Fatman Scoop
Prive, Dec 19, 10pm
He's known as Mr Do-it-All and the Wiz, but Isaac Freeman III is best known as Fatman Scoop, the producer, rapper, magazine columnist and perhaps hip hop's best-known 'hype man'.
The New York native started out as a stock boy at an electronics store, but has evolved into an omnipresent figure in hip hop with his fingers in many pies. He's dropped several hit party tracks, including Hands Up, Where You At, Get Busy Remix with Sean Paul, and Be Faithful which was No1 in Europe, where he travels regularly. He's also a promoter, a radio personality on New York's popular WQHT-FM, he models hip hop-inspired clothing, releases videos and writes a monthly column for hip hop bible, The Source magazine.
But the hype man plays an often-overlooked role in hip hop, with one of the only notable exceptions to hold his own with the main MC being Public Enemy's Flava Flav. Fatman Scoop is one of a number of hype men who are also producers, and despite being less well known outside the US, holds the respect of his peers - he has collaborated with performers as diverse as Missy Elliot, Cypress Hill, Funkmaster Flex and Earth, Wind and Fire in productions that have earned him three Grammy awards. And he doesn't confine himself to the hip hop arena, either. His popular TV show, Man and Wife, broadcast online and on TV, features Scoop and wife Shanda answering questions about sex and relationships, and has become one of the most popular hits on YouTube. Their page is one of MySpace's most visited.
Scoop visits Hong Kong next week playing at Prive, where hip hop followers have a chance to catch one of the genre's most respected and prolific unsung heroes.
G/F The Centrium, 60 Wyndham St, Central, free (members), HK$280 (advance, non-members), HK$380 (door). Inquiries: 2850 6285
