The Proliferation Of Hiphop Subculture in Hong Kong

Naam: Daniël Maurits Kwee

Studentnummer: 9842381

Adres: Langegracht 127, 2312 NZ, Leiden

Scriptiebegeleider: Dr. Ir. Jeroen de Kloet

Onderwijsinstituut: Universiteit van Amsterdam

Doctoraalscriptie

Afdeling: Communicatiewetenschap

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Foreword

This thesis was written for my doctoral graduation at the University of Amsterdam, it

describes the way Hiphoppers in Hong Kong understand, talk and think about the Hiphop

subculture and their social environment. The era of Hiphop as a strict underground

phenomenon is long gone, at present-day commercialism plays an increasingly important

role in the dissemination of Hiphop tropes and imagery. Therefore this study can be

interesting for commercial enterprises to accumulate more understanding of Hiphop

subculture and those who participate in it.

I would like to thank Dr. Ir. Jeroen de Kloet for being my guidance throughout this

journey that started as a simple idea but ended up more complex than I thought. His

passionate and no-nonsense feedback motivated me to the end. Also I would like to thank

Khawar Aziz for kicking off the inspiration for doing this study in Hong Kong and his

help thereafter. Furthermore I would like to thank all the interviewees, in particular DJ B

and MC Yan. Finishing this thesis could not have been done without the help of my

mother, my father, my sister Melissa, Luk Ka Yan, Riva Nurse, Kewrin and Suave.

Thank you.

Leiden, 1 July, 2005

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Contents

Chapter 1: Introduction 4

1.1 A personal note 4

1.2 Research question 5

1.3 Scientific relevance 6

1.4 Societal relevance 7

Chapter 2: Theory 8

2.1 Hong Kong’s social context 8

2.1.1 Search for identity 8

2.1.2 Identity and media 9

2.1.3 Linguistic identity 10

2.2 Globalization 11

2.3 Subcultural theory 13

2.3.1 Hebdige 13

2.3.2 Post subculture 15

2.4 Hiphop 16

2.4.1 Hiphop 16

2.4.2 Hong Kong Hiphop 18

Chapter 3: Research method 21

3.1 In-depth interviews 21

3.2 Discourse analysis 22

Chapter 4: Data collection 24

4.1 The scene 24

4.2 The people 24

4.2.1 Noc Joe 24

4.2.2 MC Yan 25

4.2.3 DJ B 26

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4.2.4 DJ Tommy 27

4.2.5 Fama 28

4.2.6 Ghostyle 29

4.2.7 Edison Chen 29

4.2.8 MC Cal and KZ 30

4.2.9 Summing up 31

4.3 Venues 31

4.4 Sounds 34

4.5 Images 35

Chapter 5: Analysis 37

5.1 Discourse of language 37

5.1.1 Mother tongue 37

5.1.2 Colonial politics 39

5.1.3 True Cantonese 40

5.2 Discourse of locality 42

5.2.1 Chineseness 42

5.2.2 mainland China 44

5.2.3 “The black West is the best” 47

5.3 Discourse of commercialism 51

5.3.1 Hong Kong culture 51

5.3.2 Trends 53

5.3.3 Survival tactics 57

Chapter 6: Conclusions 58

References

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Chapter 1: Introduction

1.1 A personal note

From its early days in the ghettos of the Bronx to France, Sweden, Japan and many more

countries, Hiphop has gained the hearts of many young people. Whether crowds are

shouting at a live rap concert, or b-boys doing the latest dance move in a park, all have in

common that they are part of a new global culture. The most important and widespread

element of Hiphop is rap music, which is now not only listened to but also done by

rappers in many the corners of the world. This is due to the ongoing process described as

globalization, which mediates all kinds of predominantly American cultural forms and

expressions, including Hiphop, overseas, with a great impact outside the West. Hong

Kong, given its colonial history, can be considered a salient example where both East and

West are incorporated in everyday life and culture.

Where does this leave Hiphop and its emergence in Hong Kong? In recent years

Hiphop hit the Hong Kong pavements and spurred a new “glocalized” sound (Robertson,

1995) produced by local artists. LazyMuthaFucka for instance raps in Cantonese thus

forming a new local sound. Syan, DJ Tommy and others are shaping the newly born

subculture in typical Hong Kong ways. They sample old Chinese opera music or write

graffiti in Chinese characters and consequently shape the Hiphop subculture through a

local perspective. As a result Hiphop found root and shapes the lives of a still growing

number of youth in Hong Kong. What is this Hiphop or rap about? How does this Hiphop

sound, feel or even dance? The meaning cannot remain the same as it is in the United

States if only because of the different cultural backgrounds of its new producers and

consumers and their different perceptions. (Levy, in Mitchell, 2001, p.137)

Given my interest and activities as a promoter and MC in Hiphop, I have come to

question the subculture and myself. I am not from the U.S., do not have African ancestry

nor stem from a working class background, and so on. What has driven me to writing this

thesis is the deep-grounded passion for Hiphop that developed since my childhood. My

Chinese heritage is the inspiring factor for choosing Hong Kong as my research habitat.

Although I am not direct related to Hong Kong, it has many pull factors for social

scientists that wish to study contemporary pop culture. Subsequently the aim of my work

is to explore the proliferation of Hiphop in Hong Kong and the ways Hong Kong

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Hiphoppers give meaning, perceive and shape both the Hiphop subculture and their larger

social environment.

1.2 Research question

This thesis focuses on an overall aim that will be pursued by answering a number of sub-

questions. The aim of this study is to explore the proliferation of Hiphop subculture in

Hong Kong.

To realize this aim I will seek to answer the following sub-question:

(1) Historical rationale of the study:

1. In what social, political and cultural context did Hong Kong Hiphop

subculture proliferated over the past decade?

This question deals with recent developments, in particular the Hong Kong political

handover; it also deals with the current processes of and debates about cultural

globalization.

(2) Theoretical rationale of the study:

2. Through which theoretical lines has subcultural theory, in particular in

relation to Hiphop, developed since Hebdige seminal book Subculture – The

meaning of Style (1979)?

This question deals with theory about subculture and Hiphop in particular. It is an

overview and exploration of the ways social science understands subculture and their

members.

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(3) Empirical rationale of the study (based on in-depth interviews) by answering the

following questions:

3. Who participate in the Hiphop subculture in Hong Kong?

4. Which subcultural styles did and do they develop?

5. What subcultural practices do they use?

6. How do they negotiate authenticity?

7. How do they negotiate locality?

The latter two questions are derived from my theoretical framework, as will be explained

below. In the current literature, the negotiation of both authenticity and locality are

considered to play a pivotal role in contemporary processes of cultural globalization.

1.3 Scientific relevance

This thesis is about the global-local interaction, seen through the prism of the Hiphop

subculture in Hong Kong. Hong Kong is one of the major world’s global cities, a place

where global and local processes are interwoven and thereby indigenize or “glocalize”

newly adapted forms such as Hiphop. With the global flows the world is tuned into the

music and the subculture are currently found in most parts of the world in one way or

another. Concepts as “hybridazation” (Bhabha, 1994), “indigenization” (Appadurai,

1996), “creolization” (Hannerz, 1992) and “glocalization” (Robertson, 1995) are used to

explain complex processes in non-western societies dealing with western cultural

formats. Artists involved in “western” types of music like Hiphop are blurring the

boundaries due to the global-local cultural interaction. The notion of globalization is an

important factor in the way we obtain our changing world, nevertheless the cultural and

social implications need to be examined more. I am interested in how youths in certain

places deal with global forces, give new meanings to them and thus create their own

specific practices. The global-local interaction is fully marking youth subcultures,

constantly reworking and redefining meanings and practices.

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1.4 Societal relevance

New music and subculture introduced to non-western youths through the powers of

globalization are able to oppose authorities and governments. Research about subcultures

or countercultures mostly involves young people (Hebdige, 1988, McRobbie & Garber,

1991 in Wermuth, 2002). A sub- or counterculture tells us something about youths, who

often oppose or reject the dominant middle class society. In numerous events in recent

history the young generation speaks up their mind and demands their particular needs

with sometimes-catastrophic effects. The Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989 is a vivid

example.

Since its early days Hiphop has been known for subversive lyrics that highlighted

social issues such as inequalities, poverty and racism. With the export of rap music and

the Hiphop subculture, we might ask ourselves in which ways these elements still remain

part of Hiphop and in what manner. In the social sciences the political character of

Hiphop tends to be highlighted, as if it is a counterculture always ready to fight political

powers. But since its heydays, Hiphop was and is not only about political issues. It is also

about such things as partying and having sex, roughly in the same manner many rappers

nowadays brag about in their music and videos. Whether imbedded in social activism,

violent boasting or sexual activities, Hiphop can be understood as a rejection of or at least

a challenge to dominant culture. The crossing of commercial, moral and artistic borders

by rappers and other key figures within the subculture might impact young people in

Hong Kong. This in itself is interesting for both academics and society as a whole.

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Chapter 2: Theory

2.1 Hong Kong’s social context

Hong Kong is situated at the South China Sea and consists of 235 islands and 365 square

miles of mainland bordering China. For the most part the people are of Chinese descent

and use the Cantonese dialect as their main vernacular communicative medium. From

1842 to 1997 Hong Kong was part of the British Empire. The Treaty of Nanking, which

forced the Qing Dynasty to pay off Hong Kong to the British, stirred the imperial appetite

(Vines, 1999, p. 32). Thus, only two decades later the empire annexed a slice of mainland

China; under the Convention of Peking the Chinese rulers of those days were forced to

cede the Kowloon peninsula. On June 9th 1898, the third – and as it turned out most

crucial – treaty was signed. This was the second Convention of Peking, which leased the

New Territories to Britain for 99 years, starting July 1st, 1898 (Vines, 1999, p. 32)

This area, from Hong Kong Island to the mainland border with China, was only scarcely

populated in 1842. However, in 1997, Hong Kong is one of the largest metropolises of

Asia giving home to more than 6 million people. This is due to the ongoing influx of

Chinese populations finding in Hong Kong the right place to start a new life away from

natural disaster, poverty and communism. Away from the famines the British government

provided its new citizens freedom and rule of law.

Thus in 1997, accustomed to the rights and certainties of a liberal society, the

people of Hong Kong faced not merely a political change; the handover from British to

Chinese rule is also a cultural transition. The colonial history of Hong Kong is the only

history it has, and distanced Hong Kong and its fairly new inhabitants culturally and

politically from China (Abbas, 1997, p.5)

2.1.1 Search for identity

The search for a Hong Kong identity is not easy. Two broad constructions of Hong

Kong’s cultural identity can now be made; “Hong Kong as a part of China” and “Hong

Kong as apart from China” (Mathews, 1997, p.3). British influenced historians have

different opinions than Chinese influenced historians, which points at a larger fact of two

competing hegemonies (Mathews, 1997, p. 3).

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During the 150 years interlude in which Hong Kong was a British crown colony,

an autonomous Hong Kong identity emerged only since the 1960s onward. Before that

time its inhabitants thought of themselves as Chinese (Mathews, 1997, p. 4).

Chinese historical accounts indicate that Hong Kong has always been closely linked to

China, thus reinforcing the view of “Hong Kong as a part of China”. Contrastingly,

archaeological evidence predating the era of Chinese imperial control over Hong Kong,

points at an opposite direction. Looking at history in such a manner, we come to the

conclusion that the terms China and Chinese are ambiguous as they may refer to territory,

politics, culture and/or ethnicity (Mathews, 1997, p. 4). These issues are of essential

importance in understanding the construction of Hong Kong’s identity.

While China provided the people of Hong Kong a political identity on July 1st

1997, to delineate a clear-cut cultural identity is a more complex matter. It is not about

what a governing nation says they are, but what the Hong Kong people themselves

believe they are. By the late 1960s and 1970s a post-war generation, which had only

known Hong Kong as a home reached adulthood and a sense of a Hongkongese as an

autonomous cultural identity emerged (Mathews, 1997, p. 4). Mathews (1997) describes

this Hongkongese cultural identity with the use of the definition Chineseness plus, which

has three clusters of meaning. These are: Chineseness plus affluence / cosmopolitanism /

capitalism, Chineseness plus English / colonial education / colonialism and Chineseness

plus democracy / human rights / the rule of law. I believe these three clusters play an

important role in understanding Hong Kong’s relation with mainland China and the West.

2.1.2 Identity and media

In the years before and after the shift from British colony to a Special Administration

Region under Chinese sovereignty, Hong Kong experienced an upsurge of nostalgia,

displayed through popular culture (Ma, 1999, p.5). The colonial government had always

discouraged the promotion of a Hong Kong identity among the younger generations, to

maintain the fiction that Hong Kong was only a commercial site in order to avoid

antagonizing the Chinese Government (Ma, 1999, p.5). The younger generation found or

invented an indigenous cultural identity in the popular media that took up the cultural

space left open by the colonial government. Without a coherent historical narrative to

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make sense of their socio-historical world, Hong Kong youth clamped to the media for an

alternative, non-official identity (Ma, 1999, p.24). “The media are firmly placed as

central and attributed with a high degree of political, social, and cultural power” (Corner,

in Ma, 1999)

Since the communist take-over of China, waves of Chinese refugees entered Hong

Kong in the 1950s. Without market intervention from the authorities, the commercial

climate attracted western businesses, taking all kinds of non-indigenous cultural habits

and practices with them. This laissez faire approach from the Hong Kong authority leaves

an open field for mass media to make an understanding of the complex world the people

of Hong Kong live in. In the making of identity the media had and has a crucial role,

because they are responsible for the messages one receives through television, radio,

movies and music. Ideologies and cultural identities are looked for but could not be found

in state opposed policies. The mass media has been engaged in a battle to shape the hearts

and minds of Hong Kong’s inhabitants. Roughly speaking there are two camps that can

be distinguished; media which try to emphasise a separate Hong Kong identity and the

media, which try to emphasise a national, patriotic pro China identity. (Mathews, 1997, p.

