Electronic dance music is great and all, but sometimes we feel somewhat disconnected when we listen to it. After all, a lot of the time, words -- our primary mode of expression as humans -- are missing. Music is music -- one of the greatest gifts of humankind and a whole language in itself -- but where would it be without the words?
And when you think about it, what type of music is the most expressive when it comes to words? What type of music speaks the most, literally packs the most words, verse after verse, bar after bar?
The type of music that is a melting hot-pot of poetry, aka hip hop, of course! Why? Because of the rappers and emcees. They are the masters when it comes to relaying deep (or not so deep) messages with rhyme and flow.
This week, we bring you seven Thai and Thailand-based rappers we reckon are worth your time. To all the freedom of expression advocates out there who think not enough is being said in Thailand right now, Bangkok certainly isn't a city devoid of lyrical prowess. There's a lot of expression happening on our turf right now and it's astounding.
ProtoZua
We fell in love with ProtoZua when we heard him rapping once at a cypher night at Knock on Thong Lor (before it closed down, *sigh*). His lyrics are pure Thai and his flow is incredible. He began rapping when he was 16 after listening to some rap songs he heard from his neighbour; boy are we glad he did. Although he played the drums and guitar growing up, he got into rapping because it allowed him to speak on a variety of topics. Also, he couldn't sing (his words, not ours), so rapping was the only other option. His music speaks to people who are doing what they love. "I want everyone to know what it is they'd like to do. People should live the way they choose, every single day". His words are very uplifting and much needed in the world we're living in today so we hope to see more songs released from this truly talented rapper.
Our fave song: Mountain of Dreams ft. Someone
Unda
Although originally from Atlanta, recording artist and music producer Unda spent most of his life growing up in Bangkok. There's more to Unda than words, as although he is one of the illest and most renowned emcees of this city, words aren't necessarily his melody: "Words are futile -- they can express, to a certain degree, but there is no other medium of art that communicates as deeply and effectively as music does". We admit defeat as we do agree. Nonetheless, there is something so earth shatteringly awakening when you listen to Unda's lyrics because he speaks from a completely honest place, going off his own vision, not society's norms and the boxes they seek to place him in. "I make music selfishly and I write about my life and what I experience. I don't care about what's hot at the moment. As a black American in Bangkok, if I had listened to what the world wanted me to do, this would've been over a long time ago". His latest EP, 747 (PART III) is a three-track project that uses the iconic Boeing 747 aircraft as a metaphor to reflect his experiences of love, struggle, and criminality while hustling in the venomous (more-often-than-not) world of Bangkok's nightlife. There are many layers when it comes to Unda's music and this is what makes him one of the most inspirational artists on Bangkok-turf right now.
Our fave song: Offshore
Benxbizzy
Khon Khaen born rapper Benxbizzy started off listening to Eminem and consequently rapping as a way to kill time. He began to take it seriously though when he went to the US for an exchange programme and found out more about the Asian American rappers out there. Dropping his first single with his homie, rapper FIIXD at the age of 17, it was a few years after before he took things to the next level. "Four years ago I was invited to perform at a Rap Is Now concert (Thailand's biggest underground hip hop community) and saw people actually singing and dancing along to my music. So I realised I had to take it seriously from that point and that's still one of my motivations to continue making music". Benxbizzy has got to be one of the more prolific droppers of songs as he's always coming out with something and it's always got great flow. In terms of switching between Thai and English, he's definitely one of the most smooth and agile at doing it. Thai and English words are interweaved seamlessly and switched up non-stop during his songs. He says he's not a "hardcore lyricist" because he likes to keep his lyrics simple so that more people can relate to them, and they really do. He's dropping a solo EP next month, Trapzus 2, which is a continuation of his Trapzus EP from last year. Stay tuned!
Our fave song: Vlone $hark
Boakye 222
Thai-Ghanian hip hop artist Boakye 222 gets involved with all aspects of music production, from beat making, playing instruments, singing, writing lyrics and emceeing to managing other talents through his record label, dTb. Yet, we love it most when he gets behind the mic and spits verses because that's when his love for music really shines. He's got a great bilingual flow and his voice is certainly something different to the mainstream. His love for words runs deep as he grew up in many countries and always took the best parts of those languages with him; he finds it confusing but we find it fascinating. The first song he ever composed was on the piano for his mum, at the age of eight, which -- sorry, mama Boakye -- we just had to mention! Since then, it's been song after song. He claims Thaitanium made him fall in love with hip hop but other influences include rappers Fabolous, Ludacris and Tinie Tempah. He has just finished up on his yet to be released album, Space & Time, a R'n'B and hip hop one, which is comprised of a staggering 11 songs, unheard of in this day and age where everyone is dropping singles and EPs.
