[REVIEW] Asian Music Festival 2014 – Los Angeles

AMF (Asian Music Festival – Korean Hip Hop Series Vol.1) 2014 took place at The Belasco Theater in Los Angeles, California on May 25, 2014. This hip-hop concert featured some of Korea’s hottest hip-hop stars including super popular Beenzino, the smooth voice of Bumkey, and the amazing rapper Verbal Jint. Also from Korea is rapper Kanto who wowed the crowd with his handsome features and amazing rap skills as well as singer Hwayoung where he showed off his cute side and lovely voice as he featured in Verbal Jint’s set.

Opening the show in Los Angeles are two artists who are known for their music and style. DANAKADAN opened the night with a few songs off his latest album, including the track “Stuntman” which was also the name of his newest album release. After DANAKADAN finished his short set, the Electro Pop band IAMMEDIC took the stage with a few of their own songs which had some of the fans singing along. Members Danny Park and Enik Lin were present for this event.

After DANAKADAN and IAMMEDIC completed their great sets for the night, it was time to get the headliners on stage. The host went on to introduce AMF’s first headlining artist of the event.  The underground Korean rapper, Beenzino (born Lee Sungbin) was the first to hit the stage and the audience went wild as he appeared on stage. Fans sang along with fanchants and joined in whenever there was a chance. His most memorable stage was when he performed the song “Boogie On & On” and his fans sang almost the whole track with him.  Halfway through his set, the rapper hyped the crowd up even more by throwing water from his water bottle and later by giving out a few of his own albums. His amazing set had the fans so excited that they were pushing to get to the front. How fans got in the media section, nobody will ever know but one thing is for sure, Beenzino has some pretty dedicated fans in the USA.

Following Beenzino was popular Korean R&B and hip-hop singer and composer Bumkey (born Kwon Ki Bum). He amazed the audience with his smooth vocals and great tracks. He performed many of his originals but soon enough, he covered songs like “So Sick,” “U Got It Bad,” and more. He even sang his parts of the song from various features he has done, including the favorite “Special Girl” by Infinite H. Bumkey is originally from Los Angeles so he was very excited to be performing in his hometown. Many of the fans sang along to not only the covers but his personal tracks. He then invited out his special guest and bandmate (from the group TROY) Kanto. Many already knew who the singer was speaking about when he stated, “Let me invite this good looking fellow to join me on stage.” A few fans immediately screamed out for Kanto (born Choi Kwang Ryul) and the 1994 born was brought on stage. He sang many songs with Bumkey and showcased his rap skills to the Los Angeles audience. They then gave away a few TROY sweatshirts to the crowd. Kanto is very charming as well as Bumkey as the two interacted with the fans and gave a lot of fan service. Before his set was over, Bumkey said that he was in Los Angeles and a special performance should be made and that was when he covered Pharrell’s track “Happy” where fans sang along loud and clear.

Their stage soon ended and last to come on the big stage was Korean rapper and lyricist Verbal Jint (born Kim Jin Tae) who made his debut back in 2001 under Brand New Music. Verbal Jint had the longest set due he performed with every artist except for Beenzino. Verbal Jint had his own solo stages, showcasing his amazing rap skills and reminding everyone why he has been a rapper for so long. Then, he was joined on stage by rapper Kanto for a song before he left and singer Hwayoung (born Choi Hwayoung) joined him on stage. It seems as though many fans didn’t recognize the artist but loved his amazing voice. That is until the singer introduced himself and sang a part of his feature in the Untouchable track “Tell Me Why.” After performing a couple of tracks with Verbal Jint on the keyboard and showing his ageyo (cuteness) in Verbal Jint’s song “Good Morning,” he left the stage and Bumkey was back after changing.

Bumkey and Verbal Jint closed the night with two tracks and then took a photo with the artists, even inviting DANAKADAN to the stage. They took photos with the whole audience that was present in the venue before it was over and everyone left to get some rest before the soon to come after party.

A mini press conference was held after the event in the green room but not much could be heard. We did hear a media outlet ask what they liked about Los Angeles and the boys’ reply was simply, “food and shopping.”

The 2014 Asian Music Festival was a success and the night was full of amazing and enjoyable music. Los Angeles was the last stop on the tour where they also performed in New York as well as Seattle.

Check out HypnoticAsia’s photos from the event HERE!