4)

2.1.3 Linguistic identity

A community, whether imagined (Anderson, 1991) or geographically bound, is

strengthened by one common identity: the linguistic identity. Not only does the linguistic

link bind the people, it’s influences also stretch far beyond Hong Kong, spreading via the

media and entertainment industries.

The common dialect in Hong Kong is Cantonese, but it was not until the seventies

before the people felt proud of their dialect. From the 1970s onwards, Cantonese had

replaced Mandarin as the common dialect in the entertainment media such as music.

Hence a sense of pride using Cantonese is established. The main vernacular

communicative medium in Hong Kong is Cantonese. In a conversation with Cantonese

people all Chinese must speak “Chinese”, for Cantonese people this “Chinese” means

definitely the Cantonese tongue; they will only accept Mandarin (official language in the

People’s Republic of China) from foreigners, i.e. those people who can clearly be

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discerned physically from the people of Chinese blood. Thus an overseas Chinese who is

still considered to be a Chinese, although he has a foreign identity, is not “allowed” to

speak Mandarin.

Since 1997 a reappearance of Mandarin on the governmental en educational level

can be witnessed. Whether Mandarin is going to compete with the influential Cantonese-

base culture remains to be seen.

2.2 Globalization

Although globalization is not the same as homogenization the term is often used to

describe a process by which the people of the world share a homogenous, mutually

intelligible culture. According to this homogenization theory mass media and such will

create a global village in which a common lifestyle and similar aspirations are shared

(Watson, 1997, p.7). Cvetkovich and Kellner (1997) claim that “global culture” involves

the promotion of a lifestyle, consumption, products and identities, usually spearheaded by

trans-national corporations. Attempts to penetrate local markets spread a relative uniform,

mass-produced commercial culture (Cvetkovich & Kellner, 1997, p.10). Not surprisingly

this shared culture and lifestyle is heavily influenced by the West (most notably the U.S),

because it is the most powerful part of the world. This concept of globalization will

ultimately end up in a global theme park filled with McDonalds and MTV.

Appadurai (1999, p.221) dismisses this homogenization theory in which the

global, what often is a synonym or at least an extension for Americanization, takes over

the rest of the world and creates a mass culture. Cvetkovich and Kellner (1997) assert that

market intervention may also provide: “new material to rework one’s identity and can

empower people to revolt against traditional forms and styles to create more

emancipatory ones.” (Cvetkovich & Kellner, 1997, p.10). The arguments for

homogenization also fail to consider the processes of indigenization of global forces in

the new societies. Appadurai (1997) instead describes the “global cultural economy” as

consisting of the relationship between five dimensions of global cultural flows:

ethnoscapes, mediascapes, technoscapes, financescapes and ideoscapes. The use of the

term “scape” refers to the fluid and irregular shapes of these landscapes (Appadurai,

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1997, p. 5). With the fluidity of these global flows, questions on the origins of culture,

styles, contents and formats come to the fore.

The term ethnoscapes refers to for instance tourists or travellers taking Hiphop

outside the U.S. borders. MTV spreads Hiphop music videos around the world, reaching

millions of people, producing image-centred and narrative-based accounts of reality

(Appadurai, 1996, p. 35). The global media, such as television and music can be

understood as mediascapes. When talking about technoscapes, we can think of the

Internet: virtual communities, downloading music, etc. The newest Hiphop track from an

obscure New York rapper is readily available in an eye blink for every single person

connected to the Internet. Financescapes refer to the flow of global capital, taking no

account of national borders whatsoever, creating a worldwide network where small

differences in percentage points and time-units have absolute implications. The music

industry now operates at a worldwide level, using the same marketing tactics to reach

their target groups, trying to dominate a multitude of national markets. Ideologies

expressed in Hiphop music enable to connect people worldwide dealing with the same

struggles and social issues or at least deal from the same grassroots and fuelled by the

desire for freedom and justice. People’s interconnectedness with the same basic ideas

worldwide illustrates what is meant by ideoscapes.

Appadurai (1996) extends his theory by explaining in which condition these

global flows transpire; they occur in and through the growing disjunctures among

ethnoscapes, technoscapes, financescapes, mediascapes and ideoscapes.

“…people, machinery, money, images, and ideas now follow increasingly nonisomorphic

paths; of course, at all periods in human history, there have been some disjunctures in

the flows of these things, but the sheer speed, scale, and volume of each of these flows are

now so great that the disjunctures have become central to the politics of global culture.”

(Appadurai, 1996, p. 37)

Radical disjunctures between the scapes can undermine national politics or reformulate a

given culture. The trans-national movement of martial arts, for instance, as mediated by

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especially Hong Kong film industry is a clear example of how ancient traditions are

changed to meet the fantasies of contemporary youth populations. (Appadurai, 1996)

The fluid and irregular shapes of these landscapes is the cradle of concepts such

as “hybridization” (Bhabha, 1994), “indigenization” (Appadurai, 1996), “creolization”

(Hannerz, 1992) and “glocalization”. These phenomena are “characterized by cultural

fusion as a result of adaptation of western media genres to suit local languages, styles

and cultural conventions, using new communication technologies” (Thussu, 2000,

p.197). The global thus comes together with the local in a process of hybridization

(Yamashita & Eadas, 2003).

2.3 Subcultural theory

2.3.1 Hebdige

In his seminal book Subculture: The meaning of style (1979) Hebdige describes four

different uses and functions of subcultural style in which he tries to explain how a

subculture makes sense to its members and how it is made to signify disorder. Style as

intentional communication goes against the grain of mainstream culture because it

displays a code on its own or at least demonstrates that codes are there to be used and

abused. The choices to made are in itself a form of communicating because it contains a

whole range of messages “…which are transmitted through the finely graded distinctions

of a number of interlocking sets” (Hebdige, 1979), such as class and status. The baggy

clothes worn by Hiphoppers is an example of intentional communication; it goes against

mainstream culture by communicating a intentional difference from the bourgeoisie dress

codes.

Style as bricolage can be used to explain how subcultural styles are constructed.

Bricolage can be called structured improvisations, which are capable of infinite extension

because basic elements can be used in a variety of combinations to generate new

meanings. Run DMC used a basic element such as Adidas shoes, to generate a new

meaning by wearing them without laces. Such an improvisation is an example of how

“normal” commodities are placed in a new symbolic ensemble in which original

meanings can be subverted or even erased. Additionally Wermuth (2001) uses the

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example of the Kangol fisherman’s cap that is appropriated by Hiphoppers. Style as

homology means that subcultures are characterized by an extreme orderliness in contrast

to the popular myth, which represents subcultures as lawless forms (Hebdige, 1979). For

Hiphop there exists a homological relation between the different elements of the

subculture, thus making it to come together as a meaningful whole. Values, lifestyle and

the musical forms used by the group, express or reinforce the focal concerns of the

subculture.

Style as a signifying practice means that the principle of meaning seems in doubt.

Style is mostly concerned with the process of construction of connotations rather than

with the final product. Hebdige sees that this subcultural style based on a practice has

much in common with the radical collage aesthetic of surrealism. The final product in

this sense is of less importance than the meaning of the process. Hiphop has its own

styles with its unique signifying practices that seem to signify the authenticity and

everything what is related to it. People considering themselves as part of the Hiphop

subculture, whether outspoken or not, look to the authentic other. Whether it is Run DMC

tiring Adidas without laces or LL Cool J wearing a Kangol cap, they are vital role models

with authority to define which practices can be considered authentic.

Hebdige (1988) later used style and race to explain the principles of a subculture

and added other aspects to the idea of subculture as a solitary working class occurrence.

In Hiding in the Light (1988), Hebdige comments on his earlier work and developed a

more subtle vision by adopting Foucault’s ideas of power and surveillance (De Kloet,

2001, p. 51,). “Subculture forms up in the space between surveillance and the evasion of

surveillance. It translates the fact of being under scrutiny into the pleasure of being

watched. It is a hiding in the light.” (Hebdige, 1988, p. 35) The idea of subculture as

intentional communication as described in Subculture: The meaning of style (1979) is

thus being revised. In Hiding in the light, Hebdige (1988, p. 35) calls the “subcultural

response” neither simply affirmation nor refusal, neither commercial exploitation nor

genuine revolt. Moreover the politics of youth culture is a politics of metaphor and is

always ambiguous. It is no simple resistance or conformity with the parent culture.

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2.3.2 Post subculture

Muggleton and Weinzierl (2003) recently suggest that the study of subcultures is dated.

“...the era seems long gone of working-class youth subcultures “heroically” resisting

subordination through “semiotic guerrilla warfare”” (Muggleton & Weinzierl, 2003, p.

4). They continue to call the intrinsically subversive quality of subcultures an illusion and

the potential for style itself to resist, largely lost (Muggleton & Weinzierl, 2003, p. 5). In

their opinion we therefore entered a post-subcultural time, where a new dominant

paradigm has yet to be developed to replace the old.

Straw (1999) proposes to use the idea of musical scene instead of subculture. A

musical scene is “that cultural space in which a range of musical practices coexist,

interacting with each other within a variety of processes of differentiation, and according

to widely varying trajectories of change and cross-fertilization.” (Straw, 1991, p. 494).

Instead of making subcultural members, scenes or particular musical practices “work” to

produce a sense of community. Regional centres, Straw (1991) says, will be significant

because they occupy positions of centrality as sites for reworking and transformation of

styles originating elsewhere (p. 501). A more free way to approach music and youth

culture, the notion of a “scene” is particular interesting in Hong Kong. Not only because

it is far from the original centre of the Hiphop subculture, but also because it was just

recently introduced to it. The existence of grassroots subcultural pillars has yet to be

developed to a level to establish a full-grown subculture. Roots, or at least the knowledge

of roots, are believed to be fundamental elements of the Hiphop subculture. In this thesis

I will make use of the definition subculture to point to Hiphop and those who recognise it

as it is defined through the different elements and values. I use scene to refer to the

spatial / geographical distribution of Hiphop subcultural practices in Hong Kong - the

clubs and the neighbourhoods, but also those who are “just” enthusiasts without

recognising the elements and values of the subculture.

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2.4 Hiphop

2.4.1 Hiphop

Scholars and Hiphoppers alike understand Hiphop as a subculture, originated in 70s New

York as a part of the black Atlantic musical tradition, where struggle and social issues

always played an important part. Hiphop is a subculture invented by black working class

youth, opposing the dominant power. It at least carved out a space for them selves in a

predominantly white social environment. (Rose, 1994)

It is important to understand the difference between Hiphop and rap. While the

first represents a subculture with different elements, the latter only describes one of the

elements. Hiphop purists focus on the difference between those two, to maintain a schism

between commercial rap and “real” rap which is part of the broader Hiphop subculture.

As KRS-ONE puts it: “Rap is something you do; Hiphop is something you live.” (KRS

ONE, 2003, p. 211) Roughly speaking the Hiphop subculture consists of four elements:

MCing, DJing, Graffiti and Breaking.1 In this thesis I will often use the word Hiphop to

describe just one of the elements that is part of the larger Hiphop subculture. For instance

one can listen to Hiphop; meaning rap music, simply because one cannot listen to Graffiti

art.

In Global Noise: Rap and Hip-Hop outside the USA, Tony Mitchell (2001)

gathered social scientists from across the globe to write about the scattering of this

phenomenon. As the title of his book implies, Hiphop is still thought of as an (Afro-)

American form, a standard, through which all other non-U.S. sorts of Hiphop must be

explained. But not only scientists are aware of the Afro-American origins of Hiphop.

Also the many Hiphoppers involved in the subculture outside the U.S. feel or felt they

have to live up to the American standards to be authentic (by for instance using American

slang to be “real”) (Wermuth, in Mitchell, 2001, p.157). Discussions about authenticity

appear in particular dichotomies: “the local versus global, artistic integrity versus sell-

out, masculine versus feminine, and black versus white, whereby each first-mentioned

term is associated with the good and positive qualities of the music.” (Wermuth, in

Mitchell, 2001, p.150). Hiphop can thus be easily incorporated into the rock versus pop

1 The term breaking is often replaced by break dancing. The latter represents the mainstreaming of the sub cultural element, because the industry as well as out-group members use it.

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dichotomy, in which it would be a rock type of music. It therefore could be considered a

hard cultural form, a term coined by Appadurai (1996) who makes a distinction between

soft and hard cultural forms.

Hard cultural forms are those that come with a set of links between value,

meaning, and embodied practice that are difficult to break and hard to transform. Soft

cultural forms, by contrast, are those that permit relatively easy separation of embodied

performance from meaning and value, and relatively successful transformation at each

level. (Appadurai, 1996, p. 90)

In the hard cultural forms, value, meaning and the practices are difficult to

separate from each other and hard to transform. In this hard cultural form the value of

authenticity and the meaning it has for the subculture members is rather important. For

Hiphoppers this authenticity is still linked to the origins (be they imagined or not) of the

subculture: the streets of New York and the black Atlantic traditions.

While Hiphop is moving from its original centre, tension occurs because

authenticity now must be negotiated. Locality, language, style and politics all form points

of concern for newly bred subcultural members outside the U.S.. De Kloet (2001) asserts

that a hard cultural form like rock “demands localization when it travels to places outside

what is perceived to be its heimmat: The West.” (p. 41) Demands in this sense would

point to being authentic.

