Editor's note: Today, Chinese rap musicians are making their voices heard on the global pop music scene. They write about daily life, convey social concern, and passionately express sincere feelings for a city and a dialect. From now on, Nandu and N Video launched the "Rap New Voice" feature to interview rap newcomers who have attracted much attention and love in China. Listening to their stories is also listening to the hearts of this generation of young people.
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At the beginning of September, INTO1-Liu Zhang adapted the "Divine Comedy" "You Laugh So Beautiful" on the variety stage, telling the world through the eyes of autistic patients, and his works were on Weibo hot search. Audiences familiar with domestic rap music quickly noticed that the "Producer" column had Sundae's name written on it.
In the summer of 2020, this little-known post-95 independent musician broke into the public eye with original works such as "Rainy Night Horror" and "Letter from the Academy", and successfully "passed the customs" in "Rap New Generation", and his understanding and care for social reality and strong stage drama tension are his killer skills. So far, these pure editions of the stage have been broadcast tens of millions on the Bilibili website, and the most common sentence in the full screen of the bullet screen is "scalp tingling". After the show, he was given the expectation of "the voice of the times".
In the exchange with the Nandu reporter, Sundai admitted that he often substituted himself into the situation when creating, trying to feel the feeling of the protagonist, so as to write more realistically. When composing songs for autistic people, Liu Zhang once confided in him, "Write yourself into it, the whole person is very emo (emotional)", in fact, Sundae feels that this is a good thing for the creation itself, "To exaggerate, artistic creation is to burn part of his feelings and life, and strive to make the very good works he wants at this stage." I'd rather 'torture' myself like this all the time. ”
Let's take the time machine a little further and see younger sundaes and friends huddled in front of computer screens, when rap culture has not yet been "mainstreamed" in China, and everyone must confirm themselves in addition to seeing the way forward. In the eyes of my friends, the Sundae is the most determined of them.
For Sundae, rap music is his channel of expression, connecting his vision of heroism. "The greater the ability, the greater the responsibility." He only hopes that these sincere expressions will be heard by more people.
Rapper Sundae.
1
Abyss and Light
"I hope that the light on this stage will not only hit me, but shine into all the dark corners." After the song was sung, in a silence, the sundae, dressed in a "sick suit", said so. Then, there was a sigh and a long applause from the entire studio.
This is a limited-time proposition writing contest for Bilibili's "Rap New Generation" in 2020. Sundae originally wanted to write a family letter, but he felt that it was easy to homogenize, so he wrote an "unsuccessful letter" from the perspective of the first person, in addition to reporting "his" recent situation at the boarding school, the first word of each lyric was connected into a hidden letter, which was the frightened protagonist repeatedly apologizing to "Mom and Dad" and asking for help. As the text message was snatched and torn apart, the screeching sound of glass cracking was heard not far away, and eventually, the sundae's character fell on the stage like a force, curled up to the side, no longer struggling.
Some viewers described sundiality as an unstoppable finalist for this performance, and for the entire show, and even the larger category, this stage is special. Before the "Letter from the Academy" "went out of the circle", many domestic audiences did not expect that rap, a "fashionable" and "cool" musical form, could be used to present the pain of others and convey the righteous indignation of the good.
Some of Sundae's works are written "desperately" and depressingly, but he knows in his heart that "gazing into the abyss" is only used as a process and means of creation, "facing the darkness is to better meet the light." ”
He also fell into the abyss of life. At that time, rap music was his "light".
The sundae in life, whose real name is Wang Xisheng, is a very introverted person, and can even be described as "stuffy". He told Nandu reporters that when he first came into contact with rapping, he was still because when he was a child, he saw that many of his classmates around him had specialties and liked music, but "singing is not very good", and slowly found the "strange path" of rap. At that time, his favorite singers were Xu Song and Justin Bieber, and most people would not put them in the rap category, but Wang Xisheng was sensitive to the rhythm of the songs.
In 2015, he was admitted to a university in Hainan, and at the end of the year, he began to create because he "liked a student sister", searching for free beats (accompaniments) on the Internet, "listening to beats write a few lines". After gradually understanding the basic essentials, Wang Xisheng's rap work began to be biased toward expressing his own opinions and speaking out about some social phenomena. He explains: "Because I just started singing, I prefer to listen to songs of this 'expressive' nature, or songs with some depth [in content]." But at that time he wasn't ready to be a full-time musician.
