Danish Style

Last night, Sara and I went up to Central Cinema to catch a screening of an in-progress documentary on Danish hip-hop called Dansk Stil (Danish Style). It was kind of a random coincidence, as we didn't hear about the event until that day through the theatre's news e-mail, but we were happy to make it out, especially as it is just a walk up the street for us. The house was sold out, mostly with friends of the filmmaker, a local kid who I'm pretty sure I've seen out at shows before. The documentary was pretty good, though it lacked a coherent through-line or story to hook the audience, and most of the groups interviewed were pretty minor figures in Danish pop culture. There is a surprising amount of decent hip-hop in Denmark, and while there is also an amusingly high level of "thug life" imitators talking like they're from Brooklyn or Compton, guys like MC Clemens and Outlandish are doing some interesting things. It would have been nice to hear from them, but I understand these things can be tough.

The clear star of the film was a graffiti artist who puts up vaguely political poster art around town under the name "HuskMitNavn" (RememberMyName). Sara and I used to see his work all over Copenhagen, and I always liked what I saw, but getting a chance to hear him talk about his work, even anonymously, was a real thrill. Favorite work: the "Winterdick" series, which will make more sense when you see the pictures. It's cold in Denmark. I think I'll try to print out a large version of the .jpg for the new apartment. (Oh, and by the way, Sara and I decided to take the apartment in West Seattle. We'll be moving at the end of this month).