It’s been a rainy week in Shanghai and it’s put us in a reflective mood. We look back at the week that was and will be. This week we have: a preview of one of the city’s hottest gigs; dunks, dunks, dunks; KFC possibly pimping out its delivery boys; a tribute to one of the best Middle East foreign correspondents; a look at the history of two of the most powerful and seemingly diametrical political movements of recent time; and the hopeful future of hip hop.

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart live in Brooklyn
This Friday, New York indie sensations The Pains of Being Pure at Heart will be making their Chinese live debut at MAO Livehouse. Get a preview of what will surely be an excellent show with this live set they did at the Music Hall in hipster mecca Williamsburg three years ago. It’s a great show that precedes the band’s excellent sophomore album, Belong, which will definitely be represented this weekend.

Watch the NBA 2000 Dunk Contest
Also this weekend, the NBA will be holding its All-Star festivities. The game itself is barely watchable but the real intrigue lies in Saturday’s dunk contest. While it’s become fashionable to complain about the event, a great dunk contest can electrify a crowd and create stars out of its participants. Last year was great with Blake Griffin leaping over a car as a gospel choir sang, “I Believe I Can Fly.” It was fun but it also typified the overuse of props and gimmicks in recent contests. Take it back to the old school with this 2000 NBA Dunk Contest where Vince Carter cemented his status as the best dunker ever. Although Vince ran away with the event, future Yao running mates Steve Francis and Tracy McGrady give it their best shot. The end result is the best pure dunk contest of recent memory.

The Cute KFC Delivery Boys
One of the stranger news to circulate among Chinese netizens this month was the report of a girl who jokingly requested a cute delivery boy while ordering KFC online. Much to her surprise, a cute delivery boy arrived and the news quickly spread. It’s led to a wave of Chinese girls requesting cute KFC delivery boys and Weibo-ing the results. While KFC has officially denied that this is a practice, some have wondered if this isn’t some sort of creative marketing plan on their end. Whether it’s true or not, make sure to order food and the type of person you want to deliver it the next time you get the urge for some finger licking goodness.

Red About Anthony Shadid
Sad news came last Friday when two-time Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, Anthony Shadid, died in Syria from an asthma attack. A gifted foreign correspondent, Shadid was covertly covering the Free Syrian Army and other opposition groups to President Bashar al-Assad’s government for the New York Times. This type of story typifies his excellent Middle East reporting career that includes covering such dangerous stories as the American invasion of Iraq and its fallout, the 2007 Lebanon conflict, and the recent Arab Spring uprisings that toppled governments in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, and Yemen. Shadid’s line of work was dangerous. Last year, he and three other Times journalists were held captive and physically abused for over a week by pro-government Libyan militias. His final piece for the Times is yet another stunning work where Shadid discusses the new Libyan government’s difficulty in controlling militias emboldened by the power vacuum left by Qaddafi.

Check Out "The Power of Nightmares"
Speaking of the Middle East, this three-part 2004 BBC documentary series examines both the rise of radical Islamist groups and the American neoconservatives. At the time, the two political movements seemed to be in direct conflict. However, this series probes the historical developments of these movements. Before there was W. and Osama, there were Sayyid Qutb and Leo Strauss. Qutb was an Egyptian civil servant who after a visit to America returned disgusted and concerned about the westernization of Egypt under General Nasser. His work to return his native country to Islamic law led to his execution but his work would inspire Bin Laden’s future mentor Ayman al-Zawahiri and would fundamentally transform the Middle East. On the other side of the pond, a group of disgruntled political minds would turn to the work of Leo Strauss and envisioned a country unified against a common enemy. Such early acolytes as Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld would essentially shape the last American decade. While the two sides were technically at war, this series correlates how both movements took advantage of public fear to push their political agendas.

Listen to Black Hippy on Soundcloud
On a more hopeful note, we look at hip hop’s bright future. Over the last couple of years, the genre has been infused with hungry young rappers who are bringing a unique spin to the game. Four of the most promising artists to emerge have been LA’s Kendrick Lamar, Schoolboy Q, Jay Rock, and Ab-Soul who collectively make up Black Hippy. While they collectively have only released a few collaborations, each member have released a couple solo releases including Schoolboy Q’s fantastic Habits & Contradictions which was released in January. Get hip to one of the hottest rap collectives by checking out their Top Dawg label’s Soundcloud page.