It’s been a good year for Kou Chou Ching (拷秋勤), the hip-hop group known for sampling traditional Taiwanese music and rapping in Hoklo (commonly known as Taiwanese) and Hakka. The outfit gained mainstream recognition when its latest album was nominated for several Golden Melody Awards — Taiwan’s equivalent of the Grammy Awards. The group enjoys a steady gigging schedule, and just completed a mini-tour of Tokyo rock clubs at the invitation of Japanese indie label People’s Records.
I met three of Kou Chou Ching’s five members, MCs Fan Chiang (范姜) and FishLin and DJ J-Chen, at a coffee shop near their studio in Shilin (士林). The mild-mannered and down-to-earth MCs, who look and dress like typical university students, quietly teased their slightly goofy DJ, who sported an obvious “hip-hop” look with his trucker’s mesh hat.
Taipei Times: How did Japanese audiences respond to your music?
J-Chen: The audiences didn’t understand the [language] of our music, but they were very willing to listen to the melodies, and move to the beat — this doesn’t happen in Taiwan. In Taiwan, they put their hands under their arms, and mostly just look at you coldly. When we tell them to raise their hands in the air, they’ll raise them but lower them right away. In Japan, they’ll just dance, dance, dance.
TT: Why do Japanese audiences dance so much? Aren’t they in the same position as Taiwanese audience members who don’t understand Hakka, for example?
JC: That’s because of the music, and not because of …
FishLin: ... whether or not you can communicate in the language.
Fan Chiang: [The Japanese seem] to care more about whether the music sounds good or not. In Taiwan, you don’t often get the feeling that people actually enjoy music for the sake of music. For example, say you’re enjoying the music, you might start dancing. This is not as common in Taiwan.
TT: Why is that?
JC: Personality.
FC: The Taiwanese are generally shyer.
FL: If you’re really getting into it and start dancing, people will stare at you.
JC: They’ll think you’re strange … and they’ll take a step back.
FC: Mainly it’s because they’re shy. It’s like in school — when you’re in class and you raise your hand when the teacher asks if there are any questions, people think you’re strange/weird.
TT: But don’t you think this is changing for the better?
JC: Very slowly!
FL: In Taiwan, there are some scenes that are pretty entertaining, with a [good] atmosphere — last year we went to the Taike Rock Concert (台客搖滾嘉年華) ...
JC: Everyone, even the baimin (白民, ordinary folks), enjoyed it.
FC: It’s the same with the Ho-Hai-Yan music festival.
FL: If it’s a more official event held by somebody like the Council for Hakka Affairs or the Government Information Office, not as many people come to hear music — or else they come to listen to Hakka folk music or more normal, intimate music.
As the global hip-hop phenomenon has made a clear mark on the fashion and pop music industries, Kou Chou Ching has distinguished itself by defying the genre’s conventional stereotypes. There is no “gangsta” romance in their music; instead they rap about how Taiwanese kids need to avoid violence. There is little desire for bling and wealth. The group is preparing to sell its own line of hip-hop clothing, but with the profits marked for charity organizations and NGOs. Yet, the group’s members do not dwell on what sets them apart; their main interest lies in all things music.
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