Author/Wu Liqian Editor/Prince Source/Star Capital (id: mingxingzibenlun)
Who would have thought that in the sixth year of "Singer", it was Gai's eye makeup that snatched Wang Feng's headlines.
Obviously, gai is the most careful, contrasting and successful character building in the first phase of "Singer".
From the soft and humble appearance when he appeared, to confessing his hiphop to teach himself to learn to be a man, to the "Laughing in the Sea" that performed the most heroic and exaggerated advantages on stage, and then to shyly hugging Zhang Shaohan "blushing to the root of the neck", such a gai is simply not too circle powder!
A Laugh Gai - Singer Season 2 Issue 1
Well congratulations To Zhou Yan, from @gai ye only recognizes money, successfully attacked for the real @ super invincible gai.
Weibo since the black play of 6, passers-by have exclaimed: it seems that the social gai, but so cute!
Many people say that Gai attacked the mainstream, and his boss and behind-the-scenes promoter Liu Zhou were indispensable.
Liu Zhou is the music director of "China Has Hip Hop" and the first positioning producer in China. Previously, he served as a producer for Tan Weiwei, Han Hong, Zhang Jie and others in previous seasons of "Singer".
Why did you choose gai? Liu Zhou opened the door: "He is China's own hip-hop system, gai in this market, he has exported his own set of survival methods." ”
Gai once publicly thanked Liu Zhou: "This man gave me everything." Although the two sides have a close relationship, Liu Zhou does not think so, he told Xiaoxing with a smile: "One day in the future, he may say, I am not the person who gives him everything, it is his parents who give him everything." ”
In Liu Zhou's music room, we had an in-depth chat about how he operated gai, how he ran the first family-owned hip-hop label in China, door&key, and how he intends to build a business empire around the hip-hop industry in the future.
In just half a year, how did gai attack the mainstream?
At first, Hong Tao called Liu Zhou to inquire about gai.
Those familiar with "Singer" know that it will pick a singer who represents the core culture of the nation every year, and it just so happens that the hip-hop genre represented by gai is loved by young people, and the two sides quickly reached a cooperation.
Why send gai to "Singer"?
Liu Zhou said frankly: "After all, he is still a newcomer, and he still needs to go to a bigger stage and learn from the strong, to test, but also to experience." ”
As for why gai's debut will sing "A Laugh in the Sea"?
Liu Zhou told Star Capital (mingxingzibenlun): "For most Chinese audiences, the theme song of Wuxia Hong Kong film is the most influential and touching. Gai and I both like the works of Teacher Huang Chen, and we still reshape the things that let China's post-00s and post-90s hear literary and cultural connotations. ”
The first song is selected correctly, how to continue to break through in the follow-up? According to Liu Zhou, "Gai represents China's benevolence, righteousness, and wisdom, and I will let him enjoy playing, to experience, to grow, and hope to bring new things to everyone." ”
Back to the beginning, many people wondered, why did Liu Zhou look at gai?
In fact, as the music director of "Hip Hop", Liu Zhou watched gai's audition scene and took a look at his style, "it can carry Chinese local culture." Liu Zhou realized early on that hip-hop is an imported product, "We can't play with foreigners behind their butts all day long, we have to have something to put it on the ground, in line with the tastes of Chinese audiences and resonate with Chinese audiences." ”
Just like the blockbuster production of "Huayin Old Style" for Tan Weiwei, Liu Zhou knows the importance of using music to inherit Chinese culture. During the "Hip Hop" competition, he re-arranged "Hot Pot Base" for gai, which helped it become a hit, and the song also successfully rushed to the top of the music hit list.
However, many of the works that Liu Zhou and Gai have cooperated with have also been diss as "China has mountain songs".
Taking "Hot Pot Base" as an example, Liu Zhou added the element of sighing to this song. Liu Zhou smiled without anger: "Many people say that it is too earthy, and it sounds like the Phoenix Legend." But have you ever thought that China's current understanding of rap is equivalent to kindergarten children understanding the university curriculum? ”
The implication is that China's hip-hop music must first be connected to the ground in order to truly enter the public.
