It’s long overdue that we show our appreciation to the imaginative Taoist composer JooWan Kim and his dynamic genre-defying Enemble Mik Nawooj (EMN). It is not fair to call them a fusion band because they stay so true to the tenets of classical, pop, and hip-hop en route to crafting brooding and symphonic opuses that are punctuated by rapid-fire verses from some of Oakland’s dopest emcees.

Amidst a musical landscape that is constantly christening new sub-genres, crafting crazy mash-ups, and throwing different types of music against the wall to see what combinations stick, Ensemble Mik Nawooj stands out as something truly special. You can purchase their CDs, but Kim’s hip-hop orchestra creates music that sounds even more fit for a film score than an album. But whereas most film scores create music for a pre-existing movie, EMN’s Great Integration should have visuals set to it. Once you see them live, you will understand why.

JooWan Kim’s work is a well-conceived experiment in hybridity. The summa cum laude graduate of Berklee College of Music and San Francisco Conservatory of Music obviously has quite the pedigree, but he also has a vivid imagination and the fortitude to bring his ideas to life. His integration of East and West and classical, pop, and hip-hop is purposeful and powerful. It’s what metropolitan symphonies across the country should sound like if they hope to capture the attention of younger audiences. Kim proves that classical music is not just a stuffy old genre for the annals of history, but rather a lush, technical, and rich body of music that young musicians can innovate and re-imagine.

For his aforementioned opus, The Great Integration: A Hip-Hop Chamber Opera, Kim harnessed the cinematic qualities of strings and woodwind instruments and the story telling power of hip-hop to create a mythical tale of exploration, discovery, and deliverance narrated by Oakland’s own Do D.A.T. and Rico Pabon. It was powerful to behold live and, in a perfect world, would be seen on the big screen as well.

For their next show they are adding two more local luminaries to the bill, rappers Sandman (previously of The Attik) and RyanNicole (the rapper/ actress/ host/ youth development guru). This Friday you can see them at Oakland’s Pro Arts Gallery, but given their sheer power, musicianship, and imagination, it shouldn’t be long before riveted audiences are hearing Ensemble Mike Nawooj’s musical journeys in New York’s Carnegie Hall.

 

ENSEMBLE MIK NAWOOJ: A HIP-HOP ORCHESTRA feat. Do D.A.T., Sandman & RyanNicole
When: Friday, July 26, 2013 @ 8pm

Where: Pro Arts Gallery – 150 Frank H. Ogawa Plaza, Oakland, CA 94612

Program: Ensemble Mik Nawooj: A Hip Hop Orchestra ft. Do D.A.T., Sandman & RyanNicole

Tickets: $18 general, $15 students,  $12 seniors

Age: All ages

For more info visit ensemblemiknawooj.com

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