Hong Kong's rap scene is largely underground, but a group of teen rappers is hoping to change all that. Fourteen-year-old Island School student Aneesh Varma, aka Ghost Souljah, is one such budding rapper. 'Nobody knows about rappers in Hong Kong,' he says. 'There are some really talented rappers here who have nowhere to go.' Rap originated in New York City in the early 1970s and has become a popular form of street culture worldwide. It involves the rhythmic delivery of words, and is a central element of hip hop culture, along with DJing, breakdancing and graffiti. As a shy kid moving from primary school to secondary school, Ghost Souljah got into rapping last year when he started listening to hip hop music. His favourite rappers are 50 Cent, Kanye West and Jay-Z. He enjoys the adrenaline rush of performing in front of a live audience. 'I get so excited getting on stage. It feels better than anything else I ever feel,' he explains. But, for a 14-year-old, writing lyrics can be hard, he says. 'Like any teenager, I can get angry and start writing really aggressive rhymes. But I try to keep my music positive because no one really wants to hear a 14-year-old cursing.' Going on stage can be tough too, he says, as not everyone will like your work. 'No rapper ever made it without people putting them down. A rapper needs self-belief and strength to get through it all.' Traditionally, a rap contest - or freestyle battle - takes place in front of a live audience, but with few such opportunities locally, some Hong Kong rappers are turning to cyberspace. Eighteen-year-old Regent Cheung Wai-chun, aka Iced, claims he's beaten four rivals in online blogging battles. Iced admits that his rapping skills aren't good enough for live battles but online battling offers him a good opportunity to polish his rhyming and improvisation skills. He says he became addicted to rap after watching Eminem's film 8 Mile. 'Rapping is a great way to vent my anger in daily life,' says the Christian Alliance SW Chan Memorial College student. 'I wasn't a confident person because my academic results weren't good. But my English has improved so much since I started rapping. I'm so proud of my American accent. I've also got some fans now.' Although Hong Kong's rap scene, like everywhere else, is dominated by men, Chan Sze-wai, aka Mizz Eva, is hoping to make her mark as one of the few local female rappers. She got into rapping while studying at boarding school in New Zealand, and admits that the advantage of being a woman is that audiences tend to be nicer to her. This doesn't mean she's soft on her audience though. On her debut EP L For... released in 2004, Mizz Eva belts out angry rap slamming those who think women shouldn't be part of the scene. But she can also be pretty mellow as some of her ballads show. 'Rap music is a form of self-expression. It doesn't have to be hardcore and aggressive all the time,' says the 24-year-old. 'The style depends on my mood and the message I want to convey.' She's even tried incorporating rap in Canto-pop. Rapping is about creativity and there are no hard-and-fast rules. But both Mizz Eva and Ghost Souljah agree that rappers should get their rhymes from their hearts and shouldn't write about experiences they've never had. Rap dictionary Beatboxing: the art of creating beats, rhythms and melodies using your voice Bling: big, flashy jewellery Cypher: a hip-hop jam session Freestyle battle: contests where rappers compete with each other by coming out with rhymes and lyrics spontaneously Bite: to copy someone's lyrics or style Word up:'listen up!' or 'pay attention!'; an expression of admiration or appreciation
