40 the pulse THE MYANMAR TIMES JULY 29 - AUGUST 4, 2013 THE PULSE EDITOR: MANNY MAUNG manny.maung@gmail.com E G T Y O U R F I N G E R S O N I T Myanmar hip-ho meets the NATHALIE JOHNSTON YANGON-BASED hip-hop artist J-Me has been a ma<strong>in</strong>stay <strong>in</strong> Myanmar’s music scene for nearly a decade now, long enough to provide <strong>in</strong>spiration for a whole new generation of rappers. Among the up-and-comers <strong>in</strong>fluenced by J-Me is Jock, a flourish<strong>in</strong>g MC himself. Jock was an athlete <strong>in</strong> high school, hence his artist name. Now he is prepar<strong>in</strong>g to take his SATs and go to college, but not before mak<strong>in</strong>g serious moves <strong>in</strong> the Yangon hip-hop scene. “I want lyrics to be real. Talk about the problems today. I want them to send a message,” Jock says. At just 19 years old, one of his songs has recently been chosen as the anthem for Myanmar athletes at the upcom<strong>in</strong>g SEA Games, scheduled to be held <strong>in</strong> Myanmar <strong>in</strong> December. Titled “Born to W<strong>in</strong>”, the track features s<strong>in</strong>ger Zara Hn<strong>in</strong> Thw<strong>in</strong> on vocals and Jock rapp<strong>in</strong>g about “persistence” <strong>in</strong> a dedication to the young athletes and their fans, an honour sure to skyrocket Jock to fame. However, he sticks close to the underground, which <strong>in</strong> Myanmar refers to <strong>in</strong>dependent producers, DJs and MCs creat<strong>in</strong>g a refuge of melodious beats and serious lyrics without all the limitations of pop music. “Hip-hop as pop” acts have risen to fame <strong>in</strong> recent years thanks to Myanmar’s youth. Teens aged 13 to 18 frequent group shows held <strong>in</strong> parks like Myaw S<strong>in</strong> Kyun <strong>in</strong> Kandawgyi Park. The spectacle is jarr<strong>in</strong>g. With not a longyi <strong>in</strong> sight, young boys and girls flash their brand new hats, jewellery, skirts and heels, and “jump around” with stars like Sai Sai, Bunny Phyoe and Snare – the latter be<strong>in</strong>g a hip-hop duo who don gold cha<strong>in</strong>s and match<strong>in</strong>g shirts, their “dirty lyrics” most closely resembl<strong>in</strong>g American gangsta rap, characterised by a repetitive choruses and boom<strong>in</strong>g bass l<strong>in</strong>es. Because these pop artists cater to an age group born long after the birth of hip-hop, the requirements of old-school fans no longer apply. Pop is not about a subculture of messages or orig<strong>in</strong>ality. For the most part, it covers love, sex, money and fame. Pop artists often usurp a beat and melody from a previously recorded track. While sampl<strong>in</strong>g another artist’s beats is considered a neutral homage to its orig<strong>in</strong>al producer, more local musicians are realis<strong>in</strong>g that cover songs must become a th<strong>in</strong>g of past. Like J-Me says, “You gotta plant your own seed and watch it grow, yo.” Asked about the chang<strong>in</strong>g scene, underground artists have expressed disappo<strong>in</strong>tment not only <strong>in</strong> their fellow rappers but also <strong>in</strong> the young men and women follow<strong>in</strong>g the recent “swag” trend, which focuses on <strong>person</strong>al appearance over substance. Jock wants th<strong>in</strong>gs to rema<strong>in</strong> respectful, say<strong>in</strong>g, “It has to be about the beats, your skills and the people … not [forgett<strong>in</strong>g] your culture by dress<strong>in</strong>g too sexy.” Not just <strong>in</strong> Myanmar but the world over, underground hip-hop artists agree that some musicians have lost their soul, forgett<strong>in</strong>g why the marriage of DJ and MC was created <strong>in</strong> the first place. In the past 15 years, artists like Zeyar Thaw and other members of Myanmar’s first hip-hop group, Acid, have been considered <strong>in</strong>spirational because of their social activism – marry<strong>in</strong>g