Motley brew

Seeing the members of local rap outfit 24 Herbs interact is like witnessing the brewing of the eponymous traditional herbal drink using a blend of distinctive and seemingly random ingredients.

Brandon Ho, aka GhostStyle - who, along with Eddie 'Dor Yuk' Chung, is beat maker - is a softly spoken, baby-faced Chinese-Canadian with a love for old school East Coast hip hop. Conroy Chan Chi-chung, aka Drunk, is a hefty Australian who grew up listening to heavy metal and speaks with a deep drawl. Brian Siswojo, aka Sir Eats-a-Lot, is from Indonesia but has been spearheading Hong Kong's skateboarding and streetwear movement for the past decade. Chan Wai-hung and Leung Wing-kit, known as Phat and Kit respectively, have been part of the underground rock/rap scene since the early 1990s as members of LMF.

With their different backgrounds and influences, it comes as no surprise that the discourse between them is a schizophrenic cacophony of Cantonese and English, with lots of swearing in both languages.

'Some people say our music is all over the place,' Conroy Chan says. 'That's because our music contains the perspectives of all of us - and we're all different individuals from different backgrounds.'

It's that eclectic cultural mix that's made 24 Herbs a hit with Cantonese and English speakers. The title of their song Do You Know Me resembles a Cantonese expletive.

It will be a busy couple of months for the group: they have two concerts and a new album coming up. Not that these guys have been out of the public spotlight since their last album was out, in 2008.