MCLC: Uighur hip-hop

[Denton, Kirk]

MCLC LIST
From: pjmooney <pjmooney at me.com>
Subject: Uighur hip-hop
******************************************************

Source: The Atlantic (10/29/13):
http://www.theatlantic.com/china/archive/2013/10/chinas-uighur-minority-fin
ds-a-voice-through-american-style-hip-hop/280942/

China's Uighur Minority Finds a Voice Through American-Style Hip-Hop
The Six City collective, who rap in their native Uighur language, have
built a nationwide following.
CHRIS WALKER AND MORGAN HARTLEY

The Uighur hip-hop collective Six City, in concert. (Chris Walker and
Morgan Hartley)China¹s Uighur minority, who hail from Xinjiang Autonomous
Region, have struggled to retain their traditional culture in the face of
widespread assimilation from the country¹s Han majority. As Beijing has
developed its western frontier through resettlement programs, many Uighurs
feel they have become strangers in their own land; for instance, in
Urumqi, the region¹s sprawling capital, Uighurs now represent just 12
percent of the city¹s population.

But in the city¹s poorest districts, some Uighur youth have turned to a
non-traditional outlet for maintaining cultural pride: hip-hop.  Since
2006, this home-grown rap and dance scene has drawn together thousands of
Uighur fans across Xinjiang, and has even managed a feat the founders
didn¹t expect to achieve: attracting Han Chinese fans.

Ekrem, aka Zanjir, was the first Uighur rapper and a co-founder of Six
City, Urumqi¹s most popular rap collective, for which he now serves as
producer and business manager. It¹s a part-time gig.  In his spare time,
he moonlights as a software developer, while other members of the
collective drive hospital shuttles or work in traditional Uighur dance
shows to make ends meet.

It¹s easy to see why Six City¹s young rappers feel marginalized. They hail
from Tianshan, a neighborhood on Urumqi¹s southern edge, away from the
elevated freeways and skyscrapers that have transformed the city over the
last 15 years. The buildings in Tianshan are squat and gray, and feature
the Uighur language¹s Arabic script on storefronts. One resident, an
interpreter, described the neighborhood as ³Urumqi¹s Harlem.²

In a simple basement studio wedged between tire stores in a Tianshan strip
mall, Ekrem and three other Six City MCs crammed around a computer and a
single microphone. On a shelf was a stack of records from their
idols‹American hip-hop stars like Snoop, Eminem, Ice Cube, and 50 Cent.
The men would have fit comfortably in urban America: Ekrem wore a black
Dodgers cap, while Behtiyar, a fellow member, had slick-backed hair and
wings tattooed on his forearms. Eager to show off, one rapper called
³MC-5² started to freestyle.

He was good. Rap in Uighur is fluid and quick, and the vowels come in
rapid succession, from the back of the mouth, producing a smooth sound.

³Uighur is much better for rap than Mandarin,² Behtiyar explained. ³Uighur
is phonetic, like English, so it¹s easy to make dope rhymes.² By contrast,
he said, it is more difficult to sing in Mandarin.

Six City has other reasons to rap in Uighur‹it¹s part of their heritage.
Because it¹s difficult to get a job with a degree from a Uighur school,
more Uighurs are studying in Chinese. ³It¹s important to protect our
language. Sometimes I see these Uighur kids out in the street speaking
Chinese to each other,² Ekram said, shaking his head. He added that there
are only ten really good Uighur rappers. ³Most Uighurs rap in Chinese.
They go study Chinese in school, and they just can¹t find the right words
in Uighur.²

But even Six City writes half of their lyrics in Chinese. Their reasoning
for this is purely pragmatic. According to Ekrem, it makes Six City¹s
music more accessible to the mass market of Mandarin speakers. ³And the
Chinese Government censors less when you mix in Chinese lyrics² he said,
with a smile.   

The collective has had to adapt to government pressure in other ways.
³There¹s a lot of lyrics we can¹t express, so we have to be smart²
Behtiyar said. Six City steers clear of politics and discrimination, and
instead focuses their songs on Uighur pride or problems of drug and
gambling addictions in Urumqi¹s low-income neighborhoods. It¹s an
important way to raise awareness about the culture, and ³show China that
we¹re not a bunch of primitives² says Ekrem, referring to a frequent Han
stereotype of Uighurs.

Still, Six City struggles when hit with events outside their control, such
as the ethnic riots that shook Urumqi in July 2009.

Following the turmoil, which pitted the city¹s Han and Uighur populations
against each other, Urumqi¹s hip-hop scene shut down for a year. Groups
like Six City couldn¹t hold concerts because of a ban on public
gatherings, or spread new music online because of severe Internet
restrictions. The collective decided it was too dangerous to hold their
famous underground house parties, and didn¹t perform together again until
2011.

Even today, in a calmer Urumqi, Ekrem treads lightly. The producer will
not release MC5¹s upcoming album officially because all the lyrics are in
Uighur. To avoid censorship, Ekrem plans to print the album on blank CDs
and sell copies for 5 RMB (about 80 U.S. cents) in the capital¹s bars and
streets.

Nevertheless, the two albums Six City have released have helped broaden
their exposure and attract attention from Han Chinese fans. In September,
Six City was invited to Beijing to perform their second concert in the
capital in the past two years. On a packed floor at the Mako Live House,
the mostly-Han crowd eyed Six City¹s MCs, who were dressed in bright
jumpsuits and baseball caps, with curiosity. Though some of the
collective¹s music videos have achieved popularity on Youku (China¹s
YouTube), they still remain unfamiliar to most audiences. Some thought
that they were from a foreign country.

³Yo Yo Yo² Murkat, the lead rapper, shouted, waving his arm up and down
like Eminem. A thick plume of smoke shot up from the front of the stage.
Lights flashed. The beat dropped. And the group launched their most
popular song, ³Cuyla.²
³Praise, Praise, Praise your land! Praise your homeland!² they sang in
Uighur. The crowd danced and cheered wildly. The music sounded fresh. Many
started waving their arms‹mimicking the Uighur performers.

Word about Six City seems to be spreading. Later on in the trip, in the
southern Chinese metropolis of Guangzhou, Ekrem was surprised to find
himself somewhat of a celebrity. As he was walking through the airport to
catch a flight back to Urumqi, a Han fan rushed up to him.

³Hey! Was that you rapping at the concert in Beijing?²

³Yeah.²

³That was awesome.²