Extra Spicy Hip-Hop Comes to Beijing Courtesy of Bohan Phoenix Tonight, Sep 22

After the initial pop-star roasting at the start of The Rap of China (中国有嘻哈) – an apple that did not fall far enough from the powdered and sterile tree that is The Voice – it seems the media has forgotten about Chinese street poetry. However, rhymes have been brewing in the Mandarin music scene here and abroad, and if you turn to Spotify for guidance now, you might leave with a few new tracks on your playlist given that his new JALA EP has been included in Spotify's Fresh Finds and Apple Music's Hot Tracks.

This Friday, Bohan Phoenix and his crew will play at Omni Space in support of said EP, before they head off to another 15 cities across Asia, including Hong Kong, Singapore, and Tokyo.

Bohan was born in Hubei province but emigrated to the US at the age of 11 not knowing a word of English. Now he takes a solid piece of the hip-hop pie in mainland China from abroad, with his bilingual verses and collaborations with rising music stars. Together with Higher Brothers, he is one of the most commonly mentioned names in China's hip-hop scene. His love for Chengdu, and our fondness for Phoenix, did indeed bring us to eat the spiciest hot pot for three days, as one of his songs suggests, and left us contemplating our own status as foreigners in China with his liberal national identity.

We spoke to Bohan about home, food, and music before his show at Omni Space. Free up your Friday for a dose of mean hip-hop mixed with stunning visuals.

TBJ: Regarding long, long ago: You left China at a very young age and grew up in the United States and your lyrics often focus on feeling foreign. How does coming back feel when you possibly see the culture through the eyes of the alien or does it feel like coming home? 
Bohan Phoenix: Home is a very insignificant term to me at this point in my life. It's New York, where I've met so many people who have shaped me into the person I am today. Home is Hubei where I was born and raised but no longer have family. Home is in Boston, where my mom lives with my stepfather, considering my real father was never in my life, my stepfather is as much my real father as anyone with my DNA. And home is in Chengdu, where the rest of my family is, along with my grandfather who raised me for the first 11 years. Ultimately I find home everywhere I am, otherwise, the feeling of displacement follows you everywhere you go. But coming back to China I feel that I am finding myself, more so than finding a home.

Regarding your rhymes: You have collaborated with Chinese artists (e.g. Higher Brothers) as well as Europeans and Americans. How do collaborations on different sides of the world work out? Is it easy to find common ground with each of these artists?
Each artist usually has their own ideas, but the reason I collaborate with so few artists is because our perspective on what music is to our lives is pretty much in line – that is, we are simply just conduits for the ideas and sounds we want to express, removing ourselves from the equation as we try to create or execute something that's worth the time. Howie Lee and Higher Brothers have different goals in music, but they both immerse themselves in the world of music, in their own way.

Regarding your roots: How did rap came into your life, what started the whole snowball effect?
8 Mile by Eminem. The movie taught me that music was a medium and a platform for communication, that was it, and I knew that was what I wanted to do. Even though I didn't understand much English or music at the time, I wanted to give people that feeling he gave me.

Regarding now: What should we be listening to from Mainland China right this moment?
Howie Lee, Howie Lee, and Howie Lee.

Regarding place: Is there somewhere in China you make a point to visit every time you come around?
Chengdu and Xiamen are my two favorite cities in China right now, I'm all about the vibes, and these two places got it for me.

Regarding JALA 加辣: What's your favorite Chinese dish?
回锅肉 (huiguorou, twice-cooked pork).

Bohan Phoenix will present his JALA EP at Omni Space, Friday, September 22, 9pm. More information and tickets can be found here.

More by the author here.

Photos courtesy of Bohan Phoenix