Mobb Deep is coming to Shanghai. Um, what? I cannot fathom a group with a perspective more perpendicular to the pampered expatriate persuasion, but that’s what’s cool about it.

For those who don’t know, Mobb Deep is an East Coast rap group, hailing from the Queensbridge projects in NYC (same place as Marley Marl, Nas, MC Shan, and NBA star Ron Artest, to name a few). It’s undoubtedly a grim place and Mobb Deep’s music, including their classic, The Infamous, reflects that reality like a scarred mirror. The beats are harsh and uncomplicated, the samples stark and haunting, the flows pragmatic and unadorned. Grimy does not cover it. Really, it’s the musical equivalent of staring into a great white shark’s black hole eye. Have I sold you on the show yet?

Rest assured that Mobb Deep has changed a lot since 1995, when The Infamous came out. Back then, main members Havoc and Prodigy were underground gods, as hyped  as Nas and Biggie by hardcore heads. Their follow-up to The Infamous, Hell on Earth, hit the charts at number six. The one after that, Murda Musik, was highly anticipated.

Then a lot of stuff happened, including the East/West rivalry, Biggie and Tupac’s murders, the co-option of underground hip hop into the mainstream marketing monster and, probably, Mobb Deep becoming tired of not getting paid very well for their art. They signed on with the G-Unit crew (50 Cent’s outfit) and began to make more club- and radio-friendly joints, to the chagrin of hardcore fans.

It’s a shame how hip-hop can murder its idols, not to mention how often they cage themselves, both artistically and physically. When you’re at your best you get props, but no cream. Then you make changes to get paid and the critics get on your case.  So, what’s a rapper to do?

Most likely these new tracks will be what you are grinding to when you get out to Racks in Xintiandi to see Mobb Deep on June 12th. It should be a good show (although founding member Prodigy was sentenced to three years in jail in 2007 and, thus, clicked “not attending” on his Facebook invite). But no matter who is attending, Shanghai will see a performance by the most authentic rap group to grace its soundscape ever (sorry, Kanye).