Malaysian hip hop
Encyclopedia
History
The Malaysian hip hopHip hop
Hip hop is a form of musical expression and artistic culture that originated in African-American and Latino communities during the 1970s in New York City, specifically the Bronx. DJ Afrika Bambaataa outlined the four pillars of hip hop culture: MCing, DJing, breaking and graffiti writing...
scene started in 1990s with rap groups such as KRU
KRU
KRU is a Malaysian pop group that was formed in 1992. The group comprises three brothers: Norman Abdul Halim, Yusry Abdul Halim and Edry Abdul Halim...
, 4U2C and NICO, but their so-called "Rap music" wasn't accepted by the mainstream community and so they had to changed to a more pop-ish sound. At around the same time, another group called Krash Kozz were the only group to introduce the New Jack Swing
New jack swing
New jack swing or swingbeat is a fusion genre spearheaded by Teddy Riley and Bernard Belle which became extremely popular from the late-1980s into the mid-1990s. Its influence, along with hip-hop, seeped into pop culture and was the definitive sound of the inventive Black New York club scene...
hip hop sound to Malaysian listeners, but they disbanded after their first album. Those were trying times, when the pioneers of the local hip hop scene were trying hard to break monotony of rock music, love ballads and pop sounds, which are staples in the Malaysian music scene, with the fans of these genres refusing to accept this new form of music. However, the younger generation, especially those in the urban areas, were more curious and receptive; they were more positively in-tuned to receive this new culture that was creating waves across the globe, which was further expedited and cemented by the introduction of records from American hip hop artists like the N.W.A, Brand Nubian
Brand Nubian
Brand Nubian is an American hip hop group from New Rochelle, New York, consisting of three MC's: Grand Puba , Sadat X and Lord Jamar , and two DJs: DJ Alamo and DJ Sincere...
, Gang Starr
Gang Starr
Gang Starr was an influential East Coast hip hop duo that consisted of the late MC Guru and DJ/producer DJ Premier. Their style combined elements of New York jazz and hip hop.-Background:...
, Cypress Hill and many others.
The Malaysian music scene was dominated by these poppy-sounding groups until 1995-1996, when Poetic Ammo
Poetic Ammo
Poetic Ammo was a Malaysian rap/hip-hop group. The group consisted of Yogeswaran Veerasingam , Chandrakumar Balakrishnan , Nicholas Ong , and Sashi Kumar Balakrishnan Poetic Ammo (previously known as PMO or Poetic Ammunition) was a Malaysian rap/hip-hop group. The group consisted of Yogeswaran...
, composed of of Yogi B, Point Blanc, C. Loco & Land Slyde, came out with their classic album It's a Nice Day to Be Alive. Their first hit, "Everything Changes" revolutionized the local music industry. There were also groups from the underground scene that have established themeselves such as Naughtius Maximus, but it was Poetic Ammo that "made it big". Eventually, the group split up, with each members pursuing solo directions & found success in their own right.
One of the "powerhouses" of hip hop
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
in Malaysia is Too Phat
Too Phat
Too Phat is a Malaysian hip-hop duo, consisting of Joe Flizzow and Malique Ibrahim .-Career:...
, which consists of Malique and Joe Flizzow. They were signed to EMI International's Positive Tone
Positive Tone
Positive Tone is a Malaysian music production house and it is a subsidiary of EMI Malaysia Sdn Bhd. Some of the company's famous act includes Too Phat, Poetic Ammo, Juliet the Orange, Red Hot Reiner Peppers and Innuendo. The current Managing Director is Darren Choy....
division and produced their first hit album, Whutadilly and their first single was "Too Phat Baby" featuring Ruffedge. Their Plan B album was a hit, with songs such as "Anak Ayam" and "Just a Friend" featuring V.E. receiving massive air play by local stations.
After Too Phat's success other underground groups such as Muchachaz, M.O.B and The Teh Tarik Crew have followed in their footsteps, eventually forming The Phat Family.
Notable hip hop groups and artists that have emerged onto the scene are Altimet, MizzNina, Reefa, Junior Hustle, K-Town Clan, KLG Sqwad, Hyperkinetix, Chakra Sonic, Bionic Asura, Rabbit Mac of Psycho Unit & PsychoMantra who are among the established hiphop artists. A growing stable of underground acts with different approaches to the genre are also steadily coming up on the local music scene.
Malaysia also boosts a number of established hip hop producers such as Yogi B, Dr.Burn, Emcee Jesz [G Soul (who goes under the aliases Qumran and BlissKid), Damien Shorty Soul, Cat, D'Navigator, T Bone, Goldfish, Dr.Anba / Big E.G.O., Merp Premo, KC Sash, Psycho Unit & PsychoMantra.