Our fave song: Hip Hop Music
Urboytj
If you're an avid listener of iTunes' Thai R'n'B or hip hop, you'll know this artist is sorta swarming the space right now with his songs. The Chiang-Rai born beat maker, music producer and rapper (who's also pretty good at singing btw) built his own home studio at the age of 15 and came out with a mixtape. He admits there wasn't much of a scene growing up in Chiang Rai but his brother was based in France and would come and visit him once a year, bringing a tonne of French hip hop with him too which he lapped right up; other influences include Usher, Big Sean, Travis Scott, A$AP Rocky, Pharrell Williams and whatever his parents listened to, i.e. The Beatles and The Eagles. "My music actually has no genre". He moved to Bangkok aged 15 to be a trainee for R.S. Records and was signed by a label soon after. You may also know him as one of the members of the former band 3.2.1. We're glad he spread his wings and went solo. Look out for his first solo album coming out, he says "maybe", in May; this one looks like it's going to have a lot of trap influences in it. Can't wait!
Our fave song: Wayray (The Villain) ft. SD Thaitanium
Egypt
Egyptian but brought up in Las Vegas and Bangkok, this talented rapper started freestyling at the age of nine as a form of self-therapy when his father passed away. Inspired by The Sugarhill Gang's famous Rapper's Delight, he took the words "hip hop" from the song and started adding his own words every day, until he eventually made it into something of his own. Next thing he knew, he was 12 years old and freestyling non-stop for 10 minutes straight. The young Egypt would enter rap battles with men twice his age and send them home, red in the face with shock! He was certain of his choice to pursue rapping when, riding his bicycle one day in Vegas, he found a mixtape lying in the middle of the street -- none other than Mac 10's Foe Life; side A of the cassette was the whole song, which he still, to this day, listens to and side B was the beat, which he would freestyle over. His current record for freestyling is one hour and when he gets into rapping battles, we do pity his opponents. He's definitely not one to just freestyle for the sake of nonsensical rhyming though; there is an incredible amount of wit, thought and an astute understanding of what people want -- or need -- to hear that comes out when he gets behind the mic. "I can think like the majority while still being my own minority". In his Vegas days he released a number of singles, one even with the famed Compton-rapper, YG; these days he's freestyling, emceeing and making songs with Bangkok-based duo, HypefreaX.
Our fave song: Bilingual (HypefreaX)
Miyabi
We simply cannot get enough of Miyabi, a Saraburi-born female rapper who has to be one of our favourite female rappers of all time. This girl really has through-the-roof-amazing rhyme and flow. Listening to her spit and speak is like listening to some next-level Thai poetry. Funnily enough, the Thai poetry tradition (klon) had some big influences on Miyabi, as although she always respected it as an art form, she found that the strict structure and rhyme scheme was inhibiting; rebelling against this poetic tradition and breaking out of its stifling mould was probably one of the most beautiful things she could have ever done. Thoughts are what limit her ability to write a rhyme: "I have to stop thinking before I can write". She knew she wanted to rap when she heard one of Thai rapper Fukking Hero's songs called Norn (sleep). Up until that point she always felt Thai rap was superficial and fake, but hearing that song made her realise that Thai hip hop could become something much deeper. So it was then that she decided she wanted to write lyrics that would lift people. And btw, she really does. Her dream was to one day be able to perform with Fukking Hero. That dream became a reality at 21 when she ended up making music with him and touring with him for two years. "We're like brother and sister now. He showed me that I could make money doing what I truly love. If you focus enough, you can make it happen". We find it amazing how she was massively influenced by Japanese culture and hip hop -- hence her name, Miyabi, which means honest and beautiful. Although she never fully understood what he was saying, one of her biggest influences was Japanese rapper Anarchy.
Our fave song: Woman Rider
