Ever since Hong Kong’s premier music festival Clockenflap went big 10 years ago, they have always featured an inspired Hip Hop act to headline. Past editions have featured Old School royalty like De La Soul, Wu-Tang Clan, and even the Sugar Hill Gang. Always eclectic, the festival has also hosted M.I.A., Stormzy, and a gang of Asian rappers from The Higher Brothers to Bohan Phoenix and local stars like Novel Fergus and Matt Force.
This year they continue the tradition with the UK’s biggest noise, CENTRAL CEE to close things out on Saturday night. And Friday will feature Japan’s genre-hopping MC and DJ sensation CREEPY NUTS. Also on this year’s bill is Canadian DJ superstar A-Trak, who plays many styles, but his Late 90’s NYC Backpacker Hip Hop Boiler Room set is one of the best.
CENTRAL CEE has taken over the UK Drill scene, expanding into Grime, Trap, and basically taking the Hip Hop world by storm over the past few years. With chart-topping hits like ‘Doja’ and ‘Sprinter’ [with Dave] he has racked up half a billion streams on Spotify alone. Now at the top of the game with his lyrical wood shredder delivery, CENTRAL CEE comes to Hong Kong to headline Saturday’s lineup, which should be unforgettable.
Japan’s CREEPY NUTS fits Clockenflap’s pedigree for bleeding edge, classic, and unusual acts. Known for rapid-fire rhymes and quirky beats, MC R-Shitei and DJ Matsunaga have come together as CREEPY NUTS and quickly gained fame in their home market during the past year with hits like the viral ‘Bling-Bang-Bang-Born’ which has over a half billion streams and views between Spotify and YouTube alone. These guys are no flash in the pan either. MC R-Shitei was crowned Japan’s top battle rapper for five years running, and DJ Matsunaga won the DMC championship in 2019. They’ll be tearing it up on Friday night.
Since winning the DMC championship at age 15, DJ A-Trak has been a mixologist monster, who can genre jump with the best of them. There’s no telling what he’ll pull out of his bag, so you don’t want to miss his Clockenflap debut on Friday. Also on Sunday, Hong Kong’s Afrobeats sensations, The Afroseas will perform for their rabid fanbase.
Get your tickets for Clockenflap here.
