Close X

Asia

Asian Grime gets to shine in Jianbo’s ‘Mongkok Madness’

The song is an amalgamation of Chinese, Vietnamese, Taiwanese, Indian & British roots

LiFTED | Marcus Aurelius | 21 Feb 2022


Over the cold and crunchy snaps in the intro of ‘Mongkok Madness,’ the waitress at Hong Kong City brings a bamboo steamer over to a table. As she takes off the top levels, Jianbo’s head is revealed. While it’s a bit shocking, it’s not as surprising as what happens next when the gold-toothed MC starts rapping in Cantonese and English with a bombastic voice and a thick British accent.

Asian Grime has arrived.

‘Mongkok Madness’ is an amalgamation of Asian culture rolled into three minutes of Grime flyness. Jianbo is a rapper in England with a Chinese and Vietnamese background. He hooked up with Indian producer Sly Diggers, who sampled the light and airy ‘Don’t Want the Regular,’ from Taiwanese artists Henry Wu. When they sent the track over to be OK’ed and Henry wanted to jam with Jianbo and Sly. The result was ‘Mongkok Madness.’

The video celebrates how Asianness and Britishness can collide and make magic. After the serving of steamed Jianbo head stops rapping, he heads to the next table for some emceeing with close friends. The crew eats and drinks robustly as food and wine are passed around the lazy susan. Eventually, they meander outside and gather around a Honda for some street shots that include an albino krait snake and some nunchucks.

Jianbo’s ‘Mongkok Madness’ shows off the MCs pride in where he’s from and also demonstrates the promise of where music can go.

Check out Jianbo’s ‘Mongkok Madness’ below.