Everything you need to know about the new wave of Asian hip-hop
Millions of views on YouTube, fabulous sales of digital copies of albums, as well as concerts and tours in front of thousands of crowds around the world - all this about the new stars of modern hip-hop. However, it is not about the usual western artists, but about talented guys from Asia, who are now blowing up the world rap scene.
How did a new wave of Asian hip-hop begin?
When Rich Brian released his video for the track "Dat $tick" in early 2016, almost no one could figure out how to relate to this. Whether all this is serious, or in jest. They said that all this work will soon turn into a meme and will be scattered over the Internet only in the form of funny pictures and quotes.
Representatives of the music industry also did not understand how he could win fans, and believed that such "flirting" with the style would soon cease, and no one else would remember about it. But in the end, "Dat $tick" became a hit and in two months collected 19 million views on YouTube and 10 million plays on Spotify (now it has more than 102 million views).
This gave a strong impetus for young performers who, in search of their listeners, came to streaming services. In addition, gave the direction of the name - a new wave of Asian rap.
Since the beginning of the two thousandth, many artists of Asian origin have been trying to get into the hip-hop industry. In 2004, MC Jin with the song "Learn Chinese" tried to squeeze into the music market. At that time, none of the producers wanted to deal with artists who were not Americans just because they could not be associated with the musical performances of that time. However, then MC Jin was able to get closer to the cherished dream - a large audience, climbing with his album to 54 place in the top Billboard 200.
In 2010, a new wave of interest in the culture of the East began in the USA - many began to watch anime, read manga, learn Japanese and play Asian video games. Many musicians, using their blogs in Tumblr and Twitter, tried to catch up with and understand this tendency: they did if not music close to the culture of East Asia, then at least somehow tried to recreate it artificially - using mixtape covers (for example, Bones album cover and Xavier Wulf - ダ サ い) or references in the lyrics of their songs to popular Asian cartoons (for example, to Dragon Ball Z).
The most famous lover of Japanese culture is Robb Bank$. In an interview with NewTimes Broward, he explained that in his childhood among African-Americans, the fascination with anime and manga was considered "not cool", and that is why the culture of Asian countries among rappers is not so popular.
In the same year, when Rich Brian gained recognition, many specialized publications predicted a quick overall fashion for the Asian music industry, not only focused on America, but also beyond its borders. At the same time, they said that the new wave of Asian hip-hop is the "powerful answer and middle finger" of K-Pop and J-Pop.
Who are they?
The basis of the new Asian scene are guys from Japan and South Korea. The rest, from Indonesia, China, Vietnam and other countries - follow.
Keith Ape
One of the most famous representatives of the new wave of music is Keith Ape from South Korea, who in 2015 blew up the broadcast in the West and captured the minds of many listeners with the single "It G Ma".
After the triumph, Keith Ape toured all over America and performed with many stars of the western rap scene - XXXTentacion, Young Thug, Desiigner and many others. "His concerts were so steep and energetic that if he performed at the Olympics, he would have easily received gold," wrote Kyle Kramer of Noisey.
Rich brian
A year after Keith Ape, an unknown singer, sixteen-year-old Rich Brian (real name Brian Imanuel), appeared on stage for no one else.
Brian was born in Indonesia to a lawyer’s family, but his parents could barely pay for loans and study for three more children. As Brian himself admitted in an interview with Forbes, it was important for him to find any means to earn at least some money. He began his career with short videos on Vine, learned English from videos on the Rubik's cube on YouTube and American rappers such as Tyler, The Creator and 2 Chainz, and then sat down to write tracks. In February 2016, he released "Dat $tick", which brought him popularity.
Now Rich Brian is released on the label 88rising, and in February 2018, he released a good debut album "Amen".
Dumbfoundead
Doumbfoundead (real name Jonathan Park) is an American Korean rapper who grew up in Los Angeles. From early childhood, he absorbed the culture of the West Coast. Starting in 2000 with rap battles, he searched for himself for a long time and tried to find different ways to move. He then turned to acting, but fortunately, not for long.
At some point, he switched to YouTube, where he successfully published his tracks, and in 2016 released his debut album "We Might Die". Critics liked him very much, and from Dumbfoundead, many waited for the continuation of a successful career outside of social networks. Now Dumbfoundead is the main representative of Korean rap not only in the States, but also in Korea itself.
In his tracks, he raises the problems of Asian Americans: low wages, terrible living conditions for workers and cultural problems. At the same time, it keeps in touch with traditions and helps South Korean groups to expand their audiences outside their homeland thanks to their own label BORN CTZN.