It was his high school classmates and his best and most trusted brother at the time who encouraged him to form a rap group together. At the end of 2017, they set up "FEVER" in their hometown of Xuzhou, and Sundae also followed the advice of his classmates and tried to learn the trap (style) of "more popular and easier to fire at the moment". In this way, I officially began to record songs, had the first audience, brought my own works to participate in commercial performances, and took out the "family base" to rent a studio... Follow the "regular path" of niche musicians and slowly climb up.
Double 2, who was still a rap lover at that time, was because he accidentally watched the performance of FEVER in Xuzhou, and then "joined". Recalling that early days, he was most impressed by sundae's "really talented" - at the beginning, everyone on the team could only write songs, did not understand production, and it cost hundreds of yuan to find someone to help mix, and Sundae bought a music post-production textbook. "After buying the book, everyone couldn't understand it, but after a month, Sundae said he could mix. The trap of our first song, and the Boom bap version, were the first remixes he made. Later, when I was working on some songs, I also found that his ears could hear very small differences, and some of us may not be able to hear them. At that time, I also said to him, 'Brother, you must take this road, you are eating this bowl of rice'. ”
Similar to the entry process for Double 2, Great also went to listen to a live performance at FEVER because the music came together with them. In his view, in addition to being quite talented in music production, Sundae is also very special as a rapper, "His flow (arrangement) is relatively unique, on the one hand, it is very clear, on the other hand, it can combine the pronunciation of Mandarin with flow, which is very good in China." ”
At the turn of the summer and autumn of 2018, Wang Xisheng faced a key choice. The studio rented in Xuzhou expires, he is about to enter the senior year, and there seems to be a little popularity in music, but it is not really famous, is it to return to school, or to "hit the iron while it is hot"? In the end, because of the persuasion of his friends and the support of the audience at that time, he chose to interrupt his studies, "fight together for one year at the end", and used his enthusiasm for music to convince his parents who wanted to stop it.
With no studies and no regular income, Sundae devoted himself to the production of albums. In his own words, "Always show your parents something to prove it." During that time, his friend Double 2 was still in Xuzhou, and when he visited his house, Sundae only had a few dozen yuan left on his body, "even the takeaway had to look at the point." DJ Yone remembers very well that one day she learned that Sundae had not eaten breakfast, so she bought a 6-dollar fried bun to take with her. "After I knocked on the door, he came out of the recording studio 'disheveled' and went back after breakfast to continue listening to beats." And the lunch of the sundae that day was a bowl of cold skin sent by Double 2. Double 2 sighed to the Nandu reporter, "This is not an endless thing, he has no way out, he knows that he really only has to do well, it has nothing to do with anyone, it is his own knowledge." ”
In 2019, Sundae's first solo album "Shining Point" was all produced, and he himself took over all the types of work and processes. Talking about the name, he said: "I hope that life has its own shining point, and it will start again from that time." ”
2
Walk to the front of the stage
In July 2019, Sundae signed a contract with a company. Double 2 remembers sundae being heartened: "There's finally hope!" "But the brokerage cooperation between the two sides was soon unsustainable. In the end, Sundae regained the "free body" by delivering the work.
In 2020, Great and Sundae carefully prepared a rap show together, but unfortunately failed, which made Sundae a little discouraged, "I didn't plan to participate in the show, I planned to precipitate myself and make songs well." At this time, Great found that bilibili's "Rap New Generation" was recruiting contestants, thinking that it was the "last hope", so he pulled sundae to register online, but sundae was lacking in interest: "I am a Virgo, I am more detailed, generally fill in things will be filled in very seriously, but that time I really don't want to go, I filled in very perfunctory, I believe the program team can also see it." It wasn't until later, when I posted a few demos with a more personal style, like "Rainy Night Horror" and "Rejuvenation", that they were interested in me and let me go to the interview. ”
Sundae felt that he might not necessarily go very far on the show "Rap New Generation", because when he arrived at the recording base, the brigade had been training for more than a month and had undergone several rounds of screening. The first official performance was also panicked, and his "Rainy Night Horror" was about to go on stage before it could turn from demo to a complete work.
