How a Mandarin Rapper Became a Global Hit I

In Cantonese, 「攬」(laam5) means “to hold” or “to embrace,” but it also carries the nuance of “taking care of everything by oneself”, such as「自己攬晒上身」(zi6 gei2 laam5 saai3 soeng6 san1) .「佬」(lou2) is a term Canton speaker usually apply for describing a adult male, usually with an adjective before it, such as 鬼佬(foreigner), 細佬(junior), 大隻佬(big guy), 大佬(boss). The two characters together「攬佬」(laam5 lou2) haven't been commonly shared in the Cantonese-speaking region. But now it has just gained a universal meaning, which is the new Chinese pop icon, surpassing Jay Chou’s ranking on Spotify, new rap star 攬佬 SKAI IS YOUR GOD(rapper's English name).

SKAI IS YOUR GOD interviewed by《東周網》sharing his journey.

Born and raised in Huizhou(1998), Canton province in mainland China, 攬佬SKAI IS YOUR GOD’s Mandarin rap songs, carried with the particular Canton accent(廣普), recall my memories of having dim sum in a Cha Chaan Teng(茶餐廳), and sometimes the money I lost the only time I went for a gamble in the Hong Kong Jockey Club. His rap weaves together shared memories of the Cantonese-speaking world ( usually the Canton province of mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, and the Canton diaspora communities), the bustle and warmth of everyday life. Through his creative works, he created a portrait of a very down-to-earth vitality that captures contemporary Chinese life.

The inertia of the Asian pop wave in the global scene

W. David Marx has mentioned in his article opening up the first issue of CONG, the Magazine newly published by Serakai Studio this year with a focus on the contemporary asian culture, he dipicted that asian culture has already reached a fully globalised level in the 2010s, which influence is not only limited to the cutting-edge culture, but also a more respective impact in the major areas of Western culture. When we revisit this development, we can trace it back to the 70s when Kenzo Takada opened the store Jungle Jap in Paris. After two decades, the Japanese street fashion and the Hong Kong film industry gained global recognition in the 90s.

The designer has just opened Jungle Jap in passage Choiseul in Paris - 1974

Source: pierrealexandraboulat

By the 2010s, K-pop had further accelerated this process, powered by social media and an industrialised idol-making system, while producing groups like Black Pink, which is a successful example of how K-pop members deviate into global superstars. Social media has created fertile ground for both creators and audiences to remix not only between high and low, but also cultural identities, which blurs the role of creator and audience. This process is bringing the creators globally and encouraging more creativity integrated with artifacts in a wider social context. This new ecology of participation elevated Asian pop into global visibility, allowing artists not just to borrow symbols but to rework traditions into something that resonates across contexts related to the present world. David also predicts that the rise of Chinese pop culture will unfold even faster with the algorithmic amplification of platforms such as TikTok. It is a future that we are already witnessing. 攬佬SKAI IS YOUR GOD came into the spotlight out of the sudden: a wild, rebellious music-maker whose criticality cuts through a society marked by dictatorship, refusing to be confined by grand state narratives.

Jennie BLACKPINK’s solo debut on the Coachella 2025 stage April 13, 2025 source: kapanlagi

Happy Together (Wong Kar-Wai, 1997)

A publicity beyond grand narration

Before COVID-19, when social media and short videos had not yet dominated our communication, the image of “China” among the major global world, whether referring to the nation-state or the broader Chinese culture beyond the PRC(People's Republic of China), was still closely tied to the grand spectacle of the 2008 Beijing Olympics. International publicity focused on slogans like the “four great inventions” and “five thousand years of history.” These ancient achievements, while impressive, were disconnected from modern and contemporary cultural contributions. This gap is one reason why much of the world continues to perceive China as a distant “Far East” civilization, frozen in its antiquity, detached from the global narration.

As part of the global majority, we have every right to critique Western-centric narration. At the same time, we cannot overlook how China’s own outdated approach to cultural publicity has reinforced these perceptions. Given the country’s long-standing tradition of strict content control, offering perspectives that diverge from the official line has, until recently, been nearly impossible.

