Thursday, 28th March 2024 15:01
Home / Uncategorized / APPT9 Seoul Day 1B: From albums to all in

A lot of poker superstars have made the journey to South Korea for this leg of the APPT, but it was another kind of superstar that drew our attention today. Chung-Jen Yao, better known as his stage name MC HotDog, pulled up a seat here for Day 1B of the Main Event.

Born in Taiwan, the Mandarin rap artist is credited as the Godfather of Chinese Hip-Hop. His album ‘Ghetto Superstar’ won Album of the year at the Golden Indie Music Awards in 2013. Back in 2001, MC HotDog’s four mini-albums moved 300,000 units, with an estimated 6,000,000 illegal pirated copies in mainland China.

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MC HotDog on stage

MC HotDog will be trying to replicate some of that artistic success in the Main Event today. Busy making music and touring, the rapper has yet to make a live score, but all that could change with a deep run at this APPT.

Adorned with a PokerStars patch at the table, MC HotDog is representing the team as a brand ambassador here in Seoul. He also teamed up with PokerStars to release a song called ‘Poker Star’, with the video clocking just shy of 250,000 views on YouTube.

Aside from that clip, some of his own videos have millions of views. Known for his explicit lyrics, MC HotDog’s music is considered by critics to capture a realistic image of real life, and represent the voice of his people. His hit single ‘I Love TW Girls’ was topped the Hito radio chart for 14 consecutive weeks in 2006.

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Team PokerStars Pro Bertrand Elky Grospellier with MC HotDog at the APPT Seoul Welcoe Party

With a birthday today, MC HotDog was presented with a cake upon returning from the first break in the poker room here. The clock was paused as players joined in to sing him happy birthday and give him a round of applause. Blowing out the candle, MC HotDog saluted the crowd before play resumed.

He has stepped away from music momentarily to try his luck on the felt, but MC HotDog’s new album ‘Under Construction’ is promised to be released soon.

We’re getting relatively deep into the poker action here for Day 1B, and MC HotDog is still in the field battling it out. We’ll be following the rap star’s progress, and all the action from on and off the felt right here at the Poker Stars Blog.

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