Liu Zhou himself comes from a classical primary school and likes to play music that combines Chinese and Western music. He disdained plagiarism and repeatedly stressed the importance of research and development, creation and integration with Xiaoxing. "You let me play Japanese and Indian music, and I'd rather call this style a fusion system."
This fusion system is infinitely magnified and concentrated on his artist Gai.
How to position gai?
It is clear that he wants to build gai into the first person in the jianghu genre of hip-hop. "Just like Liu Huan has made a great contribution to the pop Meitong, I hope that gai will set a benchmark for hip hop + nationality, at least in the future when you want to sing this genre, you will refer to him." 」
Liu Zhou told Xiaoxing that there are too few producers in China who can really be called positioned producers, and often they don't care about you after making a song, and they don't bring systematic content and increments to artists. As one of the most expensive producers in China, he will coordinate the composition, lyrics, arrangement, producer, artist styling and artist design, etc., including the most difficult and most important - and the capital co-ordination.
For example, if a company entrusts you to create an artist, assuming an investment of 1 million, you need to calculate how long it will take to return the capital; how much capital increase in the middle can be from the eighteenth line to the second and third lines, or even the first line, and his commercial value is up to what level and when he can make money. Used in variety shows is to reposition the singers and meet the demands of the program to achieve marketization.
Create a family-owned label door&key
How big is the commercial space for hip-hop artists?
In fact, taking "China Has Hip Hop" as an opportunity, Liu Zhou not only signed gai, but also signed other players such as bigdog Wang Ke, Huizi, Simba, Zhao Tao and others, on the basis of the original studio, he specially established the first family-style hip hop label door & key in China.
Why make the label family-style?
Liu Zhou was straightforward: "I think you have to have good friends with you to play music." I want them to communicate with each other and supervise each other. For example, Zhao Tao can play guitar and play musical instruments very well, and others will think when they see it, Oh I don't know what I'm crazy about? They will promote each other. ”
"Although gai is the head artist of this label, others are not bad. Liu Zhou told Xiaoxing: "Other people may not be so famous and have not so many works for the time being, but they are now able to make money for the company." ”
However, Liu Zhou did not directly manage these artists, he found an experienced agent in the company as a CEO, in charge of the agency business of all artists.
And he still assumes the function of positioning the producer. "I tell my artists what kind of music system and direction they take, and after positioning, they assign an independent arranger and producer to each person." Liu Zhou does not like to erase or overly interfere with the ideas of its artists, "They want to earn more, but the core is to let them continue to cultivate on the road of musicians." ”
When Xiaoxing asked about his requirements for gai, Liu Zhou smiled calmly: "I definitely don't care, you love the motherland and the party, don't do something illegal and disciplined." gai has a lot of ideas of his own, and I want to put more space for him to try on his own, which is good. ”
In recent months, Gai has participated in Jiangsu Satellite TV's "The Masked Singer Will Guess Guess", singing popular songs such as "Love Is Like a Tide"; cooperating with Deng Ziqi at the New Year's Eve Party is full of sparks; "I want to go to the Spring Festival Gala" on CCTV has repeatedly won the first, and the successful topic of proposing marriage to his girlfriend has exploded on Weibo, and now relying on "Singer" to absorb a lot of new fans, many people guess when gai will meet the Spring Festival Gala?
Everything is just as Liu Zhou expected: "I need him to be mainstream, and I need more people to realize his multi-faceted nature." In the future, Gai may participate in movies, big movies, web dramas, TV series will have, why not? The imagination of this group of hip-hop artists is huge. ”
As for what many people have commented, Liu Zhou is very "in line with political demands" as an artist, Liu Zhou feels very interesting: "There is nothing political appeal, I think this is what the Chinese people need." He is more willing to talk about the company's biggest core competitiveness at present, which is "to turn a worthless person into a valuable person in the music industry immediately, which is my model." ”
In the next three years, Liu Zhou intends to set up independent studios for all artists in the company, and it is expected to open 80 companies across the country. "The first thing I said to my shareholders was that I said to burn four billion in three years, and if I burned, I would play with me, and if I couldn't burn, don't play with me."
Why do you dare to play so much? Liu Zhou's tone is relaxed: "Because music is the essence of our company." Music is the most money-burning, but once it is successful, it is also the most profitable. ”