Just a few years ago, hip-hop was alien to the pop culture of Taiwan but it has quickly become mainstream, so much so that some big name artists have begun to absorb it into their music.
Rappers like Dog G have started to make a big impression around the country because of his outspokenness and willingness to deal with the problems that confront today's youth, especially anti-establishment ideas.
"I love to let people know what I feel about the society through rapping," said Dog G, a 185cm, 125kg Taiwanese rapper whose stage name Da Zhi (
A former judoka who almost made it to the Asian Games and is now in his sixth year of college, Dog G, with an oversize jersey, a light-blue truck cap and baggy jeans sat on a sofa at Starbucks. He told Taipei Times, that what counts most for hip-hoppers is authentically speaking their true feelings toward the whole world.
Adding some local flavor, Dog G has garnered credit from a huge number of hip-hop addicts. One of them is Warren Shen (
A member of a hip-hop dancing group, Shen is doing quite well here in Taiwan. But when he was roaming hip-hop bars in Shibuya, he was totally stunned by the "unbelievable" hip-hoppers' rap and dancing he saw on display.
"I can only say sayonara, but I was overwhelmingly touched by their beats, swings and above all, genuineness," Shen said.
By using traditional Japanese instruments, hip-hop artists were not "entertainers," but "soul channels," Shen said.
Hip-hop in Japan was summed up by Shen with two words: "delicate and creative."
Japan has developed its own unique hip-hop culture, Shen said, and in Taiwan, by depicting everyday life here and brandishing a local anti-establishment tang, Dog G has started his hip-hop career with Taiwanese gusto.
The 24-year-old son of a policeman and a primary school teacher in Tainan, where he was born, Dog G believes his hometown is the cradle for street culture and the mecca of hip-hop in this country.
It's too bad that people think Taipei is the hub for "hip-hop evolution," Dog G explained, insisting that Tainan, where he runs a hip-hop clothing shop with a studio teaching people street dance and graffiti, is now "chock-full with incredible hip-hoppers."
As Dog G is working hard to show his local flavor, however, a young hip-hop critic, who described himself as a "hip-hop fundamentalist," has a different view.
"The root of hip-hop culture here is unfortunately distorted," said Hsu Yi-jay (徐裕傑), a hip-hop maven who runs a small hip-hop record store inside a cramped alley in downtown Taipei. Although there is not a label specializing at producing home-grown hip-hop records, Hsu said, people can easily find hip-hop flavors on albums of many singers, including as Coco Lee (李玟) or Jay Chou (周杰倫).
Shortee to his friends, Hsu said although hip-hop is now a popular term, few people really understand the essence of it.
Rap, a great way to express one's hip-hop style, is only one category of hip-hop culture, which is a broader concept of lifestyle, Shortee said. He added that rap cannot stand for all of hip-hop.
"If you ask people here what hip-hop is, I can guarantee that the answers would be something about rap music," grumbled Shortee in his small store, Da Project Records, where he displays over 500 hip-hop CDs and LPs.
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