Hip Hop Don’t Stop 9 Festival Edition

Event Details

This event took place at The Local Saigon, 28 Đường Thảo Điền, Thảo Điền, Quận 2, Ho Chi Minh City, from 1 PM until 11 PM on 23 July 2023, with the original address retained for archive accuracy even though the venue has since closed. Scientific Sound Asia and The Local Saigon presented Hip Hop Don’t Stop 9 – Festival Edition in conjunction with Fuzzy Logic, Huda, the90s.vn, Abstract Soundz and El Luchador Street Food.

The ninth edition expanded the regular Hip Hop Don’t Stop format into a full daytime programme built around music, food, drinks, clothing, apparel and production. Rather than concentrating solely on a late-night DJ session, the festival edition brought several different parts of Hip Hop culture together across ten hours in Thảo Điền.

Entry was free, making it easy for people to drop in throughout the afternoon and evening. Drinks specials from Fuzzy Logic and Huda ran between 2 PM and 6 PM, adding another incentive for guests to arrive early and spend more of the day at the venue.

Food formed another part of the programme through El Luchador Street Food, giving the event a festival-style social element beyond the dancefloor. Clothing and apparel from the event partners also extended the day into fashion and street culture rather than treating Hip Hop purely as a musical genre.

The inclusion of a Hip Hop production workshop gave the event an educational side as well. Guests interested in how beats were constructed could engage with the creative process behind the music instead of only hearing finished tracks through the sound system.

DJ Psycho-UK, Kaztet D and Matt Abstrax formed the published DJ line-up. Between them, the selectors brought Hip Hop, Funk, Soul, Grime, Reggae and Bass Music into a programme designed to move through several connected areas of underground music.

DJ Psycho-UK, also known as Bearhead, represented Scientific Sound Asia and returned to the long-running series with a collection shaped by decades behind the decks. The East London DJ first started mixing at the age of fourteen and has continued performing across Hip Hop, House, Acid House, Hardcore, Jungle and Drum and Bass ever since.

Hip Hop formed one of the earliest foundations of his musical development and remained central to the Hip Hop Don’t Stop concept. His selections connected Old School records, underground cuts and party-focused material with the turntablist roots that had shaped his original approach to DJing.

His wider background in pirate radio, rave culture and underground events also gave the festival edition another link with British soundsystem culture. That history fitted naturally alongside a programme where Hip Hop shared space with Funk, Grime, Reggae and bass-heavy music.

Kaztet D brought a different international perspective through his French background and long connection with Asia. Partly raised in the region and later based in Saigon, he had developed experience as an MC, promoter and DJ before focusing increasingly on tropical and bass-oriented underground music.

His work with Banana Hustle explored the tropical side of underground sounds, while Wat A Gwaan concentrated more directly on Reggae and Bass Music. Those projects gave his Hip Hop Don’t Stop appearance a strong rhythmic identity that could connect rap with Caribbean and broader global bass influences.

Reggae and Bass Music also broadened the musical direction beyond the traditional Old School and New School framework of earlier editions. Kaztet D could move between Hip Hop-rooted rhythms and sounds shaped by Dancehall, Dub and other bass-led traditions without losing the festival’s overall identity.

Matt Abstrax brought another background shaped by both promotion and DJing. He had previously been a key player in Australia’s electronic music scene through TechPhonics, where he worked as a promoter and resident DJ before later shifting his focus towards funkier sounds.

Since 2019, his selections had increasingly moved through Funk, Soul, Hip Hop and Grime. That change made him particularly suitable for the festival edition, where the music policy was deliberately wider than a straightforward club-night interpretation of Hip Hop.

Matt’s Funk and Soul selections connected naturally with the sample-based traditions that influenced generations of Hip Hop production. Grime added a more contemporary British edge and gave the programme another bridge between rap culture and electronic bass music.

The combination of all three DJs gave Hip Hop Don’t Stop 9 enough range to develop across a long daytime session. DJ Psycho-UK supplied the series’ core Hip Hop identity, Kaztet D brought Reggae and tropical bass influences, and Matt Abstrax added Funk, Soul and Grime.

The festival format also suited The Local Saigon because the programme could unfold gradually rather than requiring guests to arrive for one headline set. People could spend time with the food, drinks specials, clothing, workshop and music according to their own interests throughout the day.

Fuzzy Logic, Huda, the90s.vn, Abstract Soundz and El Luchador Street Food each contributed to the wider character of the event. Their involvement helped turn the ninth edition into a collaborative gathering rather than simply another numbered DJ night.

That broader approach reflected Hip Hop as a culture with connections to production, fashion, visual identity, food, community and social activity as well as music. The workshop and apparel elements therefore fitted naturally alongside the DJs rather than appearing as unrelated additions.

Scientific Sound Asia’s wider work continues through its events, radio station, DJ agency and music news sections. Hip Hop Don’t Stop remains part of that history as a recurring series that moved through different venues and formats while keeping underground Hip Hop culture at its centre.

The Local Saigon has since closed, but preserving the address, partner information and festival programme keeps an accurate record of the ninth edition. DJ Psycho-UK, Kaztet D and Matt Abstrax supplied the music while the production workshop, food, drinks and clothing helped turn Hip Hop Don’t Stop 9 into one of the series’ most complete daytime cultural gatherings.