was hilarious, and it showcased their talents amazingly as well.
During intermissions they had a freestyle dance battle, where we got to see the one, the only BUTTER! This guy was awesome. Coming up the stage I didn’t expect much out of him. His body shape wasn’t that of a typical dancer. But his popping was SICK. Expect to see more of this guy in the upcoming years.
Mike B had an emotional period in his life that led him to find music. Born and raised in Koreatown LA, Mike has become a great rapper/songwriter. Great rapping and a fun band.
Ashley Yoon was a UCLA bruin that had a ton of fans in the house. Her vocals, sassy attitude, and performance were awesome. It was a great combination that led to her being one of the most raved about performances in the house. The song was also perfect as well.
Justin Klunk is an amazing saxophonist from USC. He’s already performed with some great artists such as David Benoit, Steve Miller Band, and David Pack. I’m not a huge saxophone fan, but his performance was excellent. He had so much energy that it really sucked me into his performance.
EVMB was possibly my favorite performance of the night. I usually don’t enjoy beatboxing that much, but this guy was freakin’ talented. I don’t know how he made half the sounds that he made. There was also one part where he was singing and beatboxing at the same time. This guy was just NASTY. A great last performance.
Run River North was the featured guest at the event. According to them, they are a bunch of “losers” – almost every single one of them has lost at a Kollaboration event. Their message was that even though all of them lost, they still persevered to get to where they are today. They played on Jimmy Kimmel recently after putting up a viral video of them making a music video in a Honda car. Honda saw it and hooked them up with Jimmy Kimmel. An inspiring story and a great act.
After the final act, the winners were announced. EVOKE won the audience choice award, but The Rhee Brothers won the main award and got the opportunity to compete in the Kollaboration finals. A great win by them.
Thanks for a great Kollaboration 2013. Looking forward to going to more of these later.
Photos by Jeddy Yuan.
Written by kevinhype