Beenzino Attracts A Multicultural Crowd To 'Up All Night' Release Party Concert In New York City [EXCLUSIVE]

Beenzino took on the US last week through New York City and Los Angeles, hosting release party concerts in the big cities for his new album "Up All Night." At Stage 48 in NYC, one of the best-known South Korean rappers drew in a multicultural crowd to promote "Up All Night."

Stage 48 in Manhattan is a trendy concert venue with blue lights throbbing behind the four bars and along the stairs and a glass balcony that wraps around the club. The opening DJs played an eclectic mix perfect for the crowd: hip-hop remixes of everything from Chris Brown to 2NE1. Young and attractive fans trickled onto the main dance floor; the majority of them hip, female Koreans with trendy haircuts wearing fashionable wide-brimmed hats or beanies, furry vests, crop-tops, and graphic sweatshirts. Selfies were being taken left and right - a few shamelessly wielded selfie sticks, to make sure to capture the glowing blue light hitting their flawless faces from the opportune angle.

But there was also a noticeable number of people that weren't Korean. There were a fair portion of African-American fans, as well as the occasional Caucasian peeking out from the dark-haired fans.

The stage was small with a big projector screen in the back and two smaller ones on either side. As fans geared up for Beenzino's appearance - and the music switched to electronic K-pop remixes - large bottles of Belvedere were carried to VIP tables with a sparkler attached at the top, lighting up the bottle's path to the lucky exclusive groups.

Sunny Lee, one of the fans waiting anxiously for the rapper's arrival, told me what set the rapper - who is under illionaire Records label - apart.

"Beenzino's rap style is very simple but has a message to the audience. He's really different from other rappers and really good at grabbing the audience," Lee said.

"His lyrics are really touching. They remind me of my ex-girlfriend," another fan, Will Byun, revealed. "His lyrics are dynamic," he added. When asked what he was looking forward to the most when Beenzino took to the stage, he said "turning up."

Beenzino finally showed up around 1am, stepping out to a crowd of screaming young fans wearing hats with his name on it. Dressed in a leather jacket, pleather skinny jeans, black sneakers, and wearing a long, gold chain around his neck, Beenzino switched between English and Korean as he greeted his fans, swiping his hand across his sharp haircut as the lights caught his razor cheekbones.

"I like that he's bilingual," Jina Moon, another young fan, told me earlier. "He knows how to work with the beat and he says what's on his mind."

Beenzino rapped the night away with nothing to entertain the fans besides the glowing lights, the graphics on the projectors, and his oozing coolness on stage.

"Nike Shoes" was by far the biggest hit with the crowd. He stomped his foot to the beat as the crowd pumped their arms in unison, finishing his lyrics for him and shutting their eyes in pure joy.

At one point Beenzino took off his jacket, and it was Korean girls gone wild. They yelled his name and grasped for a chance at touching his hand as he skirted around the stage.

As the night wore on Beenzino spoke less English, like he was sharing secret messages to the Koreans in the audience.

"Rapping in America is very different from rapping in Korean," Beenzino noted, and as I watched an African-American girl wrap her arm around her Korean friend's shoulders, shouting the lyrics of "Up All Night" together, I had a feeling the diversity in this crowd was something the South Korean didn't see too often back home.

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