Hip Hop Don’t Stop

Event Details

This event took place at The Lab - Shots & More, 101 Phạm Ngũ Lão, Phường Phạm Ngũ Lão, Quận 1, Ho Chi Minh City, from 9 PM on 23 November 2019 until 2 AM on 24 November 2019, with the original address retained for archival accuracy even though the venue has since closed. Scientific Sound Asia and The Lab presented Hip Hop Don’t Stop as a free-entry night dedicated to Hip Hop, party classics and contemporary club sounds in central Saigon.

The event marked a return to dedicated Hip Hop programming for Scientific Sound Asia after the Too Many T’s show earlier in the year. Old Skool gems, New Skool flavours and a relaxed rooftop setting gave the night a different character from the organisation’s House, Techno and Drum and Bass events.

The Lab spread the party across its rooftop terrace and first-floor bar, allowing guests to move between the dancefloor, drinks and more relaxed areas throughout the night. That arrangement suited a Hip Hop event built as much around social atmosphere and familiar records as around continuous club intensity.

Entry was free, keeping the night open to anyone who wanted to drop in during the five-hour session. From 9 PM until 11 PM, guests could also take advantage of a buy-one-get-one-free Tiger Beer promotion while the early part of the party developed.

The music policy was intentionally broad, with Hip Hop at the centre but room for related sounds to appear around it. The event moved between classic rap, newer club material, House, Trap and other styles familiar to selectors with wide-ranging collections.

ARSAN brought one of the most varied musical backgrounds on the bill. Born in New York and raised between New York and California, she worked as a record producer, songwriter, DJ and independent recording artist.

Her background across different parts of the United States exposed her to several musical scenes rather than a single regional approach. That breadth carried into her DJ sets, where Hip Hop could sit alongside House and Trap without sounding disconnected.

On the night, ARSAN’s selections combined energetic records with sharp transitions designed for a working dancefloor. Her ability to move between genres made her particularly suited to a party that welcomed both older Hip Hop influences and newer club sounds.

By the time of Hip Hop Don’t Stop, ARSAN was also active around Vietnam’s nightlife and entertainment scene. She had become the resident DJ for the Saigon Heat basketball team while continuing to perform at venues around the country.

That connection gave her a strong local profile even though her musical background had developed internationally. Her appearance at The Lab added a contemporary American-influenced edge to a night otherwise strongly connected with the older foundations of Hip Hop DJ culture.

DJ Psycho-UK, also known as Bearhead, brought a very different history to the decks. He began DJing at the age of fourteen in East London using a pair of Soundlab DLP1 turntables and a four-track mixer.

Hip Hop formed one of the earliest foundations of his musical development before the emergence of Acid House and Hardcore widened his involvement in underground dance music. Jungle, Drum and Bass, House and rave culture later became part of the same broader DJ background.

His early years behind the decks coincided with a period when pirate radio, warehouse parties and independent record labels were central to underground music in London. DJ Psycho-UK played on stations including AXE FM and Fantasy FM and became involved with events outside the mainstream club circuit.

Connections around Production House Records also placed him close to artists and crews active during the transition from Hardcore into Jungle and Drum and Bass. At the same time, his Hip Hop roots remained important and continued to appear whenever the event called for a rap-focused selection.

His London appearances included Scala, Bagley’s Film Studios, 491 Gallery, 291 Gallery and 333. Those venues placed him across different areas of the capital’s underground club culture before his DJ work later extended internationally.

His career subsequently included performances in the West Indies, Australia and Vietnam. After becoming based in Ho Chi Minh City, he appeared at venues and events including Piu Piu, Basement, Indika, Cargo Remote, Pogo Beach Club and Dragon Beach.

For Hip Hop Don’t Stop, the musical emphasis returned strongly to one of the foundations of his DJ history. Old School Hip Hop, Funk-driven rhythms and party records sat naturally alongside the wider New School direction established by the event.

DJ Psycho-UK also headed Scientific Sound Asia, helping develop it as a radio station, event organiser, DJ agency and underground music platform in Vietnam. That role connected his appearance behind the decks directly with the organisation presenting the event.

The combination of ARSAN and DJ Psycho-UK gave the night two contrasting approaches to Hip Hop culture. ARSAN brought contemporary production, Trap and modern club influence, while DJ Psycho-UK added deeper roots in Old School Hip Hop, turntable culture and the British underground.

That contrast was important to the identity of Hip Hop Don’t Stop because the event was not intended to function as a nostalgia night. Classic records and golden-era influence could sit alongside current material without forcing the programme into one period of Hip Hop history.

The rooftop setting at The Lab also helped distinguish the party from a conventional enclosed nightclub session. Guests could move between open-air social space and the first-floor bar while the music continued across the venue.

This flexibility suited a night designed around dancing, drinking and hanging out rather than a rigid performance schedule. It allowed people to arrive early for the beer promotion, stay for the DJs or move between different areas as the atmosphere changed.

The Phạm Ngũ Lão location placed the event inside one of District 1’s busiest nightlife areas. That made Hip Hop Don’t Stop easy to reach while still retaining the smaller independent character associated with many Scientific Sound Asia events from the period.

The night also continued Scientific Sound Asia’s wider interest in Hip Hop, Funk, turntablism and bass culture. Earlier events had brought live rappers and scratch DJs to Ho Chi Minh City, while this party returned the focus to selectors working directly with a local crowd.

That history remains part of the organisation’s current events archive alongside its music news, radio and artist activity. Preserving nights such as this one helps document the range of genres and venues connected with Scientific Sound Asia beyond its better-known electronic music programming.

The Lab - Shots & More has since closed, but retaining its original address gives the event a clear place within Ho Chi Minh City’s changing nightlife history. The rooftop and first-floor bar provided the setting for a free Saturday night where Old Skool and New Skool Hip Hop could meet House, Trap and party music in the centre of District 1.

Hip Hop Don’t Stop brought ARSAN and DJ Psycho-UK together for a straightforward five-hour celebration of rap culture and dancefloor music. Free entry, rooftop space, beer offers and a broad Hip Hop policy made the event a relaxed return to the genre after Scientific Sound Asia’s earlier Too Many T’s show in March.