Upclose with Too Monkey
Canto-hop duet Too Monkey (Arho Sunny and T.A.K.) plays with rapper Dirty R this Saturday at the Hard Rock Café. They introduce “hip-pop,“ or popular rap, to Winnie Chau.
HK: What’s with the name “Too Monkey”?
TM: First of all, we look like monkeys. But calling ourselves “Two Monkeys” is a bit too ordinary. Plus it limits the size of our group. We want more people to join us, especially girls. Don’t get us wrong; it’s not about finding a hot chick to hang out with. We are looking for a unique female vocalist who can capture the essence of pop-rap, or hip-hop, not just sing karaoke songs. That’s tough. That’s why at the moment we are only working with Dirty R.
HK: Why the heck do you keep saying “hip-pop.“ Is that a thing?
TM: Yeah, we play “happy urban hip-pop.” Hip-pop is popular rap; it’s more than just swear words, although we are not against swearing. We swear, but just not in our songs. We want to make hip-pop more accessible to the general public.
HK: But aren’t you angry at society?
TM: If we have to complain about anything, it’d be Hong Kong’s inflation! Oh, and also the trucker cap phenomenon. Whenever a trend arrives, everyone in Hong Kong follows it indiscriminately. Now everyone wears trucker caps. [HK: Wait a minute, all three of you guys are wearing one...] Yes, but we know what we like and we wear what represents ourselves. That’s why we rap in our mother tongue.
HK: What do you think of the local music scene?
TM: It’s still unhealthy. Many local singers don’t even know if they love music. But things are improving. At least, there are more not-so-good-looking singers who can actually sing.
HK: So how did you guys meet?
TM: We were primary schoolmates but we lost contact and then met again in 2002 when we were 16. That’s when we formed Too Monkey. In fact, Arho Sunny started doing hip-pop when he was 14. A year later, a record company signed him. He spent all his time recording an album when he was supposed to be studying for his public exam.
HK: What makes Too Monkey special?
TM: We are like lovers and we’re always on the verge of breaking up. We argue over almost every song we produce. But that’s our way of communication: No argument, no improvement.