By Gui Oliveira
The Richmond District rapper, Kyle Shin – familiarly known as Son of Paper to his fans – released a new album, “From a Rooftop in Chinatown,” on Jan. 20. To celebrate the release, he performed at the Cameron House rooftop on Feb. 18.
“From a Rooftop in Chinatown” takes on quite a contrasting musical approach than his previous album, “Always Autumn.” Shin incorporates the guzheng, a traditional East-Asian instrument, on the track “Overcame,” by teaming up with Winnie Wong.
“We really blended those sounds and found a way to create a soundscape that felt modern but also felt timelessly old, too, with East-Asian sounds,” Shin said. Wong is a masterful guzheng player; she first started learning the instrument at the age of 4 and has built a career playing shows, recitals, giving private lessons in San Francisco and more.
When playing with Shin live, Wong has to interpret his lyrics by “improvising with his work and feeding off of the lyrics, and just adding little melodic riffs and also just that emotional kind of agitation in it.” Wong said. The way she improvises on the guzheng really elevates Shin’s performance and lyrics by feeling out the message of the song and effectively translating that musically to his audience.
The Cameron House is an important piece of Chinese and San Francisco history, dating back to its founding in 1874 by the Presbyterian Church as the Occidental Home for Girls. During the Chinese Exclusion Act, young girls and women were smuggled into the country and sold as commodities in what came to be known as the Yellow Slave Trade. These girls and women took refuge in the Cameron House where they learned skills and faith. The massive brick building is located at 920 Sacramento St., bordering Nob Hill. Over the years, the Cameron House rooftop has served as a set for filming.
Shin performed on the rooftop, (which is really a basketball court overlooking the Financial District…
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