This highlights an enduring paradox for public figures in China: the need to demonstrate influence while avoiding absorption into the collective goals of a one-party state. In the past, many prominent figures were silenced for crossing the political red lines when addressing social issues or offering personal critiques, such as pop singer Li Zhi and the CCTV host Chai Jing. For the young generation of artists, however, this spell of “tragic narrative” no longer seems to determine their destiny. Their critical voices unfold in ways that are rebellious yet detached from ideology, pushing boundaries without directly confronting political discourse. But is this a result that the younger generation is becoming “smarter”, or is it something else?

‘If you like Chinese, we kiss kiss’: China netizens playfully welcome ‘TikTok refugees’

source: SCMP

A new order emerging from social media?

Within this context, in the case of 攬佬SKAI IS YOUR GOD, his criticality lands in alignment with the nation’s ambition to expand cultural influence, at the same time, unleashed by the control. While the Chinese state has sought for decades to globalize its soft power after years of rapid economic growth, it has rarely succeeded in making a positive international impression. Instead, unexpected shifts in the digital sphere have opened new pathways. When the U.S. government attempted to ban TikTok last year, a failed maneuver in its economic rivalry with China. It ended up with “TikTok refugees” from the US and beyond migrating to Rednote, another social media platform that was only widely used in mainland China.

Ironically, this unintentional migration amplified Chinese cultural visibility more effectively than state-led campaigns. An autonomous exchange of culture and lifestyles quickly became a major trend on Rednote, while US “TikTok refugees” were surprised to encounter a side of contemporary China absent from Western media coverage. On the surface, this looked like a win for China in the ongoing economic war. More fundamentally, however, it suggests that national power is no longer consolidated through official channels but is instead dispersed and continually reshaped through the mass participation of global netizens. In this ecology, SKAI’s critique of Mandarin rappers who imitate Western styles resonates as a call for originality — an assertion of cultural strength that emerges not from state direction, but from grassroots creativity.

Fearless, (Jay Chou, 2006)

Before 攬佬SKAI IS YOUR GOD, Chinese pop culture had already seen decades of attempts to merge “Chineseness” with global pop music. The early 2000s, often remembered as the golden age of Mandarin pop, were dominated by stars like Jay Chou and Wang Leehom. Their “Chinese style” songs introduced traditional Chinese instruments like the guzheng into pop arrangements, and their lyrics frequently drew on historical stories or legendary figures. Yet this aesthetic of Chineseness often functioned more as a cultural ornament than as a deeper integration with critical reflection of contemporary resonance. Therefore, they never had an impact or really participated in the mainstream hip-hop development in a global context.

SKAI takes a different path. He fuses the Cantonese cultural expression with the rhythms and traditions of African American music, which itself is a transcultural creation rooted in Western contexts. But unlike the ornamental approach of earlier Mandarin pop, SKAI’s music grammar and cadence sink deeply into the local life that is happening in the present tense, as inseparable as incense smoke in a Cantonese temple. His style is raw, vulgar, and direct, and because of that, it is both local and international.

Social media has cracked open the monopoly once held by traditional media — in China, a space still dominated by the state. Decentralized platforms let unexpected voices and images leak through the gaps of opaque algorithms. What forms isn’t a single, stable public sphere but something looser and more difficult to control: messy, porous, indifferent. It’s a publicity beyond grand narratives, one that undercuts both state control and Western projections.

TBC…

Reference:

• Planchenault, G., & Poljak, L. (Eds.). (2021). Pragmatics of accents (Pragmatics & Beyond New Series, 327). John Benjamins.

• W. David Marx (n.d.). From exotic to hip: The new predominance of Asian style in global culture. CONG, (1).

• PM玩乐志. "粤剧x嘻哈居然这么炸？揽佬《大展鸿图》音乐大拆解" YouTube, 27 Jun. 2025 ,https://youtu.be/L9yAq5o1K8I?si=7kEt9FWdzxqRxiLT