It’s been a hallmark year for Higher Brothers. After dropping several music videos that culminated in the release of their recent debut album, Black Cab, the Chengdu-based foursome have gone from relative obscurity to one of China’s most buzzed-about acts. Articles by major Western outlets like NPR and Paper have popped up almost daily since their album’s debut – all of them expressing incredulousness that these artists soaked up hip-hop’s influence from overseas and still developed their own style.
But their clever, often hilarious lyrics are the group’s real genius. Take their breakout track ‘WeChat,’ featuring South Korean rapper Keith Ape, which has an irreverent DIY music video made to look like a WeChat video call. “There’s no Skype, no Facebook, no Twitter, no Instagram / We use WeChat, yeah,” rap two of the Brothers at video’s start.
The appeal of Black Cab lies in its focus on everyday subjects. “This album is about what’s been happening in our recent daily life,” says Higher Brothers member Psy.P, referring to songs like ‘Franklin,’ a chilled-out, 90s-inflected track about Grand Theft Auto, and ‘7/11,’ an ode to the convenience store. “We’ll come up with an idea, or one of us will have an idea, and then each of us completes our own verse,” says Psy.P of their songwriting process. “Then we’ll modify each other’s parts.”
One of their standout tracks is ‘Made in China,’ a bawdy satire mocking foreigners’ perceptions of China, which opens with a Valley Girl voice reading YouTube comments the group has gotten on their videos. The track has a catchy beat and a hilarious, high-energy video. In June, music platform 88rising released a ‘reaction’ video for the song, in which several major rappers, including Higher Brothers’ heroes Migos, respond positively to the video – and to Dzknow’s ferocious delivery in particular (they dub him “Chinese Biggie”). It garnered over a million views on YouTube in less than a week.
That the irony of a bunch of Westerners commenting on a Higher Brothers song that mocks Westerners’ comments on Higher Brothers’ songs may have been lost on those million viewers. In our favorite moment of the video, one rapper says earnestly, “they bring their culture into it, that’s what makes it stick,” as one of the Higher Brothers waves a fan around and joke-raps about how toothpaste is made in China.
The four MCs all grew up loving hip-hop, though each cites a different defining moment that turned them onto it: Psy.P’s friend played American rap trio Migos for him in his car; Melo heard someone’s Jay-Z ringtone in junior high; Dzknow heard a snippet of hip-hop in a car commercial. They found their style and wrote their first songs while performing locally in Chengdu.
“It’s developing well. There’s a higher acceptance than in other cities,” says Psy.P of Chengdu’s hip-hop community. While much of their media buzz has been overseas, and their music videos have higher views on YouTube than on Youku, Higher Brothers have never performed outside China. Not that they're humble about it – of their China tour for Black Cab, Psy.P says: “Every stop will create history.”
Higher Brothers’ strategy has been to enjoy the exposure that comes with being a novelty in the West, while retaining their playfulness and authenticity by writing verses relevant to those in China. This may well prove a lasting recipe for mainstream fame – both at home and abroad.
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