Rap of China cuts curses, lyrics that promote vices
BEIJING: How does rap sound when you exclude profanities and lyrics that promote vices?
Tune in to Rap of China to find out whether your eyebrows rise, or your jaws drop.
“The new season of The Rap of China will be younger, more Chinese- style, more diverse, more positive and more trendy,” said iQiyi CEO Gong Yu. The platform is streaming the show.
Hip-hop in China is still hip, but Beijing has been hopping mad over lyrics that promote misogyny and drug use.
The second season of The Rap of China shall be streamed by iQiyi this weekend — with a new focus on positivity.
“We believe ‘ China Has Hip Hop’ accomplished its historical task by introducing hip hop music to the Chinese public. ‘China New Rap’ is going to be a whole new show in which we will continue to explore what responsibilities rappers should shoulder after they make their public debut,” Rap of China producer Chen Wei told members of the media.
The second season debuts tomorrow under a new Chinese name: Zhongguo Xin Shuochang ( lit. China New Rap), instead of the first season’s Zhongguo You Xiha (China Has Hip Hop).
According to the show’s producers, the name change was to emphasise the show’s new direction instead of, as many social media users have speculated, an attempt to avoid censorship by Beijing.
Starting from the show’s first
The new season of The Rap of China will be younger, more Chinese-style, more diverse, more positive and more trendy. Gong Yu. iQiyi CEO
round of auditions, the team this year focused more time and effort into examining candidates’ history and “unhealthy habits,” according to an article from Chinese music industry news site China Music Business – probably to prevent the entry of yet another PG One, the champion of the show’s first season whose songs were removed from Chinese streaming platforms in January after social media users accused him of insulting women and promoting drug use with his hip hop song “Christmas Eve.”
In May, the show released a 28- second promotional video that features Chinese singer/ actor and returning first season judge Kris Wu stating that the show will “demonstrate positive energy and lofty emotions through rapping” – also one of the show’s new slogans that have frequently appeared in advertising campaigns.
“We will also introduce a lot of Chinese elements in rap music, which will hopefully give audiences a fresh impression of our show,” Rap of China director Che Che said at the launch.