The rise of Hiphop in the world could be explained through the commercialization

of the genre. Especially music videos, which can be considered as advertisements, show

youth images of commodities to which the artist adds value, because of his status.

Appadurai (1996) states that:

“Global advertising is the key technology for the worldwide dissemination of a plethora

of creative and culturally well-chosen ideas of consumer agency. These images of agency

are increasingly distortions of a world of merchandising so subtle that the consumer is

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consistently helped to believe that he or she is an actor, where in fact he or she is at best

a chooser.” (Appadurai, 1996, p. 42)

Cultural globalization is therefore an ambiguous term, because even though

Hiphop can be seen as a subculture the image portrayed through the media represents

only a part of it and in some views even the opposite. Image-centred, narrative-based

accounts of strips of reality cannot be the whole part of what a subculture is about.

Because Hiphop subculture is a hard cultural form, the practices that are less suitable for

mass marketing, such as graffiti art or music that is harder to categorise, cannot count on

media attention. But the lifestyles and trends picked up by the masses are copies of these

accounts in which the varieties of the subculture as well as the social and historical

backgrounds are largely forgotten. This may not because of the unwillingness of the

masses, but the surrounding mass media environment that have an overwhelming power,

which makes it less logic to search for roots and varieties.

2.4.2 Hong Kong Hiphop

Hong Kong is a vibrant place where all kinds of people, styles and cultures come together

and are mixed. Hiphop is only recently incorporated by the Hong Kong media and used

by the Hong Kong youths. Because the origins of Hiphop are perceived to be in the

streets of New York, Hong Kong Hiphoppers must negotiate the meanings of locality.

After all they themselves are not from or live in New York or elsewhere in the U.S.

Because they cannot deny the fact they are from Hong Kong, they must create their own

“real” space, in which they can be considered authentic, both for themselves as for the

authentic other.

The popularity of Hiphop in Hong Kong has much to do with the worldwide

popularizing of the subculture through the mass media. Although commercialism and

authenticity seem to be clashing concepts, Hiphoppers must find their ways to be

authentic. For Hong Kong Hiphoppers this search for authenticity is strongly linked to

ideas of commercialism and art. On Hong Kong cinema, Abbas (1997) said: “…strong

commercial pressures can result only in poorly made films, by questioning the old

paradigm that constructs an absolute opposition between commercialism and art”.

19

(p.19). In a different disguise this paradigm resurfaces in the situation of Hiphop in Hong

Kong. Comparable to cinema Hiphop challenges accepted notions of art and thus creates

alternative ideas of what is authentic or not.

The use of the local language is the key issue in the process of “glocalization”

discussed by Robertson (1995), which is considered to play a pivotal role in negotiating

authenticity and locality. As a non-indigenous subculture, Hiphop in Hong Kong is

localized by the use of a local language. With the use of local language the distance

between producer and audience decreases. Audiences not only get bigger, but they also

feel more related to and can identify with the producer, because they use the same

language.

Style must not be mistaken with fashion. The four elements of Hiphop, content of

rhymes, music and clothing all have a certain style. For a city like Hong Kong, which

thrives on trends and fashion, the increase of Hiphop influenced clothing styles is a

logical outcome, seen the enormous popularity of rap music worldwide. The use of the

four elements in Hong Kong to express the Hiphop subculture is strengthened by the fact

that many turntablists2 are Asian. Both American-Asians as well as local Asian DJs

gained worldwide respect winning the world DMC championships and belonging to the

top turntablists worldwide, thus adding to the authenticity of Asians in Hiphop culture.

Rappers recognize the idea of political content in Hiphop rhymes worldwide.

Hong Kong rap group LMF is not shy to express their feelings, attacking the prevalent

values of canto-pop, economic racism and materialism espoused by the media and the

younger generation (Mitchell, 2001, p. 6). This left-wing stance is an important factor in

establishing an authentic aura around the band. It connects them with the Afro-American

inventors as well as their countercultural peers worldwide. However, a left-wing stance

for U.S. rappers is different than for Hong Kong rappers. Whereas the first are anti-

establishment, many non-western rappers are anti-American, and sometimes even

nationalistic, something U.S. rappers tend not to endorse given the national racial

relations.

2 A turntablist is a DJ, but a DJ is not necessarily a turntablist. Turntablism is not the mere mixing of records for a party, but consists of such techniques as beat juggling, scratching and crabbing to create a new sound.

20

Furthermore the images depicted in Hiphop music video clips such as Jay Z's big

pimpin are more often than not an extension of the American dream seen through a black

American prism. This dream resembles to a large extent the one in Hong Kong, where

people are forced to work hard, to establish a career to guarantee a future, even more so

than in the West. Hong Kong leaves very little space for the emergence of alternative

identities, which begs the question how Hiphop subculture has managed to carve out a

space in Hong Kong, despite the current economic and political forces that make such

practices seem almost impossible.

21

Chapter 3: Research method

3.1 In-depth interviews

To research the social context of the making of meaning I used in-depth interviews.

Through qualitative research I tried to find processes as the negotiating of authenticity

and cultural globalization. In-depth interviews give the interviewer a look into the views

on the lives of those interviewed. Reasons why people think or act in certain ways can be

traced through linguistic patterns. In in-depth interviews these patterns can be identified,

after which they can be analysed. Linguistic constructions have certain functions, which

will only come to the fore through in-depth interviews.

I interviewed 13 male participants, roughly between 16 and 30 years of age. They

are all Hong Kong residents and actively involved in the Hiphop subculture. They are

rappers, DJs and graffiti artists.

In-depth interviews have an open character as they take the course the participants

choose. In attempting to answer my research question, I used a topic list 3 to ensure that

the interviews will have a certain amount of structure. Each interview was audio recorded

with the participant’s consent and was transcribed4 afterwards. The reason to use in-depth

interviews is to reveal motivations and individual interpretations of the participants.

There are no right or wrong responses. Participants were enabled to speak freely.

I analysed the answers given by the participants, by coding the themes and topics

and subsumed them under categories in a data matrix5. I used quotations of participants to

expose general ideas and opinions about the topics. Mainly through the relation between

the different topics and ideas we can have a broader understanding about the social

processes involved.

Most interviews were done in English; only for two interviews I used an

interpreter. One time MC Cal translated some of the things said by his partners KZ and

Buddha. The other interview for which I used an interpreter was with Arho Sunny.

While visiting Hong Kong in December 2003, I met two people who helped me to

locating participants. Khawar Aziz is a local born mixed blood Pakistani and a Muslim

fluent in Urdu, English as well as Cantonese. He is also of Chinese descent. DJ B is a

3 Appendix 1 4 Appendix 2 5 Appendix 3

22

Cantonese DJ, resident at Club-ing in the Wan Chai district and a Hong Kong born

resident who is actively involved in the local Hiphop scene. Both were helpful in getting

me on the right track and gave me the expected insight in their local subculture.

3.2 Discourse analysis

To answer my research question, I will use a qualitative research method known as

discourse analysis. The label discourse analysis has been used for different types of

research concerned with language in its social and cognitive context (Potter & Wetherell,

1987, p.6). Discourse itself is also used in different meanings, varying from a broad

perspective in which linguistic practices are believed to have developed in a historical

context (Foucault, 1972), to others who apply the term only to the way talk is meshed

together (Gilbert & Mulkay, 1984). This is the way we will use the term discourse here,

in its most open sense which cover all forms of spoken interaction, formal and informal,

and written texts of all kinds (Potter & Wheterell, 1987, p. 7). Thus discourse analysis is

the analysis of all these kinds of discourse.

Discourse analysis can be explained through interconnected concepts of function,

variation, construction and the analytic unit: the interpretative repertoire (Wetherell &

Potter, 1988, p. 169). I will shortly discussion these different concepts.

People use language for different kinds of reasons. The usage of language thus

holds different functions, some more clear than others. People for instance use speech or

written texts to explain, justify, excuse, blame and so on (Wetherell & Potter, 1988, p.

169). Sometimes the function of utterances is clearer than others. If someone opens a

show by saying: “this show is now opened”, it is clear that the function of this speech is

just to open the show. However, a speech and all other forms of communication are often

not that clear-cut. Requests for instance are often made indirectly to allow the recipient to

reject the request in a not too obvious way (Draw, 1984). “Discourse analysis involves

developing hypothesis about the purposes and consequences of language.”(Wetherell &

Potter, 1988, p. 170). Furthermore we can say that the “elucidation of function is one of

the endpoints of discourse analysis. That is, functions are the findings rather than the raw

data.” (Wetherell & Potter, 1988, p. 170).

23

Consequently we ask ourselves how we can reveal functions from a discourse.

This is possible through the study of variation. Discourses are highly variable. A famous

singer for instance will have a different discourse than an underground rapper. It depends

on what they are doing, to which social group they belong and they are with at the

moment, what their policy is and what type of person he is (Wetherell & Potter, 1988, p.

171). “Speakers give shifting inconsistent and varied pictures of their social worlds.”

(Wetherell & Potter, 1988, p. 171). The individual is thus not seen as a coherent,

consistent unit, but has different states of mind, which are uttered through variability

within and between accounts. This is not to say that this variability is an effect of a

deliberate or intentional process. People are not strategically planning or self-

conscientiously adjusting their discourse, but rather do or say what seems natural or

seems right to them at that particular moment and place (Wetherell & Potter, 1988,

p.171).

The third concept is construction. Discourse analysis believes “language is put

together, constructed, for purposes and to achieve particular consequences.” (Wetherell

& Potter, 1988, p.171). Wetherell and Potter (1988) mention three reasons why the term

construction is appropriate. Firstly, it points out that discourse is manufactured out of pre-

existing linguistic resources. Secondly, it reminds us that active selection is going on and

thirdly, it indicates that discourse has an action orientation; it has practical consequences

in our lives. “In a profound sense, then, discourse can be said to “construct” our lived

reality” (Potter, Stringer & Wetherell, 1984). From the above we can say that discourse

is variable in the sense that different people will construct accounts of events and persons

in different ways according to function. This does not say that there is no regularity in

discourse, but this regularity is not to be found at the level of individuals. There is

regularity in the variation. Inconsistencies and differences in discourse are differences

between relatively internally consistent, bounded language units, which we call

interpretative repertoires (Gilbert & Mulkay, 1984).

In exploring the ways of how youths give meaning to their subcultural practices,

we need to research the social context in which texts are produced.

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Chapter 4: Data collection

4. 1 The scene

During my holidays in Hong Kong December 2003, I was fortunate enough to meet some

incredible local people with the same interest as I have: Hiphop. After compulsory

grabbing a microphone in one of the most upscale venues of Hong Kong, I was sure to

draw attention. Music works through mysterious ways and not long after my quick

freestyle rhyme I made a new friend. Not only did my new friend listen to Hiphop, he is a

rapper too. Bringing me into a studio for some recordings the next week, I started

thinking about the existence of a Hiphop scene in Hong Kong. Not just the tunes and

enthusiastic dancers I encountered in the venue, but a Hiphop community with all its

facets and elements one is to expect in a subculture. Taking this with me back to The

Netherlands, my winter break in Hong Kong turned out to be a great inspiration for a yet

to be written masters thesis. Joe, who is my friend’s name, offered me a place to stay if I

decided to come back. Finally, I made the decision and in May 2004 I flew back to Hong

Kong to collect data for my thesis about the Hiphop subculture in Hong Kong.

4.2 The people

A good starting point to interview participants was Joe (Khawar Aziz), who knew some

people in Hong Kong’s music scene. Joe is not only a rap musician; he is also a part of a

rock band called Krave. Walking into Tom Lee sporadically, a store of music instruments

and equipment in Hong Kong, Joe got to know ADV. ADV happens to be a former band

member of MC Yan. Through MC Yan I found other interviewees like Ghostyle and

Edison Chen. Joe already knew MC Cal from earlier gigs they played together – DJ

Marvelous is his friend – and his contacts extended to the Catalyst Action label owner.

Joe made my start into the Hong Kong Hiphop scene much easier. Below is a brief

overview of the most important participants, the ways I met them, how many times and

the things I got to know about their backgrounds.

4.2.1 Noc Joe

Noc Joe or Khawar Aziz instigated my interest in researching Hiphop in Hong Kong.

During my first stay in Hong Kong in December 2003, he approached me after I rapped

25

at Club-ing. We exchanged phone numbers and the same week he took me to a studio to

record some stuff. Joe is born and raised in Hong Kong and is from a mixed heritage. His

father is half Chinese half Pakistani and his mother is Pakistani. He speaks Urdu, Hindi

and has basic skills in Cantonese and Putonghua (Mandarin). As a Muslim he is part of

the Islamic Pakistani community in Hong Kong. Due to being the “other” in an overall

Chinese environment he expresses his otherness through his lyrics:

Fuck em all cuz they do me no good,

it understood,

racist muthafuckas aint stop dissin ma blood,

yo hood, it aint a dollar yo paper is wood,

maybe color matters yo resemblin mud,

even if yo got 206 bones,

a brain a heart n yo breathing on lungs,

brown black yellow or chrome,

yo different yo gone,

fuck all dem brains,

cuz yo breathe on yo own... (Noc Joe)

After our first encounters Joe invited me in Hong Kong and thus made my research

financially possible. In May 2004 I stayed at his place in Yau Ma Tei that we jokingly

started to call “our ghetto”. We recorded tracks, watched movies and shared stages in

Hong Kong and Guangzhou.

