Notorious MSG
Encyclopedia
Notorious MSG is a performing trio of Asian American
rappers
founded during 2002 in Chinatown
, Manhattan
, New York City
. Their songs feature boasting innuendos regarding women, and lyrics about gangster lifestyles and Chinese food
. Their group name is a parody of Brooklyn rapper The Notorious B.I.G.
, with "MSG" referring to monosodium glutamate
, a sodium additive commonly used in Americanized East Asian cuisines.
in one of their songs.
In 2006, PRI's The World reported that the trio was in negotiations with Comedy Central to develop a series.
Notorious MSG's website had a few singles for download. Their first cut, "Wok the Party", was received with mediocre fanfare. Shortly thereafter, they released three singles that showed their potential for splicing rhymes to background beats, and garnered much popularity such as Chinatown Hustler.
. Their first West Coast performance, given in February 2005, just outside of Los Angeles
, was part of a night of Asian-themed stand up comedy.
They performed on August 4 and 5 at the Vans Warped Tour 2007 (Nassau Coliseum and Raceway Park, NJ).
After concerts they stay around to mingle with the audience, sign autographs and have their pictures taken. The members stay in character during and after the event.
Track list:
Another album, Hard Money, was due to be released in December 2006, but was delayed; it is still slated for release, but at an unknown time.
The Lunch Money EP was released in April 2007 under Cordless Recordings.
Track List:
They released their first full-length album Heavy Ghetto in May 2011
Track List:
Asian American
Asian Americans are Americans of Asian descent. The U.S. Census Bureau definition of Asians as "Asian” refers to a person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent, including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan,...
rappers
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
founded during 2002 in Chinatown
Chinatown, Manhattan
Manhattan's Chinatown , home to one of the highest concentrations of Chinese people in the Western hemisphere, is located in the borough of Manhattan in New York City...
, Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
, New York City
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. Their songs feature boasting innuendos regarding women, and lyrics about gangster lifestyles and Chinese food
Chinese cuisine
Chinese cuisine is any of several styles originating in the regions of China, some of which have become highly popular in other parts of the world – from Asia to the Americas, Australia, Western Europe and Southern Africa...
. Their group name is a parody of Brooklyn rapper The Notorious B.I.G.
The Notorious B.I.G.
Christopher George Latore Wallace , best known as The Notorious B.I.G., was an American rapper. He was also known as Biggie Smalls , Big Poppa, and The Black Frank White .Wallace was raised in the Brooklyn borough...
, with "MSG" referring to monosodium glutamate
Monosodium glutamate
Monosodium glutamate, also known as sodium glutamate or MSG, is the sodium salt of glutamic acid, one of the most abundant naturally occurring non-essential amino acids....
, a sodium additive commonly used in Americanized East Asian cuisines.
History
Notorious MSG started in stories for themselves to explain their reasons for forming the group. According to this story, they all met in the kitchen of the Chinese restaurant in which they worked, but decided middle class origin, pointing to evidence which includes a reference to Cornell UniversityCornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
in one of their songs.
Group members
- Hong Kong Fever: The ringleader; from Kowloon BayKowloon BayKowloon Bay is a bay located at the east of the Kowloon Peninsula and north of Hong Kong Island in Hong Kong. It is the eastern portion of Victoria Harbour, between Hung Hom and Lei Yue Mun...
, Hong KongHong KongHong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
; worked as a waiter. - Down-Lo Mein: (or D-Lo), the "Yellow Gigolo". From Ping-tun, TaiwanTaiwanTaiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
; worked as a cook. - Futomaki: One of the original members; had to leave the group due to the deportation by the INSImmigration and Naturalization ServiceThe United States Immigration and Naturalization Service , now referred to as Legacy INS, ceased to exist under that name on March 1, 2003, when most of its functions were transferred from the Department of Justice to three new components within the newly created Department of Homeland Security, as...
in 2003; from JapanJapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
; worked as a cook. - Funky Buddha: (September 8, 1973 — October 2, 2005). Real name Benson Lam. Replaced Futomaki; mainland ChinaChinaChinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
; worked as a dishwasher; according to the news and the group's story, was killed outside of a restaurant in Chinatown in a drive-by shooting. - The Hunan Bomb: The Killing Machine, Replaced Funky Buddha after Funky Buddha's untimely death; from Inchon, South KoreaSouth KoreaThe Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
; used to make a living as an underground fighter.
