Friday was devoted to DJ Vadim at Grappa’s Cellar. When we got there at around ten, I was mortified, because there were like, eight people there. Some from this other mag. I mean, I always liked a quiet crowd at Grappa’s, but not like that quiet. Ghost Style finally started his shit when around 20 people gathered. Then MC Yan came on. He’s rocking a really dope homeless look lately. I have to give him props. Nobody, I mean NOBODY flows like him in Cantonese rap. He magnetized with an experimental reggae piece in Cantonese, Putonghua and Spanish.

Then Vadim got behind the decks, all Cap’n Funkanoid in yo’ area with his blend of electronica and hip-hop, and it started to fill up. I suppose people just expected Vadim to start late and didn’t bother to come before midnight. I saw his wife (and MC) Yarah Bravo to my right, waiting for her cue. She looked ghetto-fab with her instant-noodles-in-the-deep-fryer hair and killa shades, so I went up to her to say hi and took a pre-performance photo. She later wrote on my Facebook wall: “u know sometimes u just meet people whose vibe you feel instantly... and u happened to be one of them hahaha ...ONE LOVE FROM LIL MISS BIZZLE.” Feeling was mutual, girl!

Yarah’s got serious flava and radiated so much fierce positivity. And I think she rhymed “break a leg” with “broccoli.” She rawked it out on stage with bootilicious Bahian moves to her husband’s tunes. “Damn we need producers like Vadim in HK...” mused the fabulous Gretchell, who ditched a recording gig that night to check out Yarah Bravo’s chops. Then Yarah invited me on stage to dance to a Spanish song she wrote for Manu Chao, what an honor. I had to bring it, Latin style. My hips don’t lie.

Halfway through Vadim and Yarah’s spectacular set, it struck me that (I mean, I don’t want to compare but) this was on the level of like, Towa Tei and Lady Kia entertainment (early Moloko thrown in). They were told that “HK don’t get down.” Here’s what they had to say about that:

Vadim—“Fuck dat. It was super dope. I’ve rocked clubs way bigger with more people, but this party was so fun. Real fun. If the house was packed, I think we would’ve blown it up for real!”

Yarah—“Vadim here thinks Hong Kong is better than Shanghai and Beijing, but... I KNOW Hong Kong’s better.”

By that time, Yarah had finished being fierce for more than an hour on stage, so she downed a plastic cup of white wine and transformed into a smoldering hot, sexy mess! Well, everyone was rather hot messy as we were whisked off to Club Pi in a van. Big up Daddy Vad and Lil Miss Bizzle Bravo!