BTS
BTS is a collective that for the first time in the history of South Korean groups has fallen on the Billboard Top 100.
Quite recently, a very cool remix from Stevie Aoki and Disiigner called "Mic Drope" was released on the BTS track.
Higherher Brothers
In China, the culture of hip-hop underground is also developed and interesting. One of these groups is Higher Brothers. Having spat on bans and censorship and armed with a VPN, they manage to make a solid trap.
At home, they became real stars of the "invisible" scene - at the beginning of their careers they performed only at private parties and only underground. Thanks to the same 88rising, they became known around the globe, released a video with Joji, who brought them additional fame, and presented their debut album in 2017, Black Cab, along with Keith Ape, Famous Dex and J Mag.
joji
joji (he's Filthy Frank, he's Pink Guy, he's George Miller) is quite a well-known person, but few people know that this funny guy is also a rapper. In 2017, he began to collaborate with 88rising, taking the pseudonym joji.
Before 88rising, in 2015, he released his compositions on SoundCloud. Initially, all his work was private and for a long time his profile was hidden from the community, and he worked on the TVFilthyFrank channel. In 2017, he released a very melancholic album In Tongues.
Suboi
This hip-hop old-timer is a performer under the pseudonym Suboi from Vietnam. Back in 2008, she established herself as a cool beatmaker.
By the way, it started simultaneously with Keith Ape, but then its release went unnoticed. The sound is sharp and at the same time very smooth, which is a little "hypnotizing". Once she managed to speak in front of Barack Obama when he was on a visit to Vietnam.
MKIT RAIN
MKIT RAIN is a Korean band that opposes BTS. They are energetic, evil and determined to turn the industry around.
In their clips in each frame, attention is focused on expensive things, and in the tracks they read that for an extra hundred thousand bucks they will go on a direct flight to Seoul and blow up every club with their own music.
Who is behind the new wave of Asian hip-hop?
In 2017, the fashion for a new wave of Asian hip-hop in America just grew and did not at all strive to stop. In addition, to a large extent this merit is 88rising.
"A lot of people are wondering, ‘What is 88rising, exactly? Is it a YouTube channel? Is it a management company? Is it a record label?"’ says Sean Miyashiro, the founder of 88rising, in an interview for Pitchfork. "It’s actually everything. Our general ethos is that we want to push this shit forward. It’s not like, ‘Hey, we’re trying to change people’s perceptions of Asians.’ We’re just doing it by being alive."
Three years ago, Sean Miyashiro and her friend had to move out of the dorm at Albert Einstein Medical College in New York. He liked to go to bed late and listen to loud music, in the dorm rooms, the walls were thin, and he constantly cursed because of this with his neighbors.
At night, Sean Miyashiro, in order not to interfere with anyone, had to leave for a multi-level parking lot at McDonald's, catch a Wi-Fi, listen to "strange but very cool rap from Korea and Indonesia." This parking was his office, his office was a car, and for lunch and dinner, potatoes and hamburgers from the same McDonald's.
Back in college, Sean Miyashiro introduced his bandmates to Korean musicians who uploaded their tracks to SoundCloud and YouTube. After that, he worked at VICE News and asked Shane Smith, the founder of Vice Media, to create a separate site where you could talk about new trends in the world of electronic music and newcomers to this great game. This is how the site "Thump" appeared.
A year and a half ago, Sean Miyashiro left the editorial office and decided that he would focus solely on 88rising. At that time, he had several successful discoveries - this is Keith Ape, Rich Brian and Doumbfoundead.
Today, Sean Miyashiro owns a large company that has offices in New York, Los Angeles and Shanghai. He and twenty-four other employees almost daily tell people from around the globe about the new stars of modern music. Today 88rising collaborates with many sites (for example, with the Boiler Room), makes clips and deals with sound recordings.
There is a real musical exchange between the West and the East. The fact that at first glance it seems only entertainment and to some extent a joke, is in fact a combination of two cultures. Such cooperation can bring a lot to modern life. Not only in the world of music, but also in literature, cinema and even in ordinary communication between representatives of two different parts of the world.
Besides, should rap be black and focused solely on social injustice? If Kanye West and Tyler, the Creator were doing it before, now the industry has undergone major changes. The development of rap is now very dynamic and the new faces that 88rising reveals to us are evidence of this. They are the evidence that rap now is not just about America and African Americans. This is about the whole world.