Hip hop in China

By APD writer He Wei

Two years ago, Chinese people may not be familiar with the hip hop culture, which could be called the sub-culture among all the other Chinese culture. When it comes to hip hop, most people would think a group of people wearing baggy clothes and tattoo with dreadlocks. There are also some stereotypes that the hip-hop singers are aggressive and talking dirty words.

All in all, the hip hop represents a lower social status, and usually resentful.

The hip hop is a subculture and art movement developed in The Bronx in New York City during the late 1970s. The source of hip hop is the American street black culture, including music, dance, graffiti, tattoos and clothing.

It was developed by black people. At that time, black people were socially inferior and suffered from the racial discrimination. Hip hop becomes a tool for them to express their living situation.

Thus, the early hip hop was featured in money worship, male chauvinism and pornography. But those factors were faded away when the hip hop gradually enter into the mainstream.

Nowadays, hip hop calls for freedom and is a way to break from the shackle of routine life. The core of contemporary hip hop culture is “keep it real”.

Hip hop first showed up in Hong Kong, China, as George Lam recorded the first rap song AH LAM in his album.

THE RAP OF CHINA, a Chinese music talent show went viral in the summer of 2017, which started a craze of hip hop across China. “Can you freestyle?” became a buzz word of the year.

But things did not go well for the hip hop culture after the craze, some negative news about the champion of THE RAP OF CHINA Pg one burst at every corner of the media platform, which also cast a shadow on the circle of hip hop singers for some of Pg one’s lyrics are vulgar with a sign of instigating teenagers into drugs.

As Pg one himself explained on his Weibo, a Chinese social media platform, he was, to some degree, influenced by the American street black culture. It brought out a question about how the hip hop adapted itself to the mainstream local culture.

Jay Chou, a famous Chinese pop singer said early in an interview. “I am responsible to the society, especially to the younger, the early hip hops are about drugs, guns and violence, I don’t want to spread it, so my songs are full of love and encouragement”.

Jay Chou

The birth of hip hop may be full of darkness, but it remains as a kind of culture which could still be positive to cheer the new generation up. For a hip hop singer, the personal morality is something to consider.

(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)