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Take a journey through Chinese Hip Hop History with Wes Chen

The Bund to Brooklyn podcast takes a look back at Hip Hop’s evolution in China

LiFTED | Marcus Aurelius | 7 Mar 2022


As Hip Hop gets closer to 50, it has gone global and is now the dominant music almost everywhere around the world. Wes Chen, an audio content specialist, joins the Bund to Brooklyn podcast to expound on that and much more. “When Hip Hop goes global, it’s going to take from those countries and evolve into something else.”

Although he spent his formative years in the US, Wes Chen has been in China for the last 20 years [13 in Beijing/7 in Shanghai]. In 2006, he started the Park, the first Hip Hop radio show/podcast which focuses on Asian and specifically Chinese Hip Hop. In the podcast, he talks about everything from MC Hot Dog being one of the first Chinese rappers, Jay Chou and Harlem Yu adding a bit of Hip Hip feel into their songs, the realness of LMF and MC Yan, as well as the controversy with Will Pan and Kris Wu being the judges on Rap of China. Wes even tells the story of being involved in a diss song against the jailed Wu called ‘The Emperor’s New Clothes.’

The show also touches on what it takes to be a good Hip Hop artist, the mainstreamification of Hip Hop, how mainstream Hip Hop is all about money, Awkwafina’s blaccent, and Jeremy Lin’s dreads. It’s a great 45 minute listen for those who follow Asian Hip Hop and want to know a bit more about how Hip Hop took over. Wes has been an important part of Chinese Hip Hop, and it’s easy to see that he loves Hip Hop with all his heart, especially when he said, “What makes Hip Hop unique is that it feeds from all cultures.”

Check out Hip Hop History and Culture with Wes Chen on the Bund to Brooklyn podcast below.