Who is masta mic

He spent most of his time rapping in his room. In his third year, he decided to abandon his degree. At first he was not sure if he really had the commitment but the voice would not go away.

He dropped out and returned to Hong Kong. Without academic or professional qualifications, MastaMic had to push forward with his plan. Hong Kong audiences had not seen freestyle rappers performing in the street before. He says they had no idea what he was doing.

MastaMic says Hong Kong audiences did not respect rapping as an art form and the situation still has not changed. He gets annoyed when he performs in shows where he is asked to rap about anything on demand, including about other participants. It all stems from a lack of respect for and understanding of hip-hop that extends to the music industry. MastaMic was invited to join a record label, CMD, in but it was a move he regrets because the company was not willing to invest resources to nurture him.

In striking out on his own, he trades resources for freedom. The budget for production is tight and he always has to strike a balance between artistic choices and financial constraints. The small scale of the company also makes it harder to reach out to different media and other organisations. Not that it is ever easy to promote hip-hop in Hong Kong, something that is a source of frustration for MastaMic. He recalls that once, when he was performing in a bar, the audience started heckling and hissing when the host introduced him as a Cantonese rapper.

What are you grumbling about? Unlike South Korea and Japan, he says hip-hop may have never taken root in Hong Kong because there has been less influence from American culture.

South Korea and Japan both have American military bases with military personnel stationed there. In contrast, he says Hong Kong was a British colony and has been more influenced by British and European art and culture. Making music in Hong Kong is one thing; making a living from making music in Hong Kong is another. MastaMic works with other artists and for commercial clients.

He says clients put many constraints on the work, such as the content and length. Because they only listen to the client. MastaMic is perhaps best known to general audiences for his popular annual music series, Rap Up, which he started in Rap Up has been well-received but also attracted criticism for being a bit stale in recent years. He dismisses such barbs, explaining that outsiders cannot understand the difficulties and limitations as they are not involved in the process.

It takes MastaMic a month to complete his opus. He has to sift through a mountain of news and decide what to include. Then he has to describe each item in around two sentences — including the what? On top of that he has to keep tabs on the speed and length of the track, and how that will be perceived by listeners. There is a lot of work involved in each Rap Up and next year will probably see the last in the series. They have performed in many shows and guest appearances for various occasions in China and Hong Kong.

His impeccable flow, strong voice and clever word play has wowed crowds and earned respect from the likes of Jin and many MCs and DJs. There is no stopping him now. You can check out my news here www. New users - Join the alivenotdead. Returning users - Please use with the same authentication service to login to your alivenotdead. First time users can create a new account from scratch by authenticate using any of the following trusted services:.

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