4.2.2 MC Yan

MC Yan is probably the most talked about rapper / Hiphopper of Hong Kong. WestEast

Magazine calls MC Yan the king of Hong Kong Hiphop (spring 2004) in an article

together with Edison Chen. As a rapper he was part of Lazymuthafucka, a rap-rock

crossover band that has come to the fore as one of the first bands that used dirty language

in their lyrics. Under the moniker Syan, MC Yan is also active as a graffiti writer. In a

different article in the earlier mentioned WestEast Magazine Yan is put forward as a key

26

figure of Hong Kong graffiti. As one can imagine, Yan is like a

spider in the HK Hiphop web. Through his former band member

ADV, who works at Tom Lee in Tsim Sha Tsui (TST), we came

in touch. I first planned to interview ADV, but ADV insisted that

I spoke with Yan. So he called Yan on the spot, and within a few

minutes I had the king of Hong Kong Hiphop on the telephone.

Yan invited me right away. Because I already had made an

appointment with Arho Sunny, Yan suggested him to come along, because “usually these

young kids want to see where I’m living and such.” After speaking with Arho who agreed

to come along, I met Yan. Yan lives in a very small apartment, at a Kwai Hing building

block together with his dog. In his workplace / studio he has a small TV set, some books,

records and professional recording equipment. Yan showed me an AK 47; the Russian

automatic weapon used by the Vietcong, Osama Bin Laden and guerrilla fighters all

across the globe. Whether the weapon was real or not, I would not know, but Yan told me

proudly that he is an AK guy. To be an AK guy, I suppose, is to be a guerrilla, a rebel and

probably also anti-American. In the studio I saw a sticker with the unsubtle statement:

Fuck Bush. Later I found out this sticker was made by the American skateboard brand

Supreme. This brand is fashionable amongst backpack6 Hiphoppers across the globe.

Speaking with Yan, I noticed that he was able to talk intellectually about Hong Kong,

Hiphop, Cultural Studies and China. Yan was interested in all the topics related to my

study, which made him an interesting conversation partner during my stay in Hong Kong.

After we first met I visited Yan a couple of more times, I met his partners in music,

watched European football at his place, had musical jam sessions and drank beer.

4.3.3 DJ B

DJ B is the resident DJ in the upscale venue Club-ing where I first rapped in Hong Kong.

DJ B is one of the first Hiphoppers, if not the first Hiphopper of Hong Kong. This was

confirmed by other long time Hiphoppers like Yan and Tommy. Learning the craft of a

DJ in small venues and playing for American army personnel in the 1980s, DJ B

6 Backpack stand for the use of backpacks by Hiphoppers. Backpackers are considered to be Hiphop purists.

27

nowadays plays in venues all over Hong Kong. Whereas Tommy

and MC Yan gain international recognition and fame, DJ B is a

person that really holds it down every weekend playing for

various audiences in Hong Kong. I have known DJ B since my

freestyle at Club-ing months before. By just accompanying DJ B

to his gigs at Club-ing and other venues in Lan Kwai Fong, I had

a glimpse of the life of a professional DJ in Hong Kong.

Although DJ B is a passionate Hiphop DJ, he is forced to play

RnB and popular Hiphop tunes in order to meet the demands of club owners. In addition

of being a recognized club DJ, DJ B is sponsored by DJ equipment brand Vestax, for

which company he gives demonstrations of their products on fairs. Due to extensive

connections in mainland China, DJ B managed to arrange several performances for me in

Guangzhou together with Noc Joe, MC Cal, KZ, DJ Egg and DJ Bon. This turned out to

be one of the best experiences in my life. To be with like minds 1000 of miles away from

home, rocking a microphone with a great crowd, what else can a MC wish? DJ B gave

me the opportunity to have a quick look into the club scene of Hong Kong. Furthermore

DJ B was one of the official jury members of the International DMC7 championships in

London, October 2004. To me, DJ B is not only a great DJ he became a real friend too.

4.2.4 DJ Tommy

DJ Tommy is known all over Asia and beyond. I came across his name long before I

visited Hong Kong, due to his album releases, which can be found at my local record

store in The Netherlands. DJ Tommy is multi Hong Kong DMC champion and managed

to reach the finals in London a few years ago. Above and beyond being a club DJ and a

turntablist, Tommy is a producer and manager for other artists. His connections reach far

over the Hong Kong borders into Japan, China and South East Asia. Tommy is a famous

person in Hong Kong and a popular guest at the hippest parties. I only met Tommy twice,

once when Yan and I bumped into him on the streets and a second time for the interview

appointment. We met at Lan Kwai Fong to have dinner and go to a jazz performance at

7 DMC stand for DA Mix Club, which organized a DJ contest. This evolved into the most prestigious Turntable contests of the world.

28

the Fringe club that Yan insisted to visit. Afterwards we had

invitations for the Xtra Large shop opening party at Yamla in

Soho. Xtra Large is a hip American “Hiphop” brand. Outside the

venue there were loads of fashionable dressed youngsters

consuming their free drinks. As I am walking around with

Tommy, C Kwan of Fama and Yan, I noticed the attention

people gave us. We agreed to finish the interview – which we

started at the noisy Fringe Club – at the doorstep adjacent to the club. Tommy made sure

he promoted his protégés in Hiphop: Fama.

4.2.5 Fama

Fama is a Hiphop collective centred around two rappers, Six Wing and C Kwan. I met

them through my friend Joe, who already knew them from earlier gigs. Their first efforts

were released on the Catalyst Action label, which made a few compilation albums of

Hong Kong’s Hiphop generation. Fama now works together with Tommy, Too Phat from

Malaysia and other big players in the Asian Hiphop scene. I agreed to meet Fama at

Causeway Bay. This was only my second interview and I was very curious about them,

because they worked with Tommy. We agreed to sit in the Starbucks to do the interview.

These were funny guys that made jokes and were honest about their ideas. Unfortunately

my bag got stolen at a club in Lan Kwai Fong, and I lost the tape I recorded the interview

on. When I called to make a second appointment, they did not want to do it. Because I

also interviewed Tommy and Yan, they finally agreed on doing a second session with me.

However, only Six Wing was available, so Fama was incomplete.

29

4.2.6 Ghostyle

My six-week period in Hong Kong became very hectic after meeting MC Yan. The

snowball effect I wished for did take place and I learned more and more about the local

Hiphop scene. When I visited Yan for the second time in my third or fourth week, he

showed me a CD of Supathugz featuring rapper Ghostyle. I

never heard of him, but this was a big twist for my study,

Ghostyle lives in Hong Kong and raps in English. I almost felt

betrayed by Joe and Yan for not telling me earlier about the

existence of Ghostyle. Yan was so helpful to call Ghostyle for

me to ask if it was okay for me to interview him. I finally called

him to make an appointment at Lan Kwai Fong. Ghostyle is

already in his thirties but still looks young. With his cap to the

back and baggy clothes it was not hard to speak to the right person in the Hong Kong

crowdedness. We sat down at the Delifrance, where we spoke. Ghostyle has lived in the

US for a long period of his life so that his English was much better than all my other

interviewees. We had a very open conversation during which he sometimes also asked

me questions. He is a quite positive character and due to his life abroad, he has a

comparative view on Hong Kong and Hiphop in Hong Kong. Whereas others I

interviewed are pessimistic about the future or growth of Hiphop in Hong Kong,

Ghostyle looks brighter towards the future and feels there are many good things possible.

4.2.7 Edison Chen

Ask a teenage Cantonese girl anywhere in the world, and there is a big chance she knows

Edison Chen. To meet with Edison through official

channels would have been near to impossible for me,

but since I knew MC Yan I was able to get close to

almost everyone in the Hiphop scene of Hong Kong,

including Edison. I did not know Edison was a big star

when Yan first mentioned him. Learning more about

Edison grasped my attention; hence I bought his most recent album to check the music.

Yan arranged a meeting for me with Edison in his shop at Causeway Bay. The shop sells

30

trendy, expensive, mostly Japanese urban fashion brands, toys and gadgets. When I

arrived at the shop it was chock-full with journalists interviewing Edison. In a half circle

surrounding Edison, they enthusiastically asked questions one by one. Because Edison

just came back from Japan and would leave for Singapore the next day, he wanted to go

home and invited me there. Beautifully located at the midlevels on the Hong Kong island

side, Edison’s apartment made a big impression. As soon as he closed the front door,

Edison rolled a joint and smoked some weed with Yan and other friends. Edison grew up

in Vancouver, Canada and decided to move to Hong Kong as a teenager. As a singer /

actor Edison is in the Hong Kong industry quite some time. As a singer the young star

started doing Cantonese songs, but as he matured his passion for Hiphop resulted in a rap

album entitled “please steal this album” released in 2004. With the help of Yan and

Hanjin, Edison attempted to add a Hiphop sound to the local Hong Kong music industry.

4.2.8 MC Cal and KZ

KZ and Cal are two good friends, with a real passion for Hiphop. KZ raps in Cantonese,

Cal raps in English. I got to know Cal during our preparations for a performance for x-

games shop in Edge. We did not speak very much, but we got familiar with each other.

Later when we all went to Guangzhou, we also became friends. Away from Hong Kong

we got into a holiday mood, chilling in hotel rooms, drinking beer and talk with our

Chinese counterparts about Hiphop. Cal and I really got along, and subsequently we had

long discussion sessions, which I did not manage to record. In 2003 Cal won a freestyle

contest in Hong Kong, which gave him the opportunity to go to Singapore to compete

with other MCs from Asia. KZ is one of the promising talents of Hong Kong. He

appeared on the Audio Catalyst compilation album and the debut album of Fama as well.

KZ is already 27 and lives in Tsun Moon, far from the city centre. His lyrics and music

are rough and dark, which gives him some sort of gangster image in the eyes of other

rappers I talked with. KZ is also interested in making tattoos, so in Guangzhou he bought

a cheap tattoo machine. He already practices on pigskin. His first tryout features the face

of the great late Tupac, with the words “rap is dead”. During his performance in

Guangzhou he blew my mind. With a monotone beat and raw delivery I instantly nodded

my head and felt the power of his music.

31

4.2.9 Summing up

These are the most important persons in my study. My stay in Hong Kong has resulted in

more contact between different people in the scene. As I noticed, many rappers I

interviewed are not very positive about each other. My view as an outsider, gave me the

opportunity to not only listen to and analyse the opinions of the insiders, but also gave

room to ventilate my opinions to the interviewed participant. Since I got familiar with so

many people who often did not like each other, I was able to bring people closer.

Especially KZ seemed to have problems with MC Yan, and apparently KZ made some

tracks in which he disses MC Yan. My

understanding of KZ is that he did not like

Yan because he worked with Edison Chen

and got commercial since his success. In

the early days of Lazymuthafucka, KZ was

a fan that attended Yan's concerts.

Because I could get along with both of

them, I managed to bring them together,

Yan as the king of Hong Kong Hiphop and

KZ as the underground king of Hong Kong. Whereas Yan is busy with thinking about

Hiphop in an intellectual way and is tuned into the international debate in Hiphop, KZ is

a very introverted local songwriter, far away from the industry and the international

scene. I did make efforts for these two people to meet, which they finally did, and it

worked out rather well. Yan thanked me for my input, to help Hiphop in Hong Kong

growing a little closer.

4.3 Venues

Most hip spots in Hong Kong are located on Hong Kong Island. Lan Kwai Fong (LKF) is

probably the best-known nightlife area in Hong Kong that is located in Central. It caters

to upscale locals, expats as well as tourists. Recently LKF is becoming more popular

among the local youth. Near to LKF is Soho, which is rapidly growing with new bars and

small venues alike. LKF and Soho can be considered as one area that is all in walking

distance of each other. There is no clear sign where Soho starts and LKF ends. Two MTR

32

stations away is Wan Chai, the area known for its erotic bars and exciting nightlife. In

Wan Chai I have seen DJ Marky performing with Stamina MC. Although Drum and Bass

is a music genre, which does not have the visibility through the international

entertainment industries, the venue was packed with local and international enthusiasts.

All major or at least important Hiphop venues are located in these two areas,

although there are some other places at Causeway Bay and TST. All the venues I have

visited during my stay are very clean, tight and posh. Places similar to Paradiso or

Melkweg in Amsterdam are nonexistent. What the Paradiso and Melkweg offer to

Amsterdam youngsters is a stage, where national and international artists perform,

whether famous music from the pop charts or less celebrated music that is appreciated by

critics. It offers a stage and at the same time it is a cultural platform where people come

together and intermingle. Hong Kong seems to lack such a stage. I managed to do some

MC-ing in many of Hong Kong’s famous clubs including Club-ing, Dip, C club, Kee

Club and Edge. For me the lack of dirt and beer on the floor was a pleasant thing, though

the people seem hard to get loose in a posh club. In the words of MC Yan:

In Hong Kong we do not really have underground, people are spoiled. They want luxury;

they do not want no AC party fucking. Hong Kong people are really in the post mortem

man. Ask people going back, have you been to some really Hiphop party, just like

everybody smoking weed. No, they do not even smoke, fucking, I mean, Hong Kong

culture is clean, is clean. (MC Yan)

The cleanliness Yan is referring to is opposed to the perceived root of Hiphop,

which is often coined as a street music. In the ghetto imagery, as shown in the early

Hiphop videos and underground footage, the emphasis is on the outlaw status of the

music genre. In often-used phrases the dirty south, gutter, jungle or even Vietnam,

American rappers try to refer to the opposite of the cleanliness, which is overwhelmingly

present in Hong Kong. The ongoing process in which pop industry gains more influence

on rap music in the last ten years instigated a new type of imagery. The so-called ghetto

fabulous or entrepreneurial styles performed by artists like Jay Z and Ja Rule have

influenced the rest of the world and their perception of Hiphop. The clubs in Hong Kong

33

look like the decorum of a cliché rap music video clip, beautifully decorated, beautiful

girls and expensive drinks. People want to have luxury and music is a secondary criterion

when going out. The music that is played is a mix of “urban” styles, like RnB, Rap and

Dancehall. Ghostyle has some interesting comments on the music played in the clubs and

the people in the clubs:

“People who go clubbing listen to Hiphop music, its all commercial, top of the charts,

yeah but I think that’s all over the globe though, all the major clubs with models and

everything always play these type of songs you know what I mean, you go a little deeper

and like no one gets it, they don’t care so it’s all the same around the world I think. But I

think in that scene people who go out to party want to hear the billboard, they want to

hear the top chart, they want to hear like MTV.” (Ghostyle)

In Ghostyle’s opinion the venues do not reflect where the assumed real Hiphop is

being played, made, or experienced in the eyes of the interviewees. It is the commercial

top of the chart version of Hiphop that is being made into the Hiphop subculture, while

the subculture does not seem to have any physical space; it merely exists in the minds of

those who feel they belong to. This supports the idea of a post-subculture era explained

by Muggleton and Weinzierl (2003). The idea of Hiphop as a subculture and Hiphop as a

scene seems to clash with each other, but only in the eyes of those who feel belong to the

subculture. Though the local artists try to add something local to the ever-present

American Hiphop products in Hong Kong, their music cannot count on any playtime in

the clubs. While the posh clubs I mentioned earlier mostly play American music, the

clubs that cater for locals do not play any Cantonese Hiphop on a reappearing basis.

