The economy isn’t the only thing growing like wildfire in China. China’s fast growing hip-hop scene has been taking off at lightning speed over the past few years. No one knows more about this vibrant scene than Fulbright Scholar and Chinese Hip-Hop expert: Angela Steele.

Angela graduated from Stanford University in 2006 with a B.A. with Honors in Cultural & Social Anthropology. Her undergraduate thesis “Zai Beijing: A Cultural Study of Hip Hop” explored the history and social significance of Hip Hop in Beijing, China. From 2005-2006 she worked as a researcher at the Hiphop Archive at Stanford. She is a 2007-2008 Fulbright Scholar, currently researching ways in which the production of Hip Hop music in China informs the construction of modern identities and mediates desire.

Her blog, “Dongting” is a research blog on Hip Hop in China. It is a space to share the music and the stories of the Hip Hop artists we encounter, the questions we explore, and the ideas we develop. Dongting is not a chronological history nor is it a comprehensive profile of Hip Hop in China. Rather, it is a our personal record of what we find interesting to listen to and pleasing to the ear.

I interviewed Angela about her work and the hip-hop scene in China. Listen to our conversation and some Chinese Hip-Hop on Nomadic Wax’s radio bi-weekly with Mo’ Glo on KEXP/WNYE.