ComplexCon brought its third edition back to Hong Kong this past weekend, and LiFTED was on the scene. The two-day festival/convention/trade show created in the US back in 2016 definitely lived up to its original blueprint as a ‘walk through the internet’. AsiaWorld was packed with kids [and adults] from all over the world, but mainly Hong Kong and mainland China–a place with the most active internet users anywhere. Throngs of netizens milled around the marketplace looking for their favorite designers and exclusive drops.

This year’s logo was designed by Hong Kong’s Kasing Lung, whose Labubu creations have taken the world by storm. Naturally Pop Mart was also involved. Every half hour or so screams would go up as some designer, actor or music idol would make their way from booth to booth, setting off a sea of wild fans and their camera phones. But that’s half the fun of ComplexCon. In two days on the ground, we met with Lupe Fiasco, Skai ISYOURGOD, MC Jin, NICKTHEREAL, JB, Shigga Shay, Haysen Cheng, and too many others to mention.

Lupe Fiasco and MC Jin were on a super fun panel discussion called Bring a Demo that was interesting and intimate. Six artists submitted demos, and the panel offered feedback and advice after hearing a minute of each track. The panel was filled out by Korean rapper/producer Vince. MC Jin hosted, seamlessly translating from English to Cantonese, and all six of the artists ended up on stage celebrating with their heroes at the end.

At night the music offerings were equally impressive. On Saturday, Korean Hip Hop Don [and former #1 on the LiFTED 50 best Asian rapper list], Jay Park wowed the audience with his impressive rhymes and stage moves. Then US sensation Yeat tore it up with his experimental sounds and style, along with Jay Park’s More Vision label sensations LNGSHOT. Finally, Skai ISYOURGOD brought his Guangdong boss energy to the stage, much to the crowd’s delight.

Sunday was all about Jennie from Blackpink, as was evidenced by the hordes of funkily attired tweens who flooded the marketplace that day. We missed her set, but it was sold out in minutes, so you do the math.

Elsewhere, Skaii ISYOURGOD did a collaboration with Edison Chen’s CLOT brand, as did NYC graffiti legend Eric HAZE, who’s booth was beautifully done with a retrospective of past collaborations and a new one with Lee Jeans that was stylish and design driven, evoking the baggie days of 90’s Hip Hop. Taiwanese urban outdoor brand Goopimade had an interesting booth featuring a collaboration with LMF bassist and fine artist Prodip. CLOT, of course had their own mega booth that featured a new collaboration with Japanese military sci-fi media group GUNDAM, complete with robots and limited edition merch. Korean artist Lee Hu Sin also created a live multimedia piece with inspiration featuring a LiFTED sticker.

Stalwarts like Ecko, Bape and Billionaire Boys Club were back again, but we missed Futura’s ‘Knew Stand’ this year. We also missed Takashi Murakami, but he did have the most zen pop-up installation of all. His Ohana Otake footwear zone only sold his colorful slides, but the entire area was covered in cherry blossoms with a cherry blossom tree set in tatami mats in the center. It was beautiful and calming, set in the middle of that mardi gras of hysteria and commerce.

The marketplace DJ stage was cranking non-stop, with lots of Hip Hop and Jersey Club stylebeats throughout both days. It even featured an impromptu freestyle session between Lupe Fiasco and MC Jin towards the end of Sunday. Jagermeister had a fun booth/bar with beats provided by Mixmag Asia curated DJs. Close by was NYC’s Fried Rice, with their groovy, playful, and mostly black clothing designs. We even picked up one of their now iconic FRIED RICE AS FUCK tees as a memento of another great ComplexCon.