Consequently, their local sound resorts in a spatial vacuum. They do not belong to their

American Hiphop counterparts in the clubs at LKF, nor do they belong to the clubs

catering to locals at TST.

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4.4 Sounds

Most of the rappers and DJs I encountered speak Cantonese. For the rappers this means

their lyrics are also written in Cantonese. While performing with KZ in Guangzhou I was

happily surprised how he managed to flow and keep it going. I really felt being a part of

this subculture, because there I was, in China amidst only Chinese people, listening to

Chinese language music. I could not understand one word of the lyrics, except for “diew”

which is a swearword, yet I felt the vibe, the flow, and the rage. KZ uses hard mid-tempo

beats with little melody that supports the lyrical content. As he told me in Guangzhou his

rhymes talk about dark subject as death and decay.

MC Yan makes efforts in localizing Hiphop by using Cantonese opera in his music and

studying the language. He also uses easy break beats and funky loops, similar to U.S.

Hiphop from the early nineties. His raps use a lot of slang and swear words, and the style

that he uses is a natural one. Not trying to use his voice different or flowing extremely

wild, it made me thought of the U.S. west coast style, in Cantonese. Through these, local-

global interactions authenticity is negotiated. Fama uses topics that are very familiar for

people living in Hong Kong, riding the minibus or standing in a fully packed MTR train.

Mixed with doses of humour they try to speak to people in a total different way than KZ.

These appropriations of Hiphop expose the interaction between the global and the local.

DJ Beware explains:

“I never even brought Hiphop and being Chinese together. In more recent years I have

been trying to look at and take Chinese culture, music etc. and integrate it into a Hiphop

style that reflects more of my cultural identity.” (DJ Beware)

DJ Beware uses Hiphop to express his identity, rather than to copy someone else. Culture

in this sense plays a central role in the expression of one’s identity. It is hard to say what

this cultural identity means. Beware points at the go-getter attitude that he thinks is a

typical Hong Kong attitude. This awareness correlates with the thought of Chineseness

plus affluence/cosmopolitanism/capitalism cluster by Mathews (1997).

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4.5 Images

If we consider clothing a pillar of the Hiphop culture, Hiphop is quite visible in Hong

Kong. Urban fashion, mostly following the Japanese trends portrayed in magazines /

catalogues like Street Jack, and fresh sneakers are worn by many people. The four

elements not only have taken root in contemporary popular music, through its

“spectacular” dress codes it also became a global significant practice for otherwise

locally and nationally diverse identities (Levy in Mitchell, p. 134, 2001).

Sneaker addicts from all across the globe face heaven in the Mongkok streets where all

the newest, freshest and vintage styles are exposed in shop windows. The relation

between sneakers and Hiphop can be made easily, listening to old school rappers like

Run DMC rapping about their Adidas in “My Adidas” and KRS One making note of

“the whack puma sneakers” that rival rappers from Queensbridge wore.

Asian street fashion in general has gone to such an extent that Japanese brands

found their way into American popular culture. Bathing Ape for instance, a Japanese

shoe and clothing brand, is proudly worn by musicians such as Pharell Williams of The

Neptunes. Hiphoppers thus incorporate these brands into the American urban street

culture. This idea fits the homology function of subcultural style described by Hebdige

(1979). The subculture is characterized by extreme orderliness; same music taste, same

baggy clothes and the same brand name sneakers. It also gives new meaning to the

thought of cultural globalization. It becomes not only a unilateral process of western

styles, but the hybridization seems a two way flow given the significance of an urban

icon such as Pharell Williams wearing a Japanese brand.

In Hong Kong these brands have a different meaning. Street clothing or urban

clothing has not necessarily something to do with Hiphop. A fashion is not by definition

an extension of a subculture or an expression of the love for a type of music. For most

people it is just that: a fashion. The correlation between fashion and music is not

necessarily as one would expect. Being dressed in baggy clothes and caps one would

expect these people to scam through the Hiphop stacks. Many youngsters have their feet

wrapped in the freshest footwear and wear t-shirts from brands like Stussy, Bathing Ape,

LRG and Xtra Large. These brands are considered Hiphop in Europe; they are not

Hiphop per se in Hong Kong. To dress urban or in street fashion might have to do with

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Hiphop, but foremost it has to do with fashion and style, which is all around in Hong

Kong. Fashion is picked up easier than the music as all interviewees agree.

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Chapter 5: Analysis

In my six-week period in Hong Kong I managed to interview some of the most famous

and promising Hiphop artists in Hong Kong. The interviews had a very open character,

which means the interviewed people set their own agenda. Most vivid are the language,

locality and commercialism themes. Whereas language and locality deal with such

matters as staying yourself or being yourself, commercialism deals with “staying real” or

“being real”. In each of the three discourses: language, locality and commercialism I

found three articulations. For language I described them as mother tongue that deals with

the use of Cantonese language. Colonial politics speaks about the colonial background of

Hong Kong and the use of language and true Cantonese deals with language and local

identity. For locality these are Chineseness which talks about being Chinese and the

complexities one have to deal with living in Hong Kong or abroad. mainland China is

about the relationship with mainland China and mainland Chinese, and the black West is

the best explores the perception of the interviewees about ethnicity in relation to their

black subcultural counterparts. The three articulations of commercialism are Hong Kong

culture that is largely recognized as a commercial city, trends which have major impact

on the perception of Hiphop and survival tactics of artists in Hong Kong who have to

deal with their hyper capitalistic environment.

The concepts I describes earlier will be elaborated in this analysis. Why do the

interviewed people talk in a certain way (function)? Variations within and between

accounts show the complexities of the articulations. The interviewees construct their

language different depending on the function. While authenticity is not a word commonly

used by the interviewees, they construct their language often to communicate

authenticity, which is the function of the construction.

In total I interviewed 13 people: DJ B, MC Yan, DJ Tommy, Edison, Chen, Arho Sunny,

Fama, DJ Marvelous, MC Snake, MC Cal, KZ, Buddha, DJ Beware, Ghostyle.

5.1 Discourse of language

5.1.1 Mother tongue

All rappers and DJs have an opinion on language. Their common perception is that

rapping in Cantonese is a good thing. To rap in Cantonese and not in English also has

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some practical reasons. All but two of the interviewed rappers, consider Cantonese as

their first language. Therefore rapping in Cantonese seems very logical. MC Snake has a

clear notice on this:

English is not my mother language. So I think I should do the Cantonese or maybe the

Mandarin something like that instead of doing English, is better for me to express myself.

(MC Snake)

Self-expression plays a role in MC Snake’s choice to rap in Cantonese or even Mandarin.

Although he first came in touch with Hiphop in the U.S. he made a clear choice not to use

English as his language to write and rap his lyrics. For the two people who do not

consider Cantonese as their mother tongue, one raps in English and the other one in

Cantonese. Ghostyle raps in English for the same reason as his Cantonese rapping

counterparts: it is his first language.

“My Chinese isn’t that good…English is my first language, if and when I learn Mandarin

or Cantonese fully than I can kind of represent but its like now English is the way I can

flow it and do it you know.” (Ghostyle)

Growing up abroad in an English language environment like the U.S. Ghostyle feels he

cannot “represent” in a proper way when he raps in Cantonese. In this account he is

excusing himself for not being able to rap in Cantonese. For Edison Chen rapping in

Cantonese means that he can reach the people. This practicality is thus based on the

audience rather than his own skills. Rap’s potential to communicate shared emotions and

experiences is only fully practiced when the local language is used. Edison Chen is also

the only rapper/singer who is really famous, in contrast to the interviewed people who are

mostly working underground and thus reach just a few people. To reach out to young

people he must also rap in Cantonese, which he cannot write himself. There he has MC

Yan to write his lyrics in Cantonese. Edison explains:

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“I write English meanings and than Yan does the translation for me basically. I have to

learn my Cantonese a little better, the rhyming system of it. But I mean right now Yan is

the man you know, he’s the man, he’s got the way to deliver it real local and raw you

know.” (Edison Chen)

Although ghostwriters are common in the pop industry, the Hiphop subculture

always had its own set of rules for writing rhymes. The ability to write good lyrics is a

skill that is bragged about by rappers. It is one of the aspects of the subculture itself to

represent one’s self through one’s own lyrics. Although famous rappers like Eazy E (“ice

cube write rhymes that I say”) and Dr Dre have used ghostwriters, it is “not done” in

Hiphop community to not write oneself. Edison explained that he let Yan do the writing

because Yan can bring it raw and local. The function of his explanation could be

considered as a justification of an act that is generally considered “not done”.

5.1.2 Colonial politics

Besides the practicality mentioned, using Cantonese is perceived to be a part of a Hong

Kong identity. English is considered as a language that is rooted in colonialism, an upper-

class language used by the elite. Cantonese contrastingly is the local, street language, a

language that consequently fits Hiphop aesthetics better. This dichotomy translated to the

present postcolonial day is Hong Kong Island versus Kowloon. In which Hong Kong

Island represents the business centre, the upper class English influenced part and

Kowloon the local, working class and Cantonese part of Hong Kong. Rapper Ghostyle,

who is bilingual and lived in the U.S. until 1997, now lives in Hong Kong and talks about

these different “worlds”:

“I did the magazine and really got to see the local culture. It’s the thing like if you’re

talking English here, it’s like two worlds man expat world and local world; they don’t

really mix you know.” (Ghostyle)

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These two worlds are very much present and is one of the aspects of Hong Kong that

makes the city so interesting. On the one hand we have the local people who speak

Cantonese, eat Cantonese and do everything very much Cantonese. This is the life I have

encountered when visiting Hong Kong in December 2003 with my Cantonese friends.

We lived in the New Territories and I attended weddings, family dinners, witnessed the

expelling of evil spirits and lived a very Cantonese life. On the other hand, in May 2004

when I came alone, I went out clubbing almost on a daily basis, drank Heineken beer,

spoke English and just lived a “western” life. It is all possible in Hong Kong, but it is

because of my Cantonese friends that I got to know the supposedly “traditional”

Cantonese part of the city. Due to the lack of speaking Cantonese, and being a cultural

outcast, the distance between the local and the global remains apparent. As I mentioned

before, the idea of English as an upper-class language is still present. Many rappers I

interviewed felt this and encountered discrimination due to the use of language. MC Yan

gives to most vivid examples:

“When you speak (English), you are ABC; you are superior in Hong Kong. It is very

wrong.” (MC Yan)

“You talk Chinese, they don’t serve you. You speak English, they serve you.” (MC Yan)

Although English is related to being western and white, discrimination due to the

use of it has little to do with ethnic background, in the words of Yan. The perceived gap

between the Western world and the local world, the global and the local, has thus less to

do with racial backgrounds but rather with linguistic behaviour. Moreover, the present

day gap is the persistence of colonial cultural hierarchies inscribed in language.

5.1.3 True Cantonese

Discrimination is not only based on race, but also on language. Yan and other rappers

with Cantonese as their mother tongue have a clear opinion about the historical

background of the use of language and make use of Cantonese to express their identity as

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a Chinese from Hong Kong. While the Hong Kong Hiphop scene is still very young

Hong Kong rappers have started to rap in their mother tongue from the ground up. Either

this choice is made intentionally to denote that the self-image and national identity of a

rapper is strong or it can signify that the knowledge of English is too little. This practical

reason seems a plausible answer. Cantonese is the language of most, so you rap in

Cantonese. In The Netherlands and Germany it took at least one decade before rappers

started to rap in their national language (Pennay, in Mitchell, 2001, p.122). To use

Cantonese has a deeper meaning for the rappers. Fully dressed in American Hiphop gear,

completed with the bling bling, Arho Sunny explains:

“Cantonese is not an obstacle. I use Cantonese also; I can rap what I want. English is

also a language. I can rap what I want too. I want to prove that Cantonese can also rap

what English can in Hiphop. So I am still doing Cantonese.” (Arho Sunny)

Arho Sunny not only raps in Cantonese, he feels he has to prove the people that Hiphop is

not English per se. Hiphop is just the musical format and it does not matter in which

language it is done, it is still the same thing. Six Wing from Fama raps in Cantonese and

thinks it gives them power and freedom.

