He grew up in the United States and enrolled in film at university, but he has a great love for music self-taught talent. A multilingual song called "Double Knuckle Stick" made him pay attention to the stage of China's good voice. Jay Chou is full of praise for him, he not only sings Luguang but also studies music creation, whether it is pop, RB, HIPHOP, he can control it in a variety of ways. He also spontaneously directs, writes and directs his own MV, and he is Liu Changyuan. Today's guest Zhang Hengning Artist Studio "Dialogue Star"
Zhang Hengning: When did you start to like HIPOP?
Liu Changyuan: The first time I listened to hip-hop music was in the third grade of elementary school. At that time, Eminem's "Lose Yourself" was very popular in the United States. I liked it at the time, but I didn't really listen to a lot of hip-hop until my sophomore year of high school.
ZHANG Hengning; Do you like HIPOP or pop music yourself?
Liu Changyuan: I like to listen to both of them. If I had to choose, I still prefer hip-hop, but some of the new pop songs that have recently been very popular in the United States can be completely compared. I think in the U.S. lately, pop and hip hop are a lot of times in a song together, like future bass.
Zhang Hengning: What do you think is the difference between domestic pop music and foreign music?
Liu Changyuan: I found that in China, slow songs can be particularly popular. At least in the United States, the kind of slow songs that are a little more classic, like ballad, are now not on fire. Most of them are slightly faster songs.
Zhang Hengning: Did you learn more Chinese words on purpose?
Liu Changyuan: I don't really know that much language. I can speak English, Chinese, and very simple Spanish. In order to write lyrics in those other languages, I asked my friends to help me. I told them what I wanted to say, and they translated it for me in those other languages. I learned how to pronounce it with them, and then slowly put together a song sentence by sentence. The hardest part is finding rhymes in different languages. Many times I would tell my friends what I needed, and then I would say what the last sound of the sentence was, in order to make it easier to rhyme with the lyrics of other languages. I'm happy to meet people from a lot of different national backgrounds in California, like from Russia, South Korea, Iran, Japan, and so on.
Zhang Hengning: Is there a knack for learning a foreign language quickly?
Liu Changyuan: There is no very special haha. The most important part of learning a language is definitely practicing on your own. If you can put yourself in an environment where you don't have to use that language, everyone will progress quickly.
Zhang Hengning: Fans call you Little Sun, do you think this is good?
Liu Changyuan: I think no problem haha. I'm happy that I can reach my musical goals and give my fans better work.
Zhang Hengning: You seem to be very obsessed with film and television recently, have you seen videos of you making music from many countries?
Liu Changyuan: I've always loved film and television and making videos. In fact, my major in college was filmmaking. My school is the Film School of the University of Southern California. Each of my MVs is self-directed. Just like I'm in music, I hope my ability to make videos can get better and better.
Zhang Hengning: Have you ever thought of changing careers to directing?
Liu Changyuan: In the future, I hope to have the opportunity to be a director. Just like my two places in China and the United States, I am particularly fond of both music and film and television. For now, I will continue to make music and make videos, while improving the level of both sides of me, and giving people better works to see and listen to.
Zhang Hengning: Who do you like about foreign artists?
Liu Changyuan: In hip-hop, my favorite when I was a kid was a very classic rapper, like Eminem, Dr. Dre, Tupac. Now love Drake, Migos, Lil Uzi Vert, Kendrick Lamar and many others. I love Bruno Mars, The Weeknd, Jhene Aiko, etc. in pop music. Electronic music loves Porter Robinson, Excision, Above and Beyond. Rock loved Bullit for My Valentine, I See Stars, Attack Attack!
Zhang Hengning: Who do you like about domestic artists?
Liu Changyuan: I like Jay Chou's songs haha. I've never actually heard his songs before I've met him. Only in Chinese class did I hear the teacher play us one or two of his songs. It wasn't until The Voice joined his team that he started listening to his music and learning how good his songs were. In addition to him, I also like Tao Zhe, Fang Datong, and Jiang Yuandong. In hip-hop, I love High Brothers and GAI. I didn't listen to much Chinese music when I was a kid, so I was still learning haha.
Zhang Hengning: I have seen you participate in hip-hop programs, what do you think of China's hip-hop culture?
Liu Changyuan: I think it is developing rapidly now. I love the recently come out of the Chinese style rap, especially the trap plus Chinoiserie songs. Participating in Chinese hip hop ran I found a lot of special dick Chinese rap. From a background that grew up in the United States, I had never had the opportunity to listen to this kind of music before. I think this kind of Chinese style rap is a very dick, a very distinctive thing.
Zhang Hengning: Will you still send songs this year?
Liu Changyuan: Yes. I have plans to release a lot of new songs this year. In addition to the general rap, I also like to do that kind of funny rap. If you are interested, you can go to my Weibo to check it out (@Liu Changyuan Michael). I'll post all my work on that.