In 2006, PRI's The World reported that the trio was in negotiations with Comedy Central to develop a series.
Notorious MSG's website had a few singles for download. Their first cut, "Wok the Party", was received with mediocre fanfare. Shortly thereafter, they released three singles that showed their potential for splicing rhymes to background beats, and garnered much popularity such as Chinatown Hustler.
Live performances
In 2003 and 2004 Notorious MSG started to give small, organized concerts, generally to a few hundred people at any given time. One of their earliest performances was given at Rutgers UniversityRutgers University
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey , is the largest institution for higher education in New Jersey, United States. It was originally chartered as Queen's College in 1766. It is the eighth-oldest college in the United States and one of the nine Colonial colleges founded before the American...
. Their first West Coast performance, given in February 2005, just outside of Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, was part of a night of Asian-themed stand up comedy.
They performed on August 4 and 5 at the Vans Warped Tour 2007 (Nassau Coliseum and Raceway Park, NJ).
After concerts they stay around to mingle with the audience, sign autographs and have their pictures taken. The members stay in character during and after the event.
Discography
In the Fall of 2004, Notorious MSG released their first album, Die Hungry. It is approximately 35 minutes, with four interludes and eight songs, of which one is a remix.Track list:
- Intro
- Straight out of Canton
- Heat it Up
- Hong Kong Heartbreak (Sketch)
- Dim Sum Girl
- Chinese Funk
- Buddha Time (Sketch)
- Egg Rollin'
- Last Meal (Sketch)
- Streets of Chinatown
- Yello Fever (feat. Whip Montez)
- Straight out of Canton (Iron Wok Remix)
Another album, Hard Money, was due to be released in December 2006, but was delayed; it is still slated for release, but at an unknown time.
The Lunch Money EP was released in April 2007 under Cordless Recordings.
Track List:
- Pimp It
- No Good Muthabitch
- Chinatown Hustler
- Warlord
- Last Showdown
- Dim Sum Girl
They released their first full-length album Heavy Ghetto in May 2011
Track List:
- Grandmaster
- Red Tonight
- Chinese Jeans
- Hell Up In Hong Kong
- Lunch Break
- Shanghai Superfly
- Schoolhousin'
- Lonely G
- Beef Street
- This Is Rock N' Roll
Singles
- "Straight Out of Canton", whose name borrows from Straight Outta ComptonStraight Outta ComptonThe lyrics on the album were mainly written by Ice Cube and MC Ren. Critics of the album expressed their view that the record glamorized Black-on-Black crime, but the emcees stated that the group was simply showing the reality of living in the areas of Compton, California, and South Central Los...
by N.W.A.N.W.A.N.W.A was an American hip hop group from Compton, California, widely considered one of the seminal acts of the gangsta rap sub-genre....
. The single is different from the original version heard on Die Hungry, featuring new instrumental pieces. - "F.O.B. (Fresh off the Boat) For Life", a song boasting about their physical attributes and skills. This song is nowhere to be found on Die Hungry.
- "Dim Sum Girl", a love ballad about the heartbreak of Hong Kong Fever from his former love, a dim sumDim sumDim sum refers to a style of Chinese food prepared as small bite-sized or individual portions of food traditionally served in small steamer baskets or on small plates...
girl (woman pushing around carts of dim sum in Chinese restaurants). It was featured in a Chinese reality television show. - "Kowloon Bay", a love ballad similar in flavor to Dim Sum Girl where Hong Kong Fever reminiscences about his first love back in Kowloon Bay (a district in Hong Kong).
- "Chinatown Hustler", with the promise of a purchasable single and video shortly. This is also the single in which The Hunan Bomb is first heard. The music video officially aired on August 14, 2006. It is found on the video game original soundtrack of "Wet".
- "Traditional Roughnecks"