“We don’t rap in other languages, rapping in Cantonese is a weapon. You know with an

interview in English I can’t say anything.” (Six Wing from Fama)

Ghostyle, who does not rap in Cantonese but English, feels that it is almost “not done to

not rap in Cantonese”. To rap in English is a part of his identity by which he represents

more than just himself but the whole international youth residing in Hong Kong. He

dismisses the criticism by making rapping in English a part of his identity as an American

born Chinese (ABC). Although it was said in a rather jokingly matter, he considers his

cultural background as an ABC, not to be marginalized in Hong Kong. There are a lot of

people with the same struggle and ambiguous identities.

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“I probably get slacked for not singing in Chinese you know but when the Chinese mc's

tell “eeh sing in Chinese” I be like that’s cool you’re ignorant man that’s all I got to say.

When I rap in English, you know, maybe I represent the like ABC like overseas Chinese

dudes with like some fucking roots problem, don’t know where I’m from kind of thing.”

(Ghostyle)

Overall, to rap in Cantonese is considered positive by the rappers. They perceive

it as something that comes naturally. Ghostyle is negotiating authenticity; he is defending

why he raps in English. In his opinion he is representing a group of people, thus giving

him the reason and right to rap in English.

5.2 Discourse of locality

5.2.1 Chineseness

In the last three decades Hong Kong has provided the rest of the world an image of China

and Hong Kong through the entertainment industries. Not only the media have influence

on the ways the West perceives China and the Chinese, the large population of wah kiu

(overseas Chinese) in the Western world also has great influence on our image of China.

Typical Cantonese food like the red pork cha siuw for instance, is commonly known as

Chinese food in the West. Pop music produced in Hong Kong is listened to by millions of

Chinese teenagers, whether in Montreal, San Francisco, London or Rotterdam.

While Hong Kong is known for its global character and became a centre for many

Chinese living across the world, Hiphop and rap musical constructions commonly display

a pronounced emphasis on place and locality (Forman, 2002 p. xvi). Forman continues:

“Rap artists draw inspiration from their regional affiliations as well as from keen sense

of what I call the extreme local, upon which they base their construction of spatial

imagery.” (p.xvii). Contrastingly some of the most influential among the interviewed

people have a diffused local spot they grew up in. Not the local is their home, the global

is the setting in which they became Hiphop enthusiasts. Doing rap music in the local

language and using Hiphop to articulate local situations become an imaginary

homecoming. With a format they met through global forces they now enunciate a local

sound through language and content. The people who lived or were born outside China

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(read Hong Kong) are Edison Chen, MC Yan, MC Snake, DJ Beware and Ghostyle, thus

5 of all the 14 interviewees are born abroad or have lived abroad for more than one year.

The flows Arjun Appadurai (1996) discusses are vividly described in the following

accounts:

“…then moved to Hong Kong till I was around 16, 17, then went to New York for a little

while and back to Vancouver...than went to Hong Kong” (Edison Chen)

“ I was born in Montréal, Canada and than eeuh than I came to Hong Kong when I was

10 and stayed here for a month...from 5 and than I went to school back in the states and

than travelled around a bit and came back here in 97 right before the handover.”

(Ghostyle)

The flows, or ethnoscapes as Appadurai calls it (1996), of people crossing national

borders and absorbing different cultures result in people with a wide range of knowledge

about the world. What does it mean to grow up as an ethnic Chinese in a predominantly

western environment? Edison speaks:

“I come from a different place you know, I come from Vancouver you know. I’m

westernized, well I’m not saying I’m not Chinese, I’m still Chinese you know, I’m

westernized. I got different views, I’ve been to other places, seen how other places work.”

(Edison Chen)

To be Chinese for Edison is rather ambiguous. Although he has a Chinese appearance, his

attitude can be different than the local attitude. As a westernized Chinese in Hong Kong

he set the trend and became an idol for thousands of young people, thus unwillingly

creating a new ideal for Hong Kong teenagers. In this account Edison is both making

himself different than the locals (I got different views) as well as trying to be one of them

(I’m still Chinese you know). To be ABC is perceived to be wishful amongst many young

people in Hong Kong. In their perception an ABC is a person with the best of both east

and west, something biracial people tend to be stereotyped with. Not only biracial people

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and ABCs are ideals for youngsters and grown-ups alike, also Japan is a place that is

monitored.

“Japan follows gweiloo8, follow Europe, follow US, Hong Kong follows Japan. Like my

wife is Japanese. Japanese is the best. Every teenager wants to be Japanese, elder want

to be gweiloo; no-one wants to be Chinese.” (Six Wing from Fama)

In Six Wing’s words people from Hong Kong follow others, but fail to identify

themselves with their Chinese roots. The relationship with China and the mainland

Chinese therefore plays a key role in the forming of an identity, because identity is

always in relation to another identity. When one travels abroad for the first time, it

becomes evident they have their own ethnic or national identity. The artists I have

interviewed all vividly witnessed the political change and are now part of a cultural shift

happening in Hong Kong. Six Wing is concerned about people trying to be otherwise.

Earlier he mentioned his believes in the usage of Cantonese as a weapon. Both accounts

point at a certain form of cultural pride. Six Wing was distancing himself from the

popular view that the English language Hiphop or the self-identification of teenagers with

the Japanese and Americans would be a better option.

5.2.2 mainland China

Speaking to people on the streets and my non Hiphop Cantonese friends, the mainland

Chinese cannot expect much sympathy. Topics such as crime and backwardness are

related to the people from China, especially for those from the nearby neighbouring city

of Shenzhen. In popular opinion it is a place where crime, prostitution and everything that

is not supposed to see daylight is a commonality. Here again the definition of the

Chineseness plus by Mathews (1997) comes to the front. Their own identity plus

affluence/cosmopolitanism/capitalism and/or English/colonial education/colonialism

naturally reflects to those who are perceived to lack these pluses, namely the mainland

Chinese. Mentioning the topic about mainland China and the Chinese all the interviewees

had the tendency to become a social commentator. They have an opinion about mainland

8 Gweiloo is used by Cantonese speaking people to refer to white people. Literally it means white ghost.

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China and the Chinese, but more interestingly they have an opinion about the ways

common Hong Kong people think about mainland China and the Chinese. They create a

distance between themselves and the common Hong Kongers by positioning themselves

in contrast to them.

“They don’t like the people from mainland China you know. They better say I’m Hong

Kong people, not Chinese. They think Chinese is low cast, you never heard of it? I don’t

think Hong Kong people are better than Chinese people. They always think people from

mainland is not polite they cruel, don’t have money such kind of thing, they don’t want to

be Chinese” (Six Wing from Fama)

Many of the interviewees are very aware of their own Chinese background and heritage.

The distinction between Hong Kong people and mainland Chinese people is perceived to

be little, so to think mainland Chinese are “low cast” is to think that they themselves are

low cast. The pride that is uttered by the rappers and DJs to be Chinese, stands in contrast

to what they think about the Hong Kong masses; they follow the flock by copying the

West and Japan. China in their perception is something to be proud of; it is their

perceived root.

“I am proud of being Chinese. I do not look down on Chinese in China, you know.

Sometimes I like them better, they have a better attitude.” (DJ B)

The people who perform in China have a positive attitude towards Chinese

Hiphop, something they lack when speaking about Hong Kong Hiphop. Although MC

Yan works on making Hong Kong Hiphop bigger, he puts his odds on China. Connecting

with the people from mainland China he predicts a bright future for Chinese Hiphop. In

my many conversations with MC Yan he told me about his disbelief in Hong Kong and

his focus on China and the mainland people. Thus China versus Hong Kong can be added

to the earlier mentioned list whereby each first-mentioned term is associated with the

good and positive qualities of the music (Wermuth, 2002). All respondents frequently

express this dichotomy, although they are from Hong Kong, they describe their

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environment as commercial and superficial, opposed to China, where people have more

heart. Thus, when people mention the positive sides of China and the Chinese people,

they are implying they are more authentic, which automatically makes them more

authentic (as that quality is in the eye of the beholder).

“Oh, China, they have a better attitude. They just started. But what I see, they got a

better attitude than HK people. They take it serious. It is hard to get the vinyls in China.

And the living standard is very low. You have to save up your money to get a turntable

and mixer. And they still doing it, you can see the motivation behind. They really want to

do it. Not like Hong Kong people. You know how much money they make in China, like

2000 per month. They still want to do it, you know. If it is not for the motivation, I do not

see the reason why. So I think they really like it.” (DJ B)

Also DJ Beware has the same observation on China:

“The Chinese scene has been growing much faster than that of Hong Kong. Despite

Hiphop in China having come much later and being less accessible than in Hong Kong, I

would say that the Hiphop scene in China is almost at a par with that of Hong Kong. The

heads in China just seem to be much more hungry for it and eager to adopt it to

their own than in Hong Kong.” (DJ Beware)

The stamina and will the Chinese show in the opinion of DJ Beware and DJ B is in stark

contrast with the “superficial” Hong Kong environment. The people from the mainland

do not have money, but they have the heart, which is most important. By this, both DJ

Beware and DJ B articulate reifications of cultural stereotypes. In the making of a nation

the Chinese Communist Party uses the idea of a strong China on the world stage, carried

by a strong Chinese people. The party is using nationalistic themes in organizing the

country for a new future. This new Chinese nationalism is a compliance of a problematic

Chinese nationalism, which can have negative effects such as anti-Americanism, and the

oppression of ethnic minorities. The idea the interviewees have of China as their new

motherland shows how the quest for authenticity is a highly politicized one. Whereas

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Hiphop in the U.S. is mostly articulating antagonistic views of the governments, Hong

Kong rappers seem to be in line with the party. To put it bluntly the party and the Hong

Kong rappers have a lot in common, they are both anti-American and both utter a

Chinese pride. In the eyes of some rappers Hong Kong needs to be taught a lesson. The

reason Hong Kong should do Hiphop is to learn the importance of the essential things in

life again, instead of holding on to the cultural remains of the colonial city. MC Yan

comments:

“Hong Kong has been a colony, since like a hundred years or something. Like any other

colony in the world, the roots have been cut off. So, but I, the reason that I started

Hiphop, I see Hiphop as a very good (re) search of roots.” (MC Yan)

Hiphop in Hong Kong is a way to research or even reinvent one’s roots and the

cultural identity as MC Yan describes. For MC Yan Hiphop can have the function to

liberate the people from their isolated position as a former colony. The relation with the

West (in particular the U.S.) is also crucial in understanding the complex structures

through which the making of identity and the research for roots take place.

5.2.3 “The black West is the best”

Like the relationship with mainland China and the Chinese, some of the interviewees

once again talk about the Hong Kong popular opinion. They oppose to this opinion. In

relation to the West it means the superiority of everything that is western. Although the

former colonizer is European, the Western influence in Hong Kong on the youth seems

mostly American.

“Only in Hong Kong, people from other countries, American people are the best.

American people they make the best movie, they make the best music, you know, that is

what they think.” (DJ B)

Despite DJ B’s observation canto pop is very popular in Hong Kong. Thus the

observation of DJ B to think that people consider American music as the best does not

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draw a parallel with the popularity of Cantonese language music. However, the influence

of western music and the U.S. industry in particular is significant. This is not a unique

Hong Kong condition; it is present in most parts of the world. The U.S also extensively

influences the Netherlands and other European countries. However, the cultural distance

between Europe and the U.S. is believed to be smaller, which is the reason Hong Kong

can be perceived as being more subjected to western influx. In this reading we can

consider Europe Americanized and Hong Kong westernized. In the observation by some

of the interviewees, postcolonial Hong Kong people are greatly influenced by the former

colonizers and their culture of modernity. The white people, synonymous for the Western

civilization, are thus more modern and are unfairly treated with more respect than local

Chinese people. Six Wing noticed my enjoyment of staying in Hong Kong with the

following:

“Yes because you’re a gweiloo, people treat you differently don’t they? Just a little

better.” (Six Wing of Fama)

Although I have Chinese blood, due to my biracial background I am never perceived as a

Chinese. I belong to those people who can clearly be discerned physically from the

people of Chinese blood. White people are treated better in the opinion of Six Wing. As

within the language topic, MC Yan pointed out the racial profiling due to the use of

language, these same structures work with being white. English language and skin colour

are two sides of the same coin by which “they” discriminate.

Through trans-national corporations and global capitalism, the face of this western

cultural imperialism darkens, literally. As a black musical form, Hiphop is one of the

most influential musical forms of the last decade, entertaining and shaping the lives of

many across the globe. Due to this popularity the image of black people is changing,

especially in the eyes of the younger generation. Black people in Hong Kong are called

black ghosts or hak gwai in Cantonese. As the archetypical Chinese woman and people in

general have a fair skin, black people are considered remote from the Chinese ideal. The

imagery beamed by MTV of a mean masculine, decadent black man has changed the

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opinion for the younger ones. Triggered by these similes, the characteristics of black

rappers are perceived to be wishful for many. DJ B explains the change of opinion with

the younger people in Hong Kong:

“You know before they looked down on black people. And now the girls go with the black

people. Yeah. You know Chinese, the Hong Kong girls, are still traditional. They look

down on black. They do not want a black boy to be her boyfriend. But now they head over

to the black people.” (DJ B)

Traditions are being broken, now even traditional girls fancy black guys. The posh clubs

play their music, they walk and talk tough and have all the money and girls one might

wish for. Doing Hiphop, as a non-black person and claim authenticity thus remain

difficult; the racial part is an aspect that has to be explained. Like their Afro-American

counter parts, minority groups from all across the globe use Hiphop as a cultural

expression. Basque musicians Negu Gorriak use, amongst other styles, Hiphop to

cultivate political pride and cultural awareness (Urla, in Mitchell, p.171). The cross-

cultural borrowing of a hybridized Afro-American music style has a different meaning in

Hong Kong. Those who borrow and appropriate the music do not have a minority status

within the Hong Kong community. The natural outcast status of Afro-Americans in the

U.S. or of the Basques in Spain is not present. This leaves Hong Kong Hiphoppers and

especially rappers in a difficult position. They have to constantly prove themselves to

earn the right to make Hiphop music, similar to the rock artists De Kloet describes in his

Red Sonic Trajectories (2001, p. 55).

