https://www.scmp.com/rss/503195/feed Hanley Chu is a contributor at Goldthread. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com The Chinese of today are into raves, mixtapes, and baggy jeans. Hip-hop and street culture are influencing the youth of China today. They grew up listening to Jay-Z, Eminem, and 50 Cent on smuggled cassette tapes and now, streaming websites. When I was growing up in Hong Kong, I remember listening to Numb/Encore by Jay-Z and Linkin Park when I was 12. I didn’t know what hip-hop was then, but I was hooked. They grew up more familiar with Jay-Z than Jet Li. A lot of kids in China grew up like me,... https://www.scmp.com/culture/chinese-hip-hop-east-coast-video-series/article/3043373?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/culture/chinese-hip-hop-east-coast-video-series/article/3043373?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 24 Dec 2019 10:29:48 +0000 Stanley Yang was just 23 when his best friend was killed outside a nightclub in Vancouver, a gunshot wound to the head. The death hit Yang hard. In 2003, he had just graduated from film school in Vancouver and was living the high life. By day, he worked on the production sets of indie films, and at night, he partied hard. “I was a harsh raver,” he recalls. Yang was always a rebel. He grew up in a dysfunctional family that constantly fought, and tried to spend as much time as possible away from... https://www.scmp.com/culture/zhongtv-22k-stanley-yang-chinese-hip-hop/article/3037892?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/culture/zhongtv-22k-stanley-yang-chinese-hip-hop/article/3037892?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 15 Nov 2019 08:36:25 +0000 For most people, winning Hong Kong’s Oscars would be a dream come true. But for one unknown rapper, it nearly derailed his career. In 2014, Dough-Boy was a 24-year-old producer just two years out of school when he won the award for Best Original Song at the Hong Kong Film Awards. He wrote the song for a small indie production called The Way We Dance on a miniscule budget of $200. “I didn’t even have anyone to thank,” recalls the rapper, whose real name is Galaxy Ho. “I didn’t even know what I... https://www.scmp.com/culture/dough-boy-hong-kong-hip-hop-rapper/article/3035795?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/culture/dough-boy-hong-kong-hip-hop-rapper/article/3035795?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 31 Oct 2019 11:21:22 +0000 When James Mao first started making music videos, he had a problem. Googling his name turned up a basketball player in Taiwan named James Mao. “The first five pages are that f---ing basketball player,” says Mao, now a music video director for the Asian-American label 88rising. So he came up with “mamesjao,” a moniker he still uses. “Now you Google mamesjao and it’s all my work,” he says. A stupid reason, he admits, but it helped build his career. Now, he’s the go-to director for hip-hop... https://www.scmp.com/culture/mamesjao-james-mao-88rising-hip-hop/article/3033073?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/culture/mamesjao-james-mao-88rising-hip-hop/article/3033073?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 15 Oct 2019 11:25:20 +0000 A night out in Hong Kong leaves much to be desired. Clubs and lounges tend to play the same EDM and pop music. Underground parties are few, and house parties even fewer in between. In densely populated Hong Kong, you’re probably living in a tiny apartment that can fit at most four people, and your neighbors, who are literally a wall away, will likely call the cops at the first sign of a beat. Enter Yeti Out, a music collective that’s upturning the party scene in Hong Kong and mainland... https://www.scmp.com/culture/yeti-out-hong-kong-shanghai-china-party-scene/article/3032170?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/culture/yeti-out-hong-kong-shanghai-china-party-scene/article/3032170?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 09 Oct 2019 10:39:57 +0000 There’s a story that Chinese-born rapper Bohan Phoenix likes to tell about his first few years adjusting to life in America. Born Leng Bohan, he and his mother had just moved from China to Boston three years earlier. He was 14 years old and starting at a new high school. The building had a long hallway connecting the east and west wing. To avoid talking to anyone, Bohan would duck outside one end of the school and walk the entire perimeter to the other. “Because I was so terrified of being in... https://www.scmp.com/culture/chinese-american-rapper-bohan-phoenix-not-selling-out/article/3030617?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/culture/chinese-american-rapper-bohan-phoenix-not-selling-out/article/3030617?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 27 Sep 2019 05:31:18 +0000