There's the homage to dead homies in Peaceful World (和平世界), the celebration of thug life in Storm (風爆), the sentimental lament of hard times in the ghetto in You Killed Me (你殺了我), the declaration of inner-city realpolitik in Money, Money, Money and the party anthem In Da Club.
Sandwiched between these there's even a gospel-heavy nod to the occasional religiosity of rappers called Faith (信仰) with a straightforward chorus that reassures "Yes Jesus loves me/Yes Jesus loves me/Yes Jesus loves me."
The Jesus part, though, is actually quite dear to Scottie, who is a mix of Paiwan, Rukai and Hakka and grew up Protestant, and to Michael, who said religion helped extract him from a life of petty crime and mafia connections while growing up in the US and South Korea (he's half Korean, half Swedish). Having brought up his past, Michael and then the others again piped up to restate the fact that any connection to gangs was long since cut and that they are not gangsters. Right. They're a boy band whose selling-point is their rough edge.
Their eponymous album, while a collection of familiar mainstay hip-hop scenarios, is impressively arranged and produced. Fang Wen-shan (方文山), who's written several of Jay Chou's (周杰倫) hit singles, has credits on three of the album's songs and the budget that was thrown into its production -- including a 30-minute film that's bundled with the CD -- is clearly astronomical for an album sung in almost equal part in Mandarin, English and French. Vince is half French and cuts loose with violent gangsta-style Parisian-accented lyrics, though he actually grew up in the sticks of central France.
When I mention that, despite the lyrics, the guys in the band don't come across as very tough, they seem pleased. "We don't want to," said Vince.
"The whole point is that in Taiwan you still have to come across as friendly. You can't come across as, you know, tough. Look at Hollywood actors. They are tough in the movies, but in life they can't be that way. There are some that are tough, but who likes them? If you do that, people just think, oh, you're all fake," Michael said.
The acting analogies by this point had convinced me that Iron Bamboo are first and foremost in show business and as with any business, there are inherent risks that come with an investment. Michael said reactions to the album had generally been positive, while Vince, when asked if he thought sales would take off, just said, "I hope so."
Then Scottie, who, along with Jason, had remained mostly silent throughout the whole interview sat up and said, "People in Taiwan need to hear something new. They're sick of the `I love you, you love me' ballads. Look at Wu Bai (伍佰). The reason he's been around so long is because he's always done different stuff. That's all we're trying to offer."
And with that, he stood up and excused himself so he could rush to Fu-Jen Catholic University to write an end-of-semester exam.
Fair enough. Like Michael had said, they're just a bunch of singers struggling to make a living and if their image is a front, at least they're not afraid to admit it.
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