In 2018, China banned what it deemed to be controversial hip hop content from television. In this interview with 36th Chamber, one of Beijing’s original b-boy dance crews, the group talked about how the ban affected China’s culture, the Black-American struggle that gave rise to the early hip hop pioneers in New York, and the intersection of Shaolin martial arts and hip hop from the 1970s to modern day.

Just like the Wu-Tang Clan album of 1993, 36th Chamber was inspired by the art of discipline and self-mastery from the movie “The 36th Chamber of Shaolin.”

Resources:
China’s hip-hop culture ban: authorities send mixed messages, South China Morning Post
http://www.scmp.com/culture/music/article/2142444/chinas-hip-hop-culture-ban-authorities-send-mixed-messages
'Kung Fu Kenny' Is Just the Latest Example of Hip-Hop's Fascination With Martial Arts, Complex
https://www.complex.com/music/2017/04/kendrick-lamar-kung-fu-kenny-hip-hops-obsession-with-martial-arts
Full video of 36th Chambers’ performance on Beijing’s dance competition:
https://v.qq.com/x/cover/z8m4tww9e68pk01.html
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Directed by: George Zhi Zhao
Written by and produced by: Dolly Li and George Zhi Zhao
Voiceover by: Dolly Li
Shot by: Timmy Shen and George Zhi Zhao
Edited by: George Zhi Zhao
Mastered by: Victor Peña

Music: Audio Network