The Chengdu Music Scene 🎶 Is Chengdu Becoming Hip-Hop Hotspot of China?

Chengdu Music 🎙 Is Chengdu Hiphop on the Rise?

The Chengdu music scene is changing… Is Chengdu Hiphop on the rise? It would seem so, yes.

Did you know that Chengdu – apart from hot pot, the spicy food, the pandas – is also known for its thriving hip hop scene? Yes, yes hip-hop.

For fans of rap music, the capital of Sichuan province is becoming the hub or the centre of hip-hop and trap scene in China.

The most famous and well-known act are most definitely the Higher Brothers.

Their songs such as “Made in China” or “WeChat” have become huge hits.

Let’s see what is it that makes Chengdu hip-hop so interesting and what are some of the most famous bands or acts.

Chengdu Music – Regional Dialect Is Key

Chengdu Music – Higher Brothers (更高兄弟)

Chengdu Music – Boss Shady

Chengdu Music – FAQ’s

Chengdu Music – Regional Dialect Is Key

No one can tell for sure why trap took off in Chengdu, since Beijing and Shanghai, for example, have a long underground hip-hop scene.

But some point out to Sichuanese, a local dialect that some believe sounds, let’s say it, more “natural” than the official language of China – Mandarin.

Thanks to the likes of the Higher Brothers, Sichuanese dialect is becoming more known and famous, which is also important when we bear in mind that there’s still some stigma surrounding regional dialects in China.

As Lauren Teixeira writes in her article for Vice the “beating heart of the scene is the Chengdu Rap House”.

“The Chengdu Rap House, or CDC, is the scene’s beating heart.

Started in 2008 by a group of young rappers who would get together to hone their technique in freestyle battles, it’s never been an actual place, although it’s become strongly associated with several venues over the years.”

Chengdu Music – Higher Brothers (更高兄弟)

The Higher Brothers are a hip-hop group from Chengdu consisting of four members:

• MaSiWei (马思唯)
• DZknow (丁震)
• Psy.P (杨俊逸)
• and Melo (谢宇杰).

They are known for their songs in that celebrate Chinese culture.

Their songs such as “Made in China”, “Black Cab” and “We Chat” are known all over China, as well as the West.

They are knows as a famous or “high-profile” rap group that has managed to avoid Chinese government censorship while still appealing to Western audiences.

They were also the first Chinese rap that became world-famous.

Chengdu Music – Boss Shady

What Teixeira also points out in her article for Vice, “although the Higher Brothers put Chengdu on the map for foreign audiences this year (2019), the city started making waves domestically in 2014, when local rapper Boss Shady performed a defiant track called “Daddy Ain’t Going to Work Tomorrow” (Laozi mingtian bu shangban) on the popular singing competition show “The Voice of China.”

They fell out of favour though, when they released their nationalistic-oriented song “Stupid Foreigners”, or “Gua Laowai” (瓜老外), with “gua” being used as an insult in Chengdu dialect and “laowai” being an informal way of referring to foreigners.

“You were a loser in your own country / You come to China to be taken seriously” are just some of the lyrics that caused a controversy in China.

Although controversial, we can’t say that Chinese (or Chengdu) hip-hop and popular music does not open and discuss some of the most important topics in present-day Chinese society.

There you have it – a bit about Chengdu music and Chengdu hip-hop, two acts that will get you started and a whole new genre to discover.

Let us know if you want us to cover more topics like these!

Chengdu Music – FAQ’s

Want more from LTL?

If you wish to hear more from LTL Mandarin School why not join our mailing list.

We give plenty of handy information on learning Chinese, useful apps to learn the language and everything going on at our LTL schools!

Sign up below and become part of our ever growing community!

FANCY A FREE CHINESE CLASS? Check out our free trial here.