MC Yan Hong Kong Slam Jam [English subtitled]

Just a video of MC Yan rhyming out of his rhyme book in the streets of Hong Kong. English subtitles are provided.

MC Yan & MC Jin - Accapella Freestyle @ Hong Kong Book Fair

This is MC Yan doing an accapella freestyle of a rap he originally did back in 2003 for SARS at the Hong Kong Book Fair on July 23rd. The guy on the right is MC Jin.

Jin's turn to rock the mic:

MC Yan Raps About Hong Kong's Air Pollution

MC Yan teamed up with Greenpeace China to protest against the worsening of air quality to the Hong Kong government. Hong Kong's air pollution is affecting the health of its residents and also affecting its economy as well. The main sources of air pollution in Hong Kong are the local coal power plants, vehicle exhaust emissions, and ships that come in and out of Hong Kong's ports. Also, across the border in Guangdong, China it is heavily industrialized and there are many factories emitting poisonous fumes that find their way into Hong Kong.

The song or video production below is MC Yan protesting to the Hong Kong government to tell the truth about Hong Kong air quality. The current Hong Kong Air Pollution Index is based on an obsolete 1987 standard which does not give Hong Kong citizens the real picture of how dangerous the air quality is because they are not using the up-to-date World Health Organization Air Quality Guidelines.

Point Blanc - Meng Wan feat Uncle Real and MC Yan

Point Blanc - Straight to the Point

Meng Wan (命运 in Chinese) is a song by Point Blanc, featuring Uncle Real and Hong Kong rapper, MC Yan. This song is in the Cantonese language and it is about making one's own destiny. The instrumental of this song is really cool. It is sampled from one of the old school kung fu movies and has a really nice vintage feel to it. This song can be found on Point Blanc's Straight to the Point CD.

The music video of Meng Wan reminds me about the old kung fu movies. Its about a boy who goes off in a far away temple to train in kung fu. Because the boy trained hard, his kung fu master took a liking to him and that caused another trainee to be jealous of him. And so one day the other jealous trainee pushes the boy and then the boy's locket, which contains his mother's picture, falls to the floor. Fueled by anger, the boy starts fighting his fellow trainee and then the master discovers the two fighting. The master then decides to discipline the boy by making him do chores around the temple and balance rice bowls on his head and hands. In the end of the video, the boy regains the respect of the master and they both bowed to each other to signify that respect. This music video, is a metaphor for our lives. There will be many challenges and obstacles we will face before we can fulfill our destiny.

Hong Kong Rapper MC Yan Interviewed by DongTing

MC Yan, with a LazyMuthaFuckaz toy
(photo source: dongting08)

Our friends at dongting08 has released a video interview of MC Yan in his Hong Kong studio. MC Yan is without a doubt, the "godfather" of the Hong Kong hip hop movement and Cantonese rap. His claim-to-fame was when he joined and became the lead rapper for the LMF (LazyMuthaFuckaz) hip hop group in 1998 till after it disbanded in 2003. Still, MC Yan is very active in the Hong Kong hip hop movement.

In this video interview, MC Yan talks about how he got invovled with Hong Kong hip hop and what is the current status of hip hop in Hong Kong. He begins by telling us that he was studying overseas in France for 7 years and returned back to Hong Kong in 1997. He got into the underground rap scene in Hong Kong and formed the first Hong Kong graffiti crew with local graffiti artists in 1994. Since then, Hong Kong hip hop has been gaining popularity, especially among the youth whom needed a voice of expression. However, MC Yan says despite the exploding popularity of groups such as LMF in Hong Kong, the reason why Hong Kong Cantonese rappers are not releasing material as "frequently" as compared to their mainland Chinese rapper counterparts is because rappers in Hong Kong are waiting for a major label record deals. Another factor is that Hong Kong currently leaves no room for new sub-cultures such as hip hop to thrive because the industry do not want to risk promoting hip hop if it does not make any profit. In his own words describing the current status of hip hop in Hong Kong, MC Yan says "Hong Kong has a package of hip hop" meaning hip hop, in its own true essence is being misrepresented in Hong Kong's mainstream media by adding extra frills and gimmicks just to make it more appealing to the masses.

Also in the video interview MC Yan tells us the story behind some of the artworks and designs that he has created. One of MC Yan's designs is marketing t-shirts with a memory stick sewn on the t-shirt. Stored inside the memory stick is music, videos and pictures which is a fresh new concept on selling music and bypassing the music industry. He also introduces his own label 宁死不屈 (Ning Si Bu Qu) which means "Death before dishonor" in Mandarin. By all means, check this video interview out.

DJ Tommy - Respect 4 DA Chopstick Hip Hop

DJ Tommy - RESPECT FOR DA CHOPSTICK HIP HOP

DJ Tommy is one of the most sought-after DJs in Hong Kong ever since he won first place in the 1991 Hong Kong DMC Championships. The very next year he represented Hong Kong in the World DMC Finals and was awarded 8th place, 2nd place in the 1996 World Finals, and 6th place in 1997 World Finals. In 1999, DJ Tommy released an EP called Scratch Rider, an LP called Respect For Da Chopstick Hip Hop in 2001, and was a major part of the LazyMuthaFucka (LMF) movement which helped bring hip hop culture to Hong Kong. There are rumors speculating that DJ Tommy will release another album featuring RZA, MC Hotdog, but there are no confirmation on whether if or when it will be released.

In Respect For Da Chopstick Hip Hop, DJ Tommy collaborates with MC K-One from Japan, MC Yan from Hong Kong, and MC Meta and Joosuc from Korea. It is truly amazing to hear the many different languages you can hear in this Asian rap song. Music is truly the universal language and it can overcome any borders!



For all you DJ Tommy fans, here is a clip of DJ Tommy in April 2008 DJing while another MC Raps in Cantonese for the opening ceremony of Juice Shop in Causeway Bay, Hong Kong.