Favela Rising After Party Kush November 9, 2005 Written by Shareshten Senior Photographed by Ramon Estevanell (Opposite PhotoL-R: Favela Rising's Jeff Zimbalist ,Film Blitzer Black Robb, H2o iff's Rolando Brown)

On Wednesday, November 9, 2005 New York Cool photographer Ramon Estavanell and I attended a Favela Rising after-party (see Shareshten’s review of the documentary in the film section) at Kush Lounge. World Up, Nomadic Wax Records, and the International Hip-Hop Exchange all teamed up to sponsor a night of internationally and culturally diverse hip-hop in celebration of the Fourth Annual H2O International Hip-Hop Film Festival and Hip-Hop History Month. In case you aren’t in the know, Kush is a decadent lower East Side hookah bar (Chrystie Street between Stanton and Rivington).

The Scene at Kush

The atmosphere was both warm and medieval! Although Kush sports a supposedly Indian decor, everything from the lanterns hanging from the ceiling to the beds turned into couches to the colorful tile hookah tables made me feel like I was in a dungeon - a cozy dungeon, however.

Kush has two bars that wrap around a screened in seating area in the middle of the lounge where the DJ spins. The after party crowd was friendly, energetic and creative. The ambience was perfect for a night of liberally inclined people to smoke, drink, and chant phrases like: “George Bush doesn’t care.”

Multi-Tasking Rap Artists Performing and Ordering Two More Chai Martinis

Warning: if you order Kush’s signature drink, a Chai Martini with a mint garnish, it will go down far too smoothly and you can easily become a chameleon to whatever is going-on. Before I knew it, I was standing and chanting with one hand in the air while the other hand helped me puff smoke in rhythm to the beat boxers and rappers from foreign places like Haiti, India, Brazil, Iraq and Brooklyn. Each new performer had a nest of friends and fans who proclaimed “you have to get up for this guy.”

L-R: Film Blitz's Black Robb, h2oiff's Dondrie Burnham, h2oiff's Stacey Lee (red
hat), h2oiff's Amaris Mesa, h2oiff's Rolando Brown, h2oiff's Mona Ibrahim

Some of the featured artists were: “Euphrates the Iraqi Rapper;” El Gambina (Korea/U.S); LF and DJ Layla (Brazil/D.R.); Dola ( Tanzania); Chee Malabar ( India); and Chosan ( Sierra Leone).

All in all it was not only a great celebration of hip-hop, but a great New York City celebration of culture and politics. Say word!