YOUNG KIN - MANDARIN RAPPER

"On one hand we are restricted by censorship and on the other hand we can't be too ahead of our time, if we intend to make it big. Therefore I say we are in no way free to express whatever we think, if we are bound to success. We're very restricted and it sucks. It means more hard work. Ultimately it makes you smarter but it's tiering. Then again, I have a chance at manifesting my childhood dream, so who am I to complain?

What is your favorite topic to rap about and which dialect you speak?

"I rap in mandarin, the official language of the PRC. My favorite topic is human behavior and feelings, weather it is my behavior, the way I act or feel or how others act. Lately I've been noticing how foul we actually treat each other. It's quite scary but it is our responsibility as artists to raise awareness to the fact that we won't get anywhere as a whole if we keep on cheating and playing each other.

"I used to be a battle MC, so I used to just pack my verse with punchlines until I notices I'm not really saying anything but you ain't shit and I'm the bomb. Then I turned back to what I started with. Simply expressing my feelings."

How about developing a flow in your language? Was that difficult?

"It wasn't that difficult at the start because I had a good mentor, Sbazzo from Yin Ts'ang. Now it's getting harder because I try hard to keep it fresh. Chinese people seem to have short concentration spams, when it comes to music, so you have to switch it up a lot, which is hard. Mandarin is a tonal language, so you can't play as much with the vowels but there's ways to make it work.

"Also, it is lonely at the top when most people who are at the same level see you as competition. Beijing is full of hate and envy. It seems to be an everyday fact we have to come to terms with. I love repping my city but the negativity gets to me sometimes."

What do you expect from the future of Chinese rap?

"I don't expect it to blow up like everyone else says. Unless one of us drops another track like "Made in China" and manages to get it released nationwide, we'll fail and real hip hop will always be underground."

Do you have a hip hop hero?

"Redman's my favorite rapper. Talib Kweli was in my studio this year, he seemed like very articulate, hard working and keen minded guy, which really impressed me. I want to aspire to that. However I don't really have a hip hop hero."

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