"When I first started writing this song, I designed it in my head and wanted to make a different chorus. Because almost all the chorus of rap songs now have to be sung, or there is a more brainwashed melody, I deliberately let this song have no chorus, but add various sound effects in this position to create a strong sense of atmosphere. But just thinking about it, there was no time to implement it. Sundae told Nandu reporter, "It wasn't until the time of the competition, when I wanted to sing this work in the first period, that I didn't do those sound effects." Some of them are recorded by myself, and some are materials that I have spent money on online. ”
The first stage of "Rap New Generation" began recording at 5 a.m., and Sundae finished the repertoire at 4 a.m., when he had been working for 24 hours in a row, sleepy to the extreme, wanted to rest for a while, but accidentally overslept, so he had to take a taxi to the recording site. "Then I recorded the show, and it was another 24 hours, which was equivalent to those 48 hours, and I hardly slept much." Sundae had some regrets in his heart, because when it was finally the turn of "Rainy Night's Horror", he did not come up with a good state and played at full level.
But the final presentation of "Rainy Night' Horror" is enough to make a deep impression. In less than 3 minutes, Sundae narrated a school bullying incident that occurred in the alley on a rainy night with different perspectives, the sound of pulling, hitting, shuttering, with his frightened eyes and stumbling steps, directly making the audience at the recording site and in front of the mobile phone screen "immersive", saying that "the sense of substitution is too strong" and "goosebumps fell to the ground"... This is the beginning of the "Sundae Productions" to take its place in the show.
Next, in addition to the drama-style interpretation, he also tried to show a variety of stage styles. For example, before singing "Catherine", a brisk prelude was deliberately compiled, dressed in a suit, holding a rose, and awkwardly dressing himself in front of the mirror, as if staging a mime. In his case, the concept of "works" is infinitely relaxed, and a stage is not only about rapping, but also carefully equipped with different lighting and props for different theme styles. He explained to the Nandu reporter: "In fact, my idea of making songs has not been limited to how 'black afraid', I am just making a piece of music, and I will think more visually and more graphically." ”
Catherine stage.
When Sundae passed the hurdle in the show, many friends "dragged their families with their mouths" and looked forward to it. DJ Yuni described to Nandu reporters: "When he first appeared on camera [in 'Rap New Generation], we were all crying in front of the computer or mobile phone. Everyone was very emotional, and I wrote a huge paragraph to encourage him. After every episode of the show, our group really 'squatted' to watch, 'When will he come out in this issue?' Then they were all forwarding the link, hoping that more people would give him attention and support. ”
Sundae said he "can go anywhere" on the show, but the old friends encouraged him to fight for the championship. A team member admitted, "The further you go back, the more you have a number in mind, whether it is strength, or the theme of the song selection, he is enough." "Or it can be said that everyone hopes that people like Sundae will be rewarded by fate.
Sundae (center) and friends.
Double 2 told Nandu reporter that the group of people who started playing rap together from college, including himself, have not given up music now, and usually get together to talk about these, "but everyone's choice at that time was really different, like the great He had a stable job in Shanghai before, I also went to work after graduating from college, and I didn't rely on music to support myself." Only the sundae did not think of leaving himself at least a way out - I think it is very appropriate to use the 'broken boat' on him. ”
Double 2 said, "If he had given in and not persevered, he would not have come to this day." ”
3
"Sundae"
Sundae's Weibo nickname is still called "Sundae Sundae", a name he changed for himself a few years ago when he found the style he really wanted to do, and it has been used to this day.
"Sundae" is derived from his beloved comic book character "Spider-Man". The superhero is an "ordinary person who runs into walls everywhere in life, his girlfriend is not good with him, and he can't find a job", in the face of all kinds of unsatisfactory life, he does not complain, but always wears a mask and a suit when needed, and enthusiastically defends the world. "I don't think this is something that an ordinary person can do, and it really feels like a 'hero', so I also gave it a name to motivate myself." Wang Xisheng told Nandu reporters.
The "hero" he understands may also have a realistic incarnation, that is, the famous Korean actor Kong Liu.
