With a name that translates into English as ‘belongs to the stage,’ Beijing-based rapper Wootacc is not lacking in confidence. Quite the opposite, in fact. Sitting backstage at On Stage, he speaks openly of his global ambitions for newly released debut album Maiden Voyage.
“We’ve translated the lyrics into Japanese and English with a possible Korean version in the works,” he says. “We’re trying to be more international and break into these markets. I want to show other countries what Chinese rap is about.”
Three years in the making, Maiden Voyage combines smooth beats with a jazzy sound, that at times echoes ATLiens-era Outkast and A Tribe Called Quest during their Low End Theory/Midnight Marauders height. Spread over 20 tracks, the album ranges from slow-jams like the g-funk inspired ‘Air China’ to quick-spitting rants of ‘We Play Quick’. All the beats are supplied by Peter Chen of the Guangzhou based V.N.P. Crew and Wootacc describes their partnership as one brought about by fate.
“He wrote to me and sent a beat to rap on,” Wootacc explains. “I loved it. At first, we did the song ‘E=mc2’ and Peter suggested we do the whole album together.”
In addition to producing the record, Chen put the rapper in touch with hip-hop label Groove Bunny Records in Jinhua, Zhejiang. The release marks the latest addition to the imprint’s impressive discography which includes Mad Pete’s Cantonese Boom Bap, V.N.P. Crew’s well-received debut and a new EP by 20-year-old rising female Guangzhou rapper Kosma.
Maiden Voyage is being released in flashy packaging, and will be available internationally through Bandcamp, with a limited-edition cassette (the latest hipster trend in hip-hop) also promised.
New partnerships have rejuvenated the rapper’s outlook. He’s already a hip-hop ‘lifer,’ starting out as a b-boy at 13 years old before shifting his focus to rap two years later. Born and raised in Yanbian, a small city in Jilin that borders North Korea, he cut his teeth in the vibrant local beatboxing community that Liu Feng documented in his 2008 documentary YanBian Box. When Wootacc started rapping, he immediately stood out.
“There are a lot of rappers in my hometown but the majority rap in Korean,” he explains. “I was the only one to do it in Mandarin.”
He moved to Beijing in 2003, immediately fitting into a hiphop scene enjoying its first golden age. Videos of his battles against MCs like Stone Dragon, Tiantian and PD Doggy from the Iron Mic competitions gained him further recognition through Youku.
He next partnered with local rap luminary J Fever and producers Kirby Lee and Flyherro to form the CHN Organic Union (C.O.U.); the crew’s soulful sound and 2006 album Organic remains a standardbearer for Mainland hip-hop.
Three years later, Wootacc was invited to join the Chinese Hip- Hop All-Stars on the track ‘One,’ a tribute dedicated to the victims of the Sichuan earthquake. That year, he partnered with producer PD Doggy to form B.M.W. and release a digital mini-album. Solo projects soon followed: 2010’s 47n Mixtape and 2011’s No Body No Ski EP. To tease Maiden Voyage’s release, a number of exclusive tracks were posted on Douban, connecting Wootacc with a younger national audience.
The MC is also looking toward other frontiers. Already a Beijing rap-vet, Wootacc notes that the scene has become stagnant while
hip-hop is growing in other cities. On tracks like ‘I Remember’ and ‘We Play, Replay,’ he laments the loss of the lively scene that he first encountered when he arrived in the city.
“Recently, none of the Beijing rappers or groups have released records,” he says. “I had to go to Guangzhou to find a producer to work with.”
No VPN? Watch on Tudou.
His newly released video ‘Bloody Mary’ is gaining views online and he promises more to come. He is also mapping out a Southern
tour with stops in Shenzhen, Guangzhou and Hong Kong, hoping for more dates across China to follow.
Despite the promotional cycle, Wootacc’s already planning his next move. “I’m currently working on the next album that may come
out later this year,” he says, adding the caveat that the decision lies with his label. “But within a year at the latest,” he vows.
// Maiden Voyage is available at Groove Bunny's Bandcamp page. For more on Wootacc, follow him on Douban.
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