Growth
It was Too Phat that influenced the growth of hip hop in Malaysia. After the release of Plan B, the duo came up with another album titled 360 Degrees, which boasted the single Just A lil Bit, featuring international rapper Warren GWarren G
Warren G , is an American West Coast rapper and hip hop producer. He is also Dr. Dre's half-brother.His biggest hit is the song "Regulate" with Nate Dogg released in 1994...
of 213 Long Beach, California
Long Beach, California
Long Beach is a city situated in Los Angeles County in Southern California, on the Pacific coast of the United States. The city is the 36th-largest city in the nation and the seventh-largest in California. As of 2010, its population was 462,257...
, followed by their final album before both went on as solo artists, Rebirth Into Reality. It was released in 2006,injecting new school Hip hop in Malaysia as contrast to their previous albums which were very much 90's hip-hop. The duo came up with fitted caps with KL Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur is the capital and the second largest city in Malaysia by population. The city proper, making up an area of , has a population of 1.4 million as of 2010. Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 7.2 million...
sewed on the front of it, showing much love for the city they represent. During this period, Joe Flizzow
Joe Flizzow
Johan bin Ishak , better known by his stage name Joe Flizzow, is an award-winning Malaysian hip hop artist and businessman. He is one half of the internationally renowned Malaysian hip hop duo, Too Phat - the most successful hip hop act to ever emerge from Malaysia...
, one half of Too Phat, founded the record label called Kartel Records, (which further formed the ever-so-popular shout out "KARTELLO HELLO".) Rebirth into Reality was the duo's final album as a group.
Shows such as Blast Off (organised by Astro Malaysia) and Gangstarz (TV3 Malaysia) gave birth to another generation of hip hop, with groups such as the collectively formed Flow Fam and the first ever champion of Blast Off (group category), K-Town Clan. At about the same time, rapper MC Syze came up with a single that took Malaysia by storm which was Dancing, produced by V.E's Damian "Shorty Soul".
As solo artists, Joe Flizzow continued with Kartel Records while Malique, started his own independent label named Qarma Music. Malique's first solo album, OK, was a major success, boasting singles such as Mantera Beradu featuring M. Nasir
M. Nasir
Mohamad Nasir Mohamad or M. Nasir , is a Malaysian poet, singer-songwriter, composer, producer, actor and film director.-Career:...
and Kau Yang Punya featuring Najwa. Both singles hit number one on local charts and retained their spot for a relatively long period of time. Joe Flizzow followed suit with his solo album President, with also chart topping singles such as Do It Duit and Isabella.
Joe grew his Kartel label by signing other local acts such as MC David, Sona One, Richard J from Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
, Mic Bandits from Brunei
Brunei
Brunei , officially the State of Brunei Darussalam or the Nation of Brunei, the Abode of Peace , is a sovereign state located on the north coast of the island of Borneo, in Southeast Asia...
, DJ Iman, Sakti (Kartel's first non-hip hop
Hip hop
Hip hop is a form of musical expression and artistic culture that originated in African-American and Latino communities during the 1970s in New York City, specifically the Bronx. DJ Afrika Bambaataa outlined the four pillars of hip hop culture: MCing, DJing, breaking and graffiti writing...
band), Altimet from Teh Tarik Crew (one of the most successful hip hop
Hip hop
Hip hop is a form of musical expression and artistic culture that originated in African-American and Latino communities during the 1970s in New York City, specifically the Bronx. DJ Afrika Bambaataa outlined the four pillars of hip hop culture: MCing, DJing, breaking and graffiti writing...
groups during the rise of Malaysian Hip Hop
Malaysian hip hop
-History:The Malaysian hip hop scene started in 1990s with rap groups such as KRU, 4U2C and NICO, but their so-called "Rap music" wasn't accepted by the mainstream community and so they had to changed to a more pop-ish sound...
), and DJ CZA from Ahli Fiqir.
Malique signed Ariz under his Qarma label.
See also
- Music of MalaysiaMusic of MalaysiaMusic of Malaysia is the generic term for music that has been created in various genres in Malaysia. A great variety of genres in Malaysian music reflect the specific ethnic groups of multiracial Malaysian society consisting of Malay, Chinese, Indian, Iban, Dayak, Kadazandusun, Eurasians and other...
- Malaysian popMalaysian popMalaysian pop or abbreviated as M-pop refers to popular music forms in Malaysia. The Malaysian pop is a musical genre consisting of pop, rock, hip hop, electronic, and R&B music.-Background:...