Make Time: Live Hip Hop

Yesterday was another nice day here in Berlin. The weather hasn't been warm, but at least it wasn't raining yesterday when I got out of the hostel. I got up in time to get the free breakfast here - nothing special but a nice start to the day. Then I headed out and jumped on the subway and over to the Hamburger Bahnhof Modern Art museum. Yes, I went to the other modern art museum on Monday, but this one, the HB, was even more radical. I had to take a few trains to get there, but once there it was a breath of fresh air. You will see the pics below, which actually include one of me in a room full of birds - cool cause the sweatshirt I was wearing had birds on it too (stupid, I know, but nice for me to feel in the right place at the right time). I enjoyed much of the art, but some of it was just way beyond my comprehension. Specifically this guy named Joseph Beuys, who was most famous in the 60's and 70's in Germany. I mean wow, this guy set the bar for random and weird shit. The most out there? It's hard to say, really. It's a cross between huge slabs of fat in a room, a railroad track, a yellow light bulb with a lemon leaning against it, and a video of Beuys in a glass box carrying around a dead rabbit acting like it was alive (and he had his face and hair died gold). I mean - half the time I was thinking, "This is crap", and the other half I was thinking, "Wow, this is so far beyond any art I've ever seen and I kinda love him for that". In the end I decided that I would have really enjoyed hanging out with Beuys for an afternoon, although I have a feeling he would have been a more serious guy than I can handle. I saw some other cool exhibits, specifically an audio one where speakers were placed around a huge room and the sound bounced around. On the walls around the room were huge music sheets with FBI cover up markings on them - cool concept/message. The one I really liked was 5-6 waiters all racing to serve you as you walked into the room. The characters were great…and all in green. There was a video room which showed soldiers in the US training for military action, all using video game simulators which are very scarily like all the regular video games out there nowadays. It's easy to say I really liked the museum, but I definitely didn't understand it all (which is good I think). OH! There was this video of a woman doing a speech at an art opening of hers and it was by far the most obnoxiously artsy thing I've ever seen. SO dramatic and over the top. Her name is Andrea Fraser and she epitomizes the over-the-top New York art type. A bit too much for me, but it was funny to watch her be completely weird on a video.

After the HB museum, I headed to a place called Museum Island, which is a part of the city which has a ton of museums in one area. As you can expect, it was MOBBED. I could hardly walk around. When I tried to go to the DDR museum, which a friend recommended, the line was simply too long for me so I passed. The same thing happened at another museum I was hoping to go to, so maybe I will go FIRST thing tomorrow for my last day. Not sure yet. After this I headed back towards my hostel and laid low for a bit before heading out to see some local hip hop. I had heard about this place called Badehaus Szimpla Music Club, where they have a local hip hop night on Tuesdays, so I was fired up to see it. Before the show I went to get my taste of currywurst, which is a Berlin favorite. It's basically just a cut up sausage with curry and spices over top of it, and you usually get it with fries. I know it sounds simple but WOW it was great. Might have to go back and get some more today :) I put a pic below which I think you'll enjoy. The guys in the store were so nice and were fired up it was my first time trying it. They actually gave me a reduced price on the food cause they knew it was my first try and I was all excited. Good vibes!! So after I eat I get into the club around 10:30pm and almost NO ONE is there. OK. I guess it's early, but the hip hop band, The Swag, had been warming up so I got to hear them. Very cool. In the first song one of the lyrics said "Chi Town Weather" and I had to laugh to myself. After they warm up the guitarist, big black dude with crazy silver beads in his hair, comes up to me and asks my story. When he hears I'm traveling for music and art he's real fired up about it. He's lived in Berlin for 15 years but he's from Miami. Great energy. He was excited to have me there and it was great to get a reception like that. I met some guy from Denver. Met some girls from Berlin. After the first set break I met the head MC who was actually from Brooklyn, which was nice to hear. He had spent time in Floripa, Brazil, so we exchanged funny stories about that paradise. His name is Stimulus, and he gave me his info but of course I forgot. I hung till about 2am and man it was a breath of fresh air. I was dancing, meeting people, and just having a great time. I really love local hip hop. It's a very welcoming and all-inclusive type of scene. They aren't trying to be too cool like a lot of musicians, and so it's always easy to talk to them after they do their set. Good times. I got home and in bed around 3am, and was filled with energy and positivity. Thank you, Berlin!!

I'm about to head out now on this fine Wednesday, which is more sunny than it's been the entire time I've been here. I've decided to stay local today, so I'm just gonna walk around the hood and see some cool things like the East Side Gallery, which is a portion of the Berlin Wall which is now basically an outside art gallery. Also, the Soviet Monument, which is supposed to be interesting.

I hope everyone has a good hump day!!!