SXSWorld
Issue link: https://sxsw.uberflip.com/i/654804
3 0 S X S W o r l d | M U S I C M A R C H 2 0 1 6 | S X S W. C O M ou might start hearing new sounds in hip-hop lyrics soon, specifically Korean, Japanese, Mandarin and Vietnamese. Hip-hop is on the cusp of mainstream popularity in Asia, and artists there are gaining notice in the United States as well. For example, Korean rapper Keith Ape's "It G Ma," with verses by several rising Japanese and Korean rap- pers, received millions of YouTube views and led to a remixed version with Waka Flocka Flame, A$AP Ferg, Father and Dumbfounded. Also, Grimes' 2015 album Art Angels fea- tures Taiwanese rapper Aristophanes, who spits manic, rapid-fire Mandarin. "The artists are getting better and more sophisticated," said Paul Kim, president of Mandoo Entertainment, which is hosting a "Hip-Hop from Asia" showcase at South by Southwest. "Instead of just copying the American artists, they're coming up with their own lyrics and ideas that the Asian public can relate to better. And it's really a refreshing change from your K-pop, and boy and girl bands." Hip-hop was underground in Asia for decades, with a select few listening to American rappers and even fewer imitating them. Now, artists across the continent are rapping in their native languages about the daily realities in their countries. They are inspired by everything from '80s old-school to trap, and are picking up hip-hop's style and attitude as much as its musical tenets. "As soon as I listened to Eminem, my mind was blown," said Hàng Lâm Trang Anh (aka Suboi), a 26-year-old rapper from Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. From there, she used the Internet to discover Lauryn Hill, A Tribe Called Quest, A$AP Rocky, Stromae, Kool Savas, Skepta and others. Suboi began rapping as a teenager, first as the vocalist in a Linkin' Park-inspired nu-metal band and then as a solo artist. She has con- tributed verses to chart-topping Vietnamese pop hits, appeared on Vietnam Idol and founded her own self-named entertainment com- pany. She is regarded as a leading artist in her country's hip-hop scene. "[In my music] I talk about past traumas and being a young person in Saigon [many Vietnamese still refer to Ho Chi Minh City by its former name], but all with a positive and optimistic perspective," Suboi says. "I always want to express my own self through my music, no matter what happens." She delivers these lyrics in a mixture of English and Vietnamese. Like many Asian rappers, Suboi started out using English almost exclusively. Spoken Vietnamese is a tonal language like Japanese and Chinese, relying on the speaker's vocal inflection for proper pronun- ciation. The same word can mean two different things depending which syllables are stressed, and how. For example, the word "ca" means either fish (cá) or tomato (cà). This makes rapping very difficult in most Asian lan- guages. Rappers using English can alter the pitch of their voices, stress syllables at will, and make some words short or long. Doing all this in interesting combinations is called flow. But for rappers in languages like Vietnamese, Japanese and Mandarin, too much vocal alteration can mangle the meanings of words or even make lyrics incomprehen- sible. Instead, rappers have to rely mostly on word choice to provide rhythmic variation. Many frequently lapse into English for tonal effect or to complete a rhyme. As her skills improved, Suboi added more Vietnamese into her lyrics and now uses her native language predominantly, though English phrases and lines are still to be heard. Once rappers master their craft, they need an audience. Rap is still not mainstream entertainment in Asia and so, just like their American progenitors, Asian rappers turn to self-promotion. Companies like Suboi Entertainment and Illionaire Records in South Korea, founded by rappers/producers The Quiett and Dok2, give artists that might otherwise go ignored by entertainment conglomerates a chance to be heard. Also like American rappers, Asian artists are diversifying their income by selling their own hip-hop clothing and accessories. "I want hip-hop to be respected as a part of the culture like it is in the U.S.," Suboi said. With their ever-increasing skills, entrepreneurial sense and Internet sav v y, Asia's rappers are making hip-hop more popular than ever. Increased visibility is leading to international collaboration, not just between Asian and American rappers—which is novel enough— but also between Asian countries that don't have a history of cultural exchange. "It G Ma" features three Korean and two Japanese rappers in an entertainment crossover that Mandoo Entertainment's Kim said would have been unlikely even a decade ago. "Before the Internet, many governments blocked things from other cultures reaching their own culture," he said. "There were invisible barriers. Japanese artists couldn't showcase their music in China or Korea, or vice versa … but now there's no way to stop it." Hip-hop in Asia has come a long way since a wave of Japanese teen- agers began breakdancing in the 1980s. Like rock and roll before it, this American-born genre has gone global and is now coming back with a new twist. T The Mandoo Entertainment / Hip-Hop from Asia showcase is tonight (Thurs- day, March 17) at the Palm Door on Sixth (508 E 6th St). See schedule.sxsw.com for all showcase details. Asian Rappers Have Eye on an American Breakthrough by RobeRt PReliasco Y Suboi