In 2015, Wang Xisheng, who had just entered freshman year, watched a movie called "The Melting Pot" and learned the story behind the movie. Adapted from the novel of the same name by South Korean writer Kong Ji-yong, "The Melting Pot" is based on the true story of a school for the deaf and dumb in Gwangju and depicts sexual violence in the school. In 2009, Kong Liu was shocked to read this novel, so he took the initiative to contact the author Kong Zhiyong, and ran around, looking for a director and pulling investment, which contributed to the filmization of this literary work. Sure enough, after the film was released, it aroused widespread concern in Korean society. In 2011, South Korea officially implemented the Special Amendment to the Sexual Violence Crimes Act, also known as the "Melting Pot Act.".
"I admire Kong Liu very much, and I hope that I can become such a person." Wang Xisheng said, "That's why I wrote a song like 'Letter from the Academy.' ”
"Heroism" is a word that appears frequently in his microblogs, and in his definition, it probably refers to insisting on what he wants to do in the face of various incomprehensions and even obstacles from the outside world, and doing his best to help others, especially vulnerable groups. As more and more works reflecting realistic concerns appear on the stage, the image of "Sundae" has also been carved clearer and more three-dimensional by the eyes of everyone.
When the spotlight falls on Wang Xisheng, this introverted, inferior boy picks up the microphone, just like Spider-Man puts on a mask, he becomes a "Sundae", a brave voicemaker. But he also stressed to the Nandu reporter that "my positioning of myself is that of an ordinary person" and "the ultimate attribute is a musician". In his view, "speaking out" only stems from the simple sense of justice in ordinary people, just like many netizens will pay attention to current affairs news and feel indignant about unfair things. "Everybody has their own field, and I just use it because I'm good at rapping."
But there is no "mask" in reality, after getting off the stage, Wang Xisheng's positioning of his "ordinary people" sometimes collides with the expectations of the outside world. He confessed to the Nandu reporter that in the face of the sudden increase in fame and popularity, he was very uncomfortable at the beginning, "The gap in attention before and after the program was too big, and I was completely unprepared." For example, a sentence posted on Weibo can be made into "hundreds of reading comprehensions", such as some fragments of their own lives are repeatedly spread as jokes.
"Although everyone loves to play how they want to 'play with the terrier', I will not stop it, but I may be more idealistic in myself." I want you to pay attention to me, purely because of my music..." Sundae also realized that such an attitude was not necessarily "pleasing." He wrote in one lyric: "You don't have to pity me /Lonely and obedient/Fragile heroism." ”
For a while after becoming popular, Sundae really felt that it was difficult to do things, and wanted to withdraw from the public eye, and his old friends were in the eyes. DJ Yuni told Nandu reporter: "He felt that making music should be very pure and free, but after suddenly becoming famous, he found that everything he said needed attention. And Great said, Sundae had a very straight personality, "because he didn't know how to face public misunderstandings, so at that time he lived a little tangled." But now, he's struggling to adjust his mindset, learn to "be a qualified public figure, and try to find a balance.
Sundae fully agrees with the idea that being misunderstood is the destiny of the expressor. He feels that the audience can not be selected, should ask themselves to be more cautious in expression, and try to find a better way to express, "First of all, you have to really understand this content, this point of view is not correct, and then wrap it more in the work, rather than on Weibo 'hard expression', so that it is easier to be accepted by others." 」 The rest, I'll leave it to action and do what I can. ”
Sundae on a solo tour.
After the "Rap New Generation" competition, Sundae donated all the proceeds of his first performance to the shanghai Lianxun Public Welfare Foundation's nutritious meal project for students in poor mountainous areas; in July this year, when Henan suffered a heavy rainstorm, he personally donated 50,000 yuan; not long ago, after helping INTO1-Liu Zhang complete the adaptation stage of "You Laugh So Beautiful", the two discussed and decided to donate all the announcement fees and production fees for this stage.
In an interview with Nandu reporters, Sundae said: "I think it is good for [the outside world] to expect from me, it is a kind of encouragement for me, it can motivate me to work harder to write better things, and remind me to take more responsibility." I want to rely on these concerns of mine to lead everyone to a good place. ”
In the eyes of Great, the heroism of his friend Wang Xisheng is that he believes that "the greater the ability, the greater the responsibility", and has not changed over time.
Producer: Nandu Instant
Writer: Intern Luo Jin Nandu reporter Hou Jingjing
Image courtesy of respondents (some of the infographics are from the Internet)