The Singaporean Eminem
Rap music has got attitude and doesn't take any prisoners when it comes to the lyrical content. The genre originates from the mean streets of America's ghettos in LA and Compton in the 80s, when the likes of NWA and Dr. Dre started talking about life on the street and gangsta culture. One thing is for sure, you would not expect to see this style of music in the paradise tropical setting of Singapore, but there is one artist hoping to change all of that.
His name is name is ShiGGa Shay and he has got the rap skills that have drawn comparisons with another American rapper, Eminem. In his homeland very few people listen to this genre of music but he hopes that with perseverance he can revolutionise the sound and get people talking about Singapore rap in a positive light.
The up-and-coming starlet has been spitting verse for over 10 years and when asked how he got into the Singapore rap scene, he said:
“There isn't really a rap scene. I basically started putting out music when I was 14 [on MySpace], and slowly people started listening and catching on to my style and it slowly grew from that.”
“There isn't really a rap scene. I basically started putting out music when I was 14 [on MySpace], and slowly people started listening and catching on to my style and it slowly grew from that.”
With his new album on the way he has a hope bubbling beneath everything he does that it will be a turning point in Singaporean rap music. He wants to change people's perspectives about what good music sounds like and momentarily forget about the mainstream pop sound for a second.
He said: “I really hope that when people talk about Singapore next time they don't just think about Singapore as a port for trade they think more about the artists.”
Regarding his comparisons to Eminem, he is obviously flattered but wants to create his own persona saying: “I'd take that as a complement. Eminem is one of the artists I started listening to at a young age so being compared to him is like an honour more than anything else.”