traditionally Western hip-hop beats with issues close to the hearts of people <strong>in</strong> Myanmar. Zeyar Thaw eventually became a politician, and a few other members As they <strong>in</strong>crease their connectio <strong>in</strong>ternational community of music underground hip-hop artists rem the need to stay true to their ow of the group started campaigns <strong>in</strong> the country’s border regions, promot<strong>in</strong>g social movements and music. Slightly younger than the first generation, J-Me has been rapp<strong>in</strong>g and beat-box<strong>in</strong>g for almost 10 years; even his older sister used to breakdance back <strong>in</strong> the 1990s. He is now one of the leaders of the grow<strong>in</strong>g underground subculture of Myanmar, <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g graffiti artists and political activists. Now that censorship laws have relaxed and an open-door policy has been adopted, there is more exposure to other hip-hop scenes. So what do the young MCs of Myanmar listen to? “Oh you know, Em<strong>in</strong>em, Afrika Bambaataa, Rakim, Bone Thugs … all the old school stuff when lyrics meant someth<strong>in</strong>g,” J-Me says. One of J-Me’s English-language songs, titled “Burn ’em up”, gives a shout-out not only to US artists Fabolous, Ryan Leslie and Nas but also to the city of Bangkok, a grow<strong>in</strong>g centre <strong>in</strong> Southeast Asia that promotes <strong>in</strong>ternational hip-hop far better than Yangon or Mandalay. Br<strong>in</strong>g<strong>in</strong>g an <strong>in</strong>ternational community to the doorstep of Myanmar’s hip-hop scene, he raps: “I feel so blessed/I feel like Loso and R-Les/I went to see Nas <strong>in</strong> Bangkok at a hiphop fest.” Language and understand<strong>in</strong>g make a big difference <strong>in</strong> terms of <strong>in</strong>fluence. Lyrics create a feel<strong>in</strong>g of solidarity with rappers from the United States and the United K<strong>in</strong>gdom. More importantly, hip-hop lovers identify with artists who rap about people, hardship and change, someth<strong>in</strong>g Myanmar artists know all too well. The underground also focuses more on grassroots methods of produc<strong>in</strong>g, mix<strong>in</strong>g, sampl<strong>in</strong>g and open shar<strong>in</strong>g via social media tools like Media Fire, Facebook and the Myanmar Hip-Hop Channel. Today J-Me and his Mandalaybased counterparts Bigg-Y, Don Wareru and many others produce, rap, write, direct and <strong>in</strong>spire an entire generation of up-and-com<strong>in</strong>g artists who want to stay true to their culture and their love of hip-hop. “Some Thai hip-hop is good lyrically, but the DJs aren’t do<strong>in</strong>g their jobs,” J-Me says. “We don’t want hip-hop to be about play<strong>in</strong>g Grandmaster Flash mixed with Lady Gaga. We want the pure th<strong>in</strong>g, especially at a time when Myanmar is open<strong>in</strong>g up to the world.” Hip-hop is a chameleonic medium – practiced the world over with different <strong>in</strong>terpretations. Be<strong>in</strong>g connected to the outside worlds of hip-hop might just make Myanmar’s underground scene stronger, as long as they can use their own filter to determ<strong>in</strong>e what is worth re<strong>in</strong>vent<strong>in</strong>g. In other words, spread the love, ya’ll. Nathalie Johnston is an <strong>in</strong>dependent art researcher based <strong>in</strong> Yangon with a Masters <strong>in</strong> contemporary Southeast Asian art history. She can be reached at nathalie.johnston@ gmail.com. J-Me performs live <strong>in</strong> Yangon. Photo: Staff
www.mmtimes.com p “We don’t want hip-hop to be about play<strong>in</strong>g Grandmaster Flash mixed with Lady Gaga. We want the pure th<strong>in</strong>g, especially at a time when Myanmar is open<strong>in</strong>g up to the world.” J-Me Hip-hop artist the pulse 41 world ns with the ians, local a<strong>in</strong> sensitive to n culture Cover art for J-Me’s 2011 album Bawa Ye Nate Ban.
Change language