The perceived centre of Hiphop is New York, but in my opinion the “real” centre

of Hiphop is not spatial but racial. To be black or at least have a minority status in one’s

larger community supposedly provides more reason and thus authenticity to rap than only

coming from New York. This supposed authenticity is put into question by most of the

interviewed artists. DJ Tommy is very proud of his Chinese heritage and explains Hiphop

from his point of view:

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“Like black music, I think its Hiphop from black people but I feel not from black people

but from old people old China people, they have Hiphop mind to be thousand year old.

Like the Hiphop is not only music only for other man, like jazz not black people is white

people influence black people jazz music Like Hiphop maybe, I don’t know how to

explain this… like a thousand years ago the people like graffiti the old China people they

do some work its very art.” (DJ Tommy)

“I don’t know how to explain this I think Hiphop is a lot of influence from other people

than black people.” (DJ Tommy)

Although Tommy’s English is not quite well, I am able to grasp the message he wants to

convey; it is not only about being black. Hiphop is also from and of other people, like the

Chinese used to write graffiti a long time ago. It is very clear to the interviewed

musicians: they do not have to be black to do real Hiphop. DJ B explains further:

“You know, we also influence black people, so why you have to be black. I like black

music but I do not have to be black.” (DJ B)

Hiphop in this sense is seen like a musical format that everyone can appropriate to his or

her wishes and local interpretations. The black struggles and identification with black

power leaders like Malcolm X uttered by artists such as Public Enemy, Paris or Dead

Prez are not taken into account whatsoever. Hiphop or rap music is a musical genre,

which can be used by all, Ghostyle explains:

“If I have to be real. I have to move to New York and join a gang, no man, its kind a like

what jazz was and funk, jazz and blues originated black American music, than it went

worldwide and transformed into rock music, cause its like white music and transform,

transform evolve, evolve. Hiphop is like that, you should see it as a musical form, I kind a

see it like a musical format.” (Ghostyle)

51

While Ghostyle renders Hiphop down to a musical format, he himself also has felt the

racial dimension of Hiphop while living in the U.S. and trying to rap as a Chinese boy or

“dude” as he puts it:

“Blackness, well people don’t take it serious coz you’re coloured man, even when, not

until Eminem popped out, even white dudes that rap is taken funny.” (Ghostyle)

“Dudes aren’t supposed to rap man, at that time, that’s the time.” (Ghostyle)

Times have changed though and Ghostyle evolved in a rapper from Hong Kong who is

doing his music in English. In both accounts racial issues are addressed. While making

Hiphop a mere musical format it allows Ghostyle to freely do the music he loves, without

considering its perceived black origins. He mentioned the strangeness to rap in the U.S as

a non-black person. In Hong Kong Ghostyle is more at ease.

5.3 Discourse of commercialism

5.3.1 Hong Kong culture

In 1997 Hong Kong qualified for an International Monetary Fund classification as an

“advanced economy” (Vines, 1999, p. 181). For 35 years in a row, Hong Kong’s

economy faced a growth exerting in a degree of economic influence disproportionate to

its miniscule size (Vines, 1999, p.181). Only 6.5 million people were responsible for

Hong Kong being the seventh or eighth largest trading nations. Behind the numbers and

the picture of success hides a massive workforce. More than in the West people are

forced to work hard and establish a career to guarantee a future for them selves and to

take care of their elders. Thus, Hong Kong is thought of as a mainly commercial

capitalistic centre where money rules the daily lives of most people. DJ Beware explains:

“Being a Hong Konger means that I have to fight extra hard to be true to myself and be

an individual. Hong Kong is a pretty conformist place that is dictated mainly by money.”

(DJ Beware)

52

A city thrived by mere money making has positive effects on an individual as Beware

explains. Fighting extra hard to prove oneself in a cold capitalistic world is not always

easy, but:

“On the more positive side, being a Hong Konger means that I have a somewhat go

getter and realistic attitude towards life, and am willing to take hardship in order to

reach my goal.” (DJ Beware)

To reach goals and make ends meet in the big city means you have to have a go-getter

attitude. Like other big cities in the world the pace of the city means you need to adapt

quickly to new opportunities and social environments Edison Chen explains:

“Hong Kong culture, yeah it intense man, you don’t sleep man. If you’re here and you’re

busy you don’t sleep man I don’t sleep much. I take a flight to Singapore tomorrow 8 o

clock in the morning, I just got of a flight this morning, that’s just the way the pace is

here, the pace is like bam bam bam you know.” (Edison Chen)

The pace of the city explains the rather fast concatenation of Edison Chen’s

album releases. To release two albums in less than one year does not seem strange for a

Cantonese star. This fast pace and the rapid flow of new music and videos influence what

is trendy and what not. The culture in Hong Kong overall is based on money and trends

which only seem to have value on a temporary basis. Fast cars and expensive designer

clothes have to deal with seasonal changes and an all-embracing quest of “what is hot and

what is not”. The flashy lifestyle seems to be part of the culture of Hong Kong. Ultra

luxurious hotels, clubs and restaurant are everywhere and also Hiphop in Hong Kong

seems to be “devoured” by this Hong Kong culture. This Hong Kong culture is

influenced greatly by global capitalism and is closely related to what I like to call the

American dream. The imagery portrayed in the average pop of the chart Hiphop music

video is exactly that: the American dream.

53

5.3.2 Trends

Trends and trendy are words I encountered the most in all my interviews. Trends,

opposed to things that do not have a temporary character, are perceived to be negative for

the Hiphop culture. If Hiphop is marketed in such a way it becomes a trend. Thus the

supposedly “real” Hiphop is not fully understood, which creates a blurred image of what

Hiphop is assumed to be about. Trends are mostly seen as shallow appearances in the

form of fashion and ”top of the chart” knowledge of Hiphop. The industry and the wider

audience have a crucial role in the making of trends. MC Yan comments about fashion in

Hong Kong in WestEast magazine (2004):

“Many people wear all these fake chains and so called “bling bling” but they don’t

really know what all this is about. You know, Hong Kong media feed the people the

“Hiphop look”, teaching kids how to dress, but they don’t want to introduce the content,

so everybody is following the trend, the appearance, but no one talks about the music.

Hong Kong music is still 99% canto pop and I bet you can ask some people that dress

like hip hoppers on the street what hip hop is and they would say “oh some black people

thing” but when you ask them for names all they know is Eminem.” (MC Yan)

In this example the relation between the media and the audience is apparent. The media is

perceived as the crucial machine through which the supposedly real Hiphop gets stripped

down to the level of appearances. In the opinion of MC Yan the essence of the matter, the

real music, is being watered down in such a way the people who follow these media are

stuck with a blurred image. He uses 99% canto pop as a signifier for Hong Kong’s

superficiality. In his opinion there is no balance. MC Yan uses the example of “some

black people thing” related to the only name the audience know: Eminem, who happens

to be a white rapper.

In numerous accounts, the interviewees ventilate their opinion about the trend, which is

perceived to be artificial and in contrast to what they think Hiphop should be about.

54

“In Hong Kong very trendy Hiphop is now popular everybody do, yeah, understand bit

even in America or all around the world there are that kind of people, but in Hong Kong

there’s so many, so shit.” (DJ Tommy)

“The art is very trendy right now, I go to try but not so good, like for example a DJ: I try

to scratch, but they give up and don’t continue, they try hard and then get improved, they

don’t do that, they feel; ow DJ no good and then I go try b-boy, b-boy no good, I go

doing other thing.” (DJ Tommy)

“Hiphop in Hong Kong is very "leisure" orientated. What I mean is that most people

treat Hip hop merely as a style of music to dance to, and as a way of dressing. This has to

do with the fact that for as long as I can remember, Hong Kong has always been a very

trend orientated place. Although rap music had been played in clubs since the 80s, they

have mainly been limited to those clubs, which foreigners frequent.”´ (DJ Beware)

“They trendy, dress a lot, they don’t like music, they don’t know anything bout Hiphop. It

has a bad chance in Hong Kong.” (Six Wing of Fama)

“Yeah if I look out on the street, the dressing up is very big.” (Six Wing of Fama)

“In Hong Kong? Image is more than the music. Know what I’m saying. The Hiphop

scene is nothing.” (Six Wing of Fama)

In these accounts the interviewees use words such as: trendy, trends, leisure, dressing up

and image. The interviewees use all these words as markers of authenticity. They refer to

these words with the assumption of the existence of an opposite, which has to do with

persistence as being expressed by DJ Tommy. This opposite is also articulated through an

old school approach of Hiphop. The roots and history play an important role in the

understanding of what the Hiphop subculture is about in the opinion of the interviewees.

Especially the older interviewees like MC Yan, DJ B and DJ Tommy express the

importance to know the old school music and history of the culture.

55

“No matter how much you know about Hiphop, people are too young to understand, they

do not have Hiphop knowledge. By the time I started, maybe too early for doing Hiphop.

No, no one knows Hiphop; nobody listened to Hiphop that time. You know like ten years

ago. Late 80's and early 90's. And now people like Hiphop just because it is a trend, a

trend.” (DJ B)

“Think they not really want to understand the culture the background, just if they know

Hiphop from here, they just listen this familiar Hiphop song, they don’t know the early

90’s and 80’s or Hiphop song, they don’t know what sample, they don’t know original

Hiphop come from, so just think.” (DJ Tommy)

The background and history thus seem very important in both accounts, expressing such

terms as Hiphop knowledge and culture and background. MC Yan gave me a copy of

“The holy book of Hip Hop”. Herein, the original tracks from which Hiphop music has

sampled are listed. These are a part of the perceived roots of Hiphop and thus come to

represent a certain authenticity. Constantly learning and studying the history of the

Hiphop subculture has an almost obligatory character. If one wants to be Hiphop, one

must know its roots. In this perception trends do not have any value, because they are

temporary hypes. The trends are created by the media and according to my respondents;

MTV especially seems to have a negative influence on the young people by creating a

distorted image that is perceived by the masses as real Hiphop.

“The way you move, sucka, sucka, a bunch of girls in it. Maybe that what makes the

people like, maybe that is why they like Hiphop. The MTV influences a lot. The thing

Hiphop can get girls easily.” (Six Wing of Fama)

As it is clear, the audience is perceived to be passive and controlled by the media and the

images they portray. The stereotypical image of Hiphop video clips comes to mind, a lot

of girls mixed with the use of bad language. Also DJ Beware blames the media for

broadcasting the wrong signal:

56

“Hiphop being worldwide has made it possible for non Americans to also take this

culture and adopt it to their own. Sadly, much of Hong Kong youth doesn’t see this, and

just approach Hiphop at a very surface level. On the other hand, I can’t blame the Hong

Kong youth too much for this, because the Hiphop that they’re getting and that is most

accessible, has been passed through the corporate filter (MTV, etc.) and they only show

the very surface or certain aspects of Hiphop.” (DJ Beware)

In the eyes of Six Wing and DJ Beware MTV not only has a major impact on the youth in

Hong Kong, but also in the rest of the world. Global capitalism, in the form of MTV,

disseminates a culture in which only the surface of the Hiphop culture comes to the fore.

In the eyes of the interviewees the people who pick up these trends do not relate to the

subcultural pillars. The times that clothing and style was used in a semiotic warfare

against the larger society thus seems gone. The notion of scene, which Muggleton and

Weinzierl (2003) bring to the fore, makes more sense. The passive listeners and people

that make up crowds act and meet in certain scenes of particular musical practices by

which they produce a sense of community. The idea of subculture thus only seem to be

alive in the minds of active members, who often oppose these scenes which they think do

not represent the right environment for Hiphop to flourish. In their opinion this culture of

constantly shifting hypes and trends is unevenly present in the Hong Kong media

landscape. MC Yan elucidates the essential difference between Hong Kong and other

parts of the world:

“Yeah, but we need a balance of the environments. In Hong Kong it is like 90% or 95%

commercial leads and you do not have objective media’s who only like for the truth. In

the States or in Europe you have independent radios or underground stations or you have

all kind of opinions. In Hong Kong no.” (MC Yan)

The commercialism and the industry that control the methods of music’s

marketing are recognized as being disproportionate. Hong Kong thus is perceived as a

very difficult place to do Hiphop. In order to still do Hiphop the rappers and DJs need

57

ways of survival in place where threats to the existence of a Hiphop culture are all around

in. The Hong Kong culture is considered to be dominated by the trans-national industries,

which on their turn are subjugated to global capitalistic forces. The larger audience

follows the media and thus also becomes a threat to the existence of a Hiphop culture in

Hong Kong. The quintessential question is: how to survive?

5.3.3 Survival tactics

It is not easy to survive as a musician; this is true for Hong Kong as it is true for

musicians in all the parts of the world. To make a living out of the music one loves would

be a dream for all musicians. Leaving their dreams behind and facing daily reality, one

would have to make concessions in order to survive. MC Snake just works a “nine to

five” job, while DJ B is playing RnB music to earn a steady income. MC Yan, the AK

guy who seems to have an adversity of commercialism has been the centre of a Yakult

commercial, which makes it clear to understand that passion for music and Hiphop basic

culture do not always go hand in hand. For many, Hiphop remains a hobby in which they

can be “part-time real”. This also attests to their perseverance and authenticity; it is the

extreme real that survives in the unreal.

