Chinese rapper Feezy talks about Lupe Fiasco, WeChat, US vs Chinese hip hop, and his latest album, The Weatherman
- Feezy, who took his name from his idol Kanye West, talks about his introduction to hip hop, working at WeChat, and US misconceptions about Chinese people
- He is a fan of Lupe Fiasco’s socially conscious rap, and believes Chinese hip-hop will become more in sync with cultures around the world
Born Luo Fangqian, 30-year-old rapper-producer Feezy is part of one of the most skilled, educated and socially conscious rap groups in China. His stage name was inspired by his idol, Kanye West, aka Yeezy, now officially Ye.
Feezy discovered rap music as a junior at Shanghai Datong High School, where his biggest inspiration was Lupe Fiasco, the Chicago-born proponent of the conscious hip hop movement, which tackles sociopolitical issues. Rejection of war, misogyny and censorship was common in Fiasco’s early works.
“Lupe Fiasco’s music was ‘woke’, political and made out of critical thinking,” says Feezy. “Having been a well-behaved, straight-A student ever since I can remember, I’d never thought about how one can so boldly express their opinions and contemplations in songs – that was really refreshing to me.”
Feezy met Jiang Zige, aka Chuckzigga, at school, before they both went to the US for college, the former studying applied mathematics and philosophy at the University of California, Los Angeles; the latter obtaining a sociology degree from Swarthmore College, in Pennsylvania, then a master’s in international relations from the University of Chicago.
The two later looped in Feezy’s coursemate Xie Zitong, or XZT, formed Straight Fire Gang, and the trio has been on a roll ever since their 2018 album, These Kids Climbing Wall – the title a reference to the “Great Firewall” – on which the group addressed the nuances they have felt as Chinese citizens abroad.