Hip-hop culture is most at home wherever there is a blending of cultures. One such place is Southeast Asia. Due to the effects of globalization, hip-hop music continues to expand wordwide as cultures continue to merge, contradict, and transform. Check out these six new songs by Asian rappers.
Singapore Rap
Rap music is oddly thriving for the small and famously sanitized island country because of its large population of youth of multi-cultural backgrounds. THELIONCITYBOY says, “There is no genre in Singapore that represents Singapore as much as hip-hop.” Yung Raja beautifully represents Singaporean youth culture for minority groups as a Tamil-Singaporean who raps in both Tamil and English. Listen to his hit single “Mad Blessings” below.
THELIONCITYBOY adds, “The more [Singaporeans] highlight different people or stories, the closer we come to celebrating our identity.”
K-Hip-Hop
Rap came to South Korea because of nightclubs in Itawewon, Seoul, which were catering to the American G.I.’s stationed nearby. The influence of “rap dance” can be seen in the performances and careers of today’s K-pop stars; but the invention of the Internet allowed for underground rap to finally take off. South Korean musicians began listening to American hip-hop in online groups, and then they would create their own underground hip-hop music and underground culture from there. Listen to “Hypestar” by Changmo and “Booong-Booong” by Haon to better understand the vibe.
J-Pop
According to HipHopDX, hip-hop culture in Tokyo arrived at first as a “dance culture” much the same as in South Korea. In fact, the exchanging of ideas between Japanese culture and the American music genre of rap continues, and the result is amazing music with songs like Nobita (Remix)” by Peavis, “Majinahanashi” by Hideyoshi, and “My 64” by Jaggla.
Thank you for this information. I really like those songs! The videos are cool too- a nice way to have an eye into other cultures/hoods.