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Chapter 6: Conclusions

Different processes that contribute to cultural globalization can be found and recognized

in Hong Kong. In the case with Hiphop these processes deal with authenticity and

“staying real”. What it is to be real is sometimes hard to define given to different

opinions, explanations and also visualisations of Hiphop as a contemporary art form /

subculture / music. To be real cannot mean to just take over a foreign format. The

arguments Appadurai (1996) uses to explain that a hard cultural form needs localization

seems to be accurate for Hiphop in Hong Kong. If one wants to use a format such as

Hiphop which comes from outside, it needs to change and take on elements of the local

culture (i.e. language) in order to remain / become “real”. Hiphoppers everywhere, with

no exception in Hong Kong, want to be “real”, or as I have called it authentic. Wermuth

(2001) puts forward some dichotomies, which are used in discussions about authenticity

such as the local versus global, black versus white, artistic integrity versus sell out. These

dichotomies seem to be in place when speaking of Hong Kong. I think we could add even

more dichotomies that are useful in analysing authenticity and claims of it in the Hiphop

subculture. Old verses new, small versus big and poor versus wealthy are also very much

a part of the way Hiphoppers in Hong Kong take note of differences between the real and

the fake. To negotiate their authenticity the themes of commercialism and locality come

to the fore most vividly.

Authenticity and claims of it are by my respondents perceived to be in a constant

battle with commercialism. Hong Kong, with its hyper-capitalistic character, is a city

known as one of the most bustling financial and commercial centres of the world. Old

things are replaced very quickly with the latest fashion and trends. For Hiphop styled

clothing this means it becomes a product controlled by the industry rather than a loosely

picked outfit, which can be placed in new symbolic ensembles in which original

meanings can be subverted or even erased. Style as a bricolage that Hebdige (1979)

describes is thus almost non-existent in Hong Kong. Most Hiphoppers just buy “Hiphop”

clothing rather than picking their own outfits and give it new meanings; the industry does

it for them. MC Yan is one of the few people who use clothing as a signifying practice by

wrapping himself up in a Palestinian scarf. By this he points back to the idea of Hiphop

59

as rebel music, opposing or at least challenging the dominant powers. The purpose of

commercialism is to sell products and to do so aspects need to be mainstreamed in order

to establish a basic understanding, which eventually will accumulate into higher sales.

Views on commercialism are predominantly negative, because in most interviewees eyes

commercialism cannot be mixed with Hiphop. This resonates with dominant ideas in

popular music in which commercialism is perceived a threat to authenticity and related

notions of artistic integrity and musical innovation. This is in itself very doubtful,

because professional music in a certain moment of time will have to deal with some sort

of commercial interference. Professionals like MC Yan even use their fame to earn

money participating in commercials. Commercialism an sich maybe something one can

deal with, but an industry using Hiphop without “really” taking part of the subculture is

heavily criticized. The artists mainly think the global industry is not making any effort in

a long-term commitment to Hiphop but just thrive on short term. With the worldwide

popularity of Hiphop, trends are the main vehicle in which Hiphop travels and while

doing so the picture depicted is a temporal one. Commercial enterprises are so influential

they reach many young people who do not know the background of the subculture; a

point to which the interviewees constantly point by which they again make claims for

themselves: old versus new or rather infinite versus temporal, where the first mentioned

represents the authentic one. The idea of roots is strongly present in Hiphop subculture.

Knowledge of its history is valued high amongst the inner circles of Hiphoppers. While

many musical styles vanished and re-emerged again, Hiphop (in the eyes of Hiphop

artists) was and is to be understood as something that will last, opposed to a temporary

outburst that would diminish even quicker. Thus Hong Kong and its fast pace and

temporary culture is in the eyes of the respondents not a good environment for “real”

Hiphop.

Hong Kong culture is complex mainly due to its colonial history. Through the

analysis we have seen what impact such a history has on the youth and their identity.

Especially their relation with mainland China and the West are multi-faceted.

Localisation of Hiphop in Hong Kong is a hard job to do, because to negotiate

authenticity both China and the West play an important role. With the handover in 1997

60

and the changing ideas and shifting power since, Hong Kong have resulted in a vivid

example of cultural globalization even more complex than before.

Although the political identity of most of the interviewees stayed unclear,

culturally it seems more clear-cut. mainland China is perceived very positive unlike the

opinion of the common Hong Konger (as perceived by the interviewees). All

interviewees seem to favour the idea of Hong Kong as a part of China rather than Hong

Kong as apart from China. Additionally Mathews puts to the fore three clusters of

Chineseness: Chineseness plus affluence / cosmopolitanism / capitalism, Chinese plus

English / colonial education / colonialism and Chineseness plus democracy / human

rights / the rule of law. The artists all have certain characteristics in their identity formed

by one of the clusters in one way or another. Many artists though seem to be attracted to

another Chineseness, namely Chineseness plus China. Although or maybe because they

are in line with the nationalistic propaganda by the People’s Republic of China some

artists are doing Hiphop, which they claim to be “real”. This is highly problematic given

the countercultural character and the anti-establishment idea Hiphop is known for. China

becomes to represent in their eyes the authentic self. With authentic self I mean the ethnic

root of the Hong Kong Chinese is also in China. This is thus rather a cultural identity than

a political one. Hong Kong than represents the fake part of the dichotomy. Being pro-

China and not following the flock in a hyper-capitalistic, western orientated society is to

be the extreme real in the extreme unreal.

Although making reference to their ethnic roots, Hong Kong Hiphoppers also

have to deal with the American roots of their subculture. This subculture is not only

American but also seen as a black subculture, which off course contrasts highly with

“yellow” Hiphop. To deal with this issue and negotiate authenticity, Hong Kong

Hiphoppers do not deny their own Chinese roots; in contrast they use their own ethnic

background to reinforce their authentic self. Some even go further, denying Hiphop is a

black subculture and interpreting China’s past as a Hiphop past. Again the roots, as

something that is perceived to be real, to be original play an important part in making

claims of authenticity. Hiphop subculture is thus used to scrutinise and question

61

American culture and the idea of a subculture as a counterculture is therefore largely still

in work. At least in the interviews this comes to the fore, I have not been able to examine

lyrical content.

Hiphop is celebrated by the interviewees in different ways, but as I have tried to

explain, they have one thing in common; they do not just copy the West, Hiphoppers in

Hong Kong reinforce and characterize essential Hiphop tropes, using them to celebrate

and negotiate complex contemporary identities and locations.

From the results of the analysis we can say that the idea of a subculture still

exists. The subculture, or what Hiphoppers sometimes refer to as Hiphop culture still has

a set of basic ideas, values and lifestyles. The ideas Hebdige brings to the fore in both

Subculture the meaning of style (1979) and Hiding in the light (1988) still seem to be in

place. The idea of Muggleton and Weinzierl (2003) thus seem not to be exact. Style does

still have power as a semiotic weapon. All be it just for a few, the original ideas of a

subculture can be recognized. The idea of Straw (1997) of a scene as an alternative to

subculture to explain youth cultures seems partly true. Hong Kong gives the impression

of the coexistence of both. Next to each other, intermingling, influencing each other,

growing closer. Therefore the idea of a scene seems viable. A scene would than

encompass both the broad configuration of the music industry, media, physical spaces,

enthusiastic clubbers, critics as well as and the subcultural members.

62

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Motivation letter

!I hereby want to apply for the PHD position in the ERC research project "From Made in China to

Created in China". After I successfully graduated at the UvA with my Masters’ thesis ‘The

Proliferation of Hiphop subculture in Hong Kong’ (under supervision of Prof. Dr. Jeroen de Kloet) I

never actually ‘stopped’ studying, following or interacting with niche art and music scenes in Asia.

As a professional artist, I have been able to meet many likeminded people in Japan, China, Vietnam,

Thailand, Singapore and Indonesia. This PHD position combines many of my (self-constructed)

personal identity characteristics. Apart from my mixed ethnic background (Chinese and Dutch), I

have chosen a life in arts and culture. As a musician, event organiser, programmer and cultural

entrepreneur I initiated an endeavour called East West, which mainly focuses on the cultural

production of Asian diaspora urbanites in The Netherlands. The East-West dichotomy, perhaps

outdated, in this context only exists to promulgate that ‘under the sky there is no difference between

East and West’ and thus goes beyond essentialised labels. It humbly tries to debunk western

romantic ideology of ‘The East’. Having said this, I must admit that there is still much to learn. As a

cultural producer, programmer and entrepreneur I constantly think about the layers of meaning

trying to translate complex notions into successful events for the youth.

!The outstanding education and thesis supervision I enjoyed years ago, is therefore something I want

to enrich, deepen and broaden; ‘inshallah’ within the confines of an academic position offered by

the Amsterdam School for Cultural Analysis. Although I do not speak Mandarin, I do have

demonstrable research experience in China. My quantitative study was individually carried out by

interviewing some of the (at that time) most influential figures of the Hiphop scene in Hong Kong. I

have a keen interest in interdisciplinary research methods and approaches and I am willing and able

to work in a team, which I see as a way to learn from my peers, broaden my horizon and perhaps

deconstruct my own views.

!My preferred topic is ‘contemporary art’, simply because this is the category most close to my

personal interests and previous study. I have a general interest in all cultural aspects of China and

Asia, but I feel most comfortable with contemporary art, with a special interest for ‘street’ art. For

instance Huang Yulong's ceramic renditions of Buddhas in hoodies and Maos in track suits fit

symbols of Chinese culture with the trappings of Western hip-hop subcultures. An artist like

Robbbb, who makes beautiful paintings in the public domain. Which is, according to complex.com,

perfectly legal in China. I haven’t studied this yet, but would very much be interested in knowing

more about this specific topic. Does the government enable or disable criticality? Criticality from

who? Now western websites start talking about China as if the strictness and censorship is an

outdated frame to perceive the country. Soft power strategy successfully implemented? While

analysing how emerging creativities in China are part of tactics of governmentality and disable or

enable possibilities of criticality we might come to the point we realise that:

!‘ if we dig deeper, both sonic as well as political realities in China are more complex and

contradictory than we may at first realise, and hence refuse to be essentialised into monolithic

meanings or labels like ‘rebellious’ and ‘totalitarian,’ or to be contained in fixed dichotomies like

official versus unofficial or resistance versus compliance. Neither state nor artist can be

pigeonholed that easily.’ (De Kloet, China with a Cut, p. 16/17)

!Respectfully,

!Drs. Daniel Kwee

!

DR. G.T. MAURITS KWEE (EM. HON. PROF.)

CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST TEUNISBLOEMLAAN 24

2116TD BENTVELD

NETHERLANDS �Frankfurt,�August�6,�2014�

LETTER�OF�RECOMMENDATION��To�Whom�It�May�Concern��

Although�I�am�also�the�father�of�Daniel�Kwee,�I�write�this�recommendation�primarily�as�an�accomplished�academic�scholar.�During�35�years�of�his�life�I�had�the�prerogative�to�observe�Danny’s�walk�and�talk.�Since�childhood�he�is�outspoken�and�passionate�with�regard�to�what�touches�him�in�life�which�is�music,�presenting�music�and�after�his�secondary�school,�he�is�also�definitely�a�free�thinker�who�did�not�shy�away�from�academic�rigour�and�methodology.�All�this�combined�makes�Danny�someone�who�possesses�an�adaptable�mindset�which�confluences�in�being�a�critical�but�at�the�same�time�creative�and�innovative�“social�individual”.�Thus,�I�consulted�him�regularly�to�read�my�texts�before�publishing�and�usually�amazed�by�his�fresh�look�at�things,�like�opening�my�eyes�on�a�blind�spot:�Eurocentrism.�In�my�discussions�with�him�about�my�work�(http://relationalbuddhism.org),�I�noticed�that�Danny�is�keen�to�learn.�He�is�focussed�and�has�a�bright�understanding�of�things�on�a�highly�conceptual�level.�As�a�father�and�psychologist�I�state�that�his�inner�composure�is�balanced.�He�is�a�trustworthy�partner�who�won’t�let�anybody�down.���

Daniel�has�a�style�of�working�which�is�quite�communicative�and�can�be�described�as�“collaborative�practice”,�seemingly�a�reflection�of�his�basic�academic�training.�He�is�someone�who�is�sensitive�but�not�sentimental�and�displays�a�young�urban�mentality�taste�culminating�in�his�prime�interest�EastͲWest�exchange�projects.�As�a�generalist�his�perspective�is�a�“wholistic”�approach�implying�that�he�is�able�to�connect�and�combine�different�fields�of�expertise�(like�sociology�and�psychology)�to�scrutinize�and�understand�his�grand�theme�which�boils�down�to�Eurasian,�foremost�ChineseͲEuropean,�socioͲcultural�issues.�Although�he�does�not�speak�Chinese,�he�can�understand�a�very�little�Mandarin�and�various�Chinese�dialects�on�a�very�simple�level�and�is�eager�to�learn�more�of�his�forefathers’�language.�Anyway,�Danny�is�wellͲtravelled�and�was�recently�invited�to�the�United�Nations’�Conference�on�Buddhist�Perspective�Towards�Achieving�UN�Millennium�Developmental�Goals”�(Hanoi,�Vietnam,�2014).�Buddhism�also�connects�him�strongly�with�Chinese�mentality�and�culture�more�than�most�Chinese�young�men.��Most�cordially,�����T:�0617314007�E:�[email protected]