Hip-hop Music on the Rise in Thailand
2020-01-25
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1New York City, the birthplace of hip-hop music, is thousands of kilometers away and, culturally, very different from northeastern Thailand.
2But for Thai rapper RachYo, the language of hip hop is universal.
3The 18-year-old artist appears in a recent music video recorded in a rice field.
4RachYo is sitting on an old truck, rapping about trouble in a love relationship.
5The video has 57 million views on YouTube.
6"I rap about things that really happen to me," RachYo told the Reuters news agency.
7Based in Thailand's Nakhon Ratchasima province, the rapper says he mostly sings about girls.
8The rising popularity of hip hop in Thailand has created stars that have drawn the attention of music industry leaders.
9Def Jam Recordings is the main hip hop label of Universal Music Group, or UMG, one of the world's three major music corporations.
10Dej Jam produces and publishes the work of some of the most popular hip-hop artists in the United States, including Rihanna, 2 Chainz and Kanye West.
11Last year it opened offices in Thailand and Singapore.
12One of the first artists the company employed after expanding there was Thai rapper DaBoyWay.
13DaBoyWay has 1 million followers on the social media service Instagram, and is releasing a new album on Monday.
14Def Jam has also made agreements with five others from Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia.
15Paul Sirisant heads the label's operations in Bangkok.
16He says Def Jam plans to employ four more Thai artists this year.
17Sirisant noted Thai artists stand out from others in Southeast Asia because the language already includes sounds that rhyme in daily speech.
18Rhyming, or using words or phrases that end in the same sounds, is a major element of hip-hop.
19So rapping in Thai sounds natural, he says.
20The music has spread outside the nation's major cities.
21"Thailand has already tipped in a big way - it's the paddy fields and hip hop," Sirisant said.
22He adds that highly successful rappers can earn millions of dollars in Thailand.
23In 2018, Thai media company Broadcaster Workpoint Entertainment launched a television program called The Rapper.
24Non-professional performers compete in the show to become the next rap star.
25The popularity of The Rapper helped connect the public and hip hop.
26A group called Rap Against Dictatorship released a song in 2018 that received millions of views on YouTube.
27The song included the lyric "either eat the truth or bullets," and criticized the military rule of the country.
28That rule ended in 2019.
29Other new rap in Thailand comes from 19Tyger and H3NRI.
30Their song, Klong Toey is about life in a poor Bangkok neighborhood of the same name.
31Maya Piyapan, 23, says his hip hop group, WARPGVNG, met over the internet and has members from across the country.
32The group, which will perform on January 31, raps about about getting into trouble and problems fame can cause among friends.
33"Labels have reached out to me to help with production and content, but not as an artist" said Maya.
34Production agreements, or record deals, are the dream for many artists, but not for RachYo.
35His recent video Nok, the Thai word for bird, received 80 million YouTube views, more than Thailand's population of nearly 70 million.
36He says he raps to express himself, but he is not interested in a record deal with a label.
37"I like being home, in the country. I don't really like to go anywhere," he said.
38I'm Pete Musto.
1New York City, the birthplace of hip-hop music, is thousands of kilometers away and, culturally, very different from northeastern Thailand. 2But for Thai rapper RachYo, the language of hip hop is universal. 3The 18-year-old artist appears in a recent music video recorded in a rice field. RachYo is sitting on an old truck, rapping about trouble in a love relationship. The video has 57 million views on YouTube. 4"I rap about things that really happen to me," RachYo told the Reuters news agency. Based in Thailand's Nakhon Ratchasima province, the rapper says he mostly sings about girls. 5The rising popularity of hip hop in Thailand has created stars that have drawn the attention of music industry leaders. 6Def Jam Recordings is the main hip hop label of Universal Music Group, or UMG, one of the world's three major music corporations. Dej Jam produces and publishes the work of some of the most popular hip-hop artists in the United States, including Rihanna, 2 Chainz and Kanye West. Last year it opened offices in Thailand and Singapore. 7One of the first artists the company employed after expanding there was Thai rapper DaBoyWay. DaBoyWay has 1 million followers on the social media service Instagram, and is releasing a new album on Monday. Def Jam has also made agreements with five others from Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia. 8Paul Sirisant heads the label's operations in Bangkok. He says Def Jam plans to employ four more Thai artists this year. 9Sirisant noted Thai artists stand out from others in Southeast Asia because the language already includes sounds that rhyme in daily speech. Rhyming, or using words or phrases that end in the same sounds, is a major element of hip-hop. So rapping in Thai sounds natural, he says. 10The music has spread outside the nation's major cities. 11"Thailand has already tipped in a big way - it's the paddy fields and hip hop," Sirisant said. He adds that highly successful rappers can earn millions of dollars in Thailand. 12In 2018, Thai media company Broadcaster Workpoint Entertainment launched a television program called The Rapper. Non-professional performers compete in the show to become the next rap star. The popularity of The Rapper helped connect the public and hip hop. 13A group called Rap Against Dictatorship released a song in 2018 that received millions of views on YouTube. The song included the lyric "either eat the truth or bullets," and criticized the military rule of the country. That rule ended in 2019. 14Other new rap in Thailand comes from 19Tyger and H3NRI. Their song, Klong Toey is about life in a poor Bangkok neighborhood of the same name. 15Maya Piyapan, 23, says his hip hop group, WARPGVNG, met over the internet and has members from across the country. The group, which will perform on January 31, raps about about getting into trouble and problems fame can cause among friends. 16"Labels have reached out to me to help with production and content, but not as an artist" said Maya. 17Production agreements, or record deals, are the dream for many artists, but not for RachYo. His recent video Nok, the Thai word for bird, received 80 million YouTube views, more than Thailand's population of nearly 70 million. 18He says he raps to express himself, but he is not interested in a record deal with a label. 19"I like being home, in the country. I don't really like to go anywhere," he said. 20I'm Pete Musto. 21Chayut Setboonsarng reported this story for the Reuters news agency. Pete Musto adapted it for VOA Learning English. Caty Weaver was the editor. Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page. 22_______________________________________________________________ 23Words in This Story 24rapper - n. a person who performs hip hop music, a kind of music that has words that are spoken with the rhythm instead of being sung 25label - n. a company that produces musical recordings 26element - n. a particular part of something, such as a situation or activity 27tip(ped) - v. to change a situation so that something is more likely to happen 28paddy - n. a wet field where rice is grown 29lyric - n. the words of a song