S’pore rap’s big boost

SINGAPORE — Much has been said about Singapore rapper ShiGGa Shay, who’s currently enjoying his time in the spotlight. In the last 12 months, the self-styled Lion City Kia (not to be confused with THELIONCITYBOY, who is another rapper altogether) has taken his brand on Singapore rap to new heights, performing on various stages both here and overseas.

His new album, ShiGGa Shay, is a musical biography of sorts, with ShiGGa reminiscing, commenting and contemplating on his life thus far. While there’s a fair amount of your typical hip-hop braggadacio, what stands out the most is probably just how fun — and funny — the album is. It’s not quite Why You So Like Dat?, the ’90s comedy rap track by the Kopi Kat Klan, but there are similarities. There’s the clever mixing of languages and dialect, for example, such as on the track, Lion City Kia, which features lyrics in English, Hokkien, Malay and Tamil.

Other tracks on the album that borrow the “Singlish” vibe — or as my colleague called it, the ah beng vibe — include the rock-rap Ang Moh Pai, which features Tosh Rock (aka actor Tosh Zhang) and ShiGGa spitting rhymes about what it means to be Singaporeans who are more influenced by Western culture; and Wussapa (with its catchy “alamak wussapa pili pala ai bu pa” chorus — taken from that Chinese pop group Grasshoppers); and Siala, featuring entertainer Wang Wei Liang in a spitfire Hokkien rap. And yes, these songs — most of which are observations of life and personal reflection - are slightly humourous too.

“I guess it’s just me. I like to tell jokes,” ShiGGa previously told TODAY. “Rap and hip-hop are very serious (but) my music is all about injecting my personality into something. There is a serious and a very honest side to me. “There is also that funny side, and I try to find ways that I can wriggle it in somehow.”

The “serious side” is exemplified in half of the tracks in the album, particularly on song that look back upon his life, such as Everybody, Mama Don’t Cry and Brothers Forever, a track that, in a pleasantly surprising turn, features Wang’s tenor vocals in the chorus. (There are also bonus tracks, including the live version of Lion City Kia, featuring a killer bass line reminiscent of The Funk Brothers’ James Jamerson.)

KNOW YOUR ABILITIES

The album shows how far ShiGGa — whose real name is Pek Jin Shen — has come since he started performing in school at a Teacher’s Day concert. But his current success is a great case study for future musicians. One thing that worked in his favour is that he wasn’t afraid to take certain risks. The first big move ShiGGa made was probably his national television debut on Live ‘N’ Loaded, the short-lived music TV programme that promoted Singapore’s then-current crop of pop musicians as well as up-and-coming artistes. He was still a student then, but he felt he had what it took to get on that platform.

While his performance on that show was adequate enough — he even had dancers joining him onstage — it was invited polarising reviews. His fans (mostly from school) absolutely loved him; but there were others who thought he was “a little arrogant” and “trying too hard to sound American”. The truth was that he was a diamond in the rough: He had potential but he needed some polishing. ShiGGa probably knew that, which was why he signed up for the National Arts Council’s music mentorship programme.

On a hot sweltering day, ShiGGa, along with other musicians, went onstage at Timbre @ Arts House for the “second cut” - the selection process where the mentors chose who among the already whittled-down applicants they wanted to mentor as part of that year’s programme. I sat alongside the panel, made up of singer-songwriters Kevin Mathews, Patrick Chng (of The Oddfellows), Jon Chan (Plainsunset) and Dave Tan (Electrico) and noted producers Don Richmond and Jason Tan (Taufik Batisah, Mark Bonafide, Sezairi, Sylvia Ratonel, 53A and more). Richmond chose ShiGGa. It was a mentorship that worked. Richmond’s background in producing R&B tracks would help focus ShiGGa’s creativity and, as Richmond told me at the time, he loved his “attitude and his willingness to learn”.

WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM HIS FRIENDS

The second factor in ShiGGa’s success probably is the fact that he has surrounded himself with a group of people whom he can rely on and who believe in what he does. We’re not just talking about his family. Richmond played a big part in shaping ShiGGa into who he is today. There’s also his artiste management team at Aging Youth, the indie company that “works with an exclusive roster of talented artists from all aspects of the entertainment industry … to develop their careers”. Its founder, Willy Tan, said then that signing the rapper was a no-brainer. “He definitely learnt a lot from Don and he has taken those lessons to heart,” he told TODAY. “I think he has a bright future.”

In 2013, he formed The Grizzle Grind Crew (GGC), a collective of like-minded musicians and friends that includes DJ LeNERD, Ben Koh (“from Katong”), Lineath Rajendran, Ozskid, Charles Enero and Dexter Chew, among others. As an evolving entity, the GGC has managed to continously change-up its style and sound, and his deft move at including actors Tosh Rock and Wang Wei Liang, as well as comedian Fakkah Fuzz to the roster has also helped to raise the profile of the group.

Apart from the GGC, ShiGGa’s other music collaborators, include singers Vanessa Fernandez and Sylvia Ratonel (both appeared on his They Call Me ShiGGa EP) and Inch Chua (who appeared with ShiGGa on ShiGGa Morning and their cover of BoB’s Nothin’ On You). The new album also features appearances by members of The Sam Willows and singer-songwriter Gentle Bones. All of whom add more dynamic texture to his rough ‘n’ ready rap.

REALLY BE A LION CITY KIA

Although he acknowledges his Western influences, part of ShiGGa’s appeal his how “homeboy” he is. It’s thanks to his 2013 breakthrough “Singlish” hit LimPeh, with its English, Mandarin and Hokkien lyrics. It was initially written as a challenge, said Aging Youth’s Willy Tan. “I thought it would be funny. Why not do something really different? Why not do a song in Hokkien?”

The rap was accompanied by a funny — almost-silly — video and its nods to Singapore culture struck a chord with audiences here. But it wasn’t seen in the same vein as that MRT Rap by Phua Chu Kang or even Why You So Like Dat? It shot to No 1 on the Singapore iTunes charts within 24 hours. A year later, ShiGGa followed up with another multi-language track, Lion City Kia. Again, it had a humourous video that featured cameos from celebrities such as actor Dennis Chew, 987FM radio DJ Rozz and Jade Seah. Although he broke away from this formula for the next song, ShiGGa Morning, he returned to it on the ShiGGa Shay album.

But more than that, ShiGGa has managed to craft out some interesting tunes and beats that speak to a generation of fans.

WORK HARD, PLAY HARD

The question is: Where does ShiGGa go from here? While the language and humour is something he has done well, repeating that formula time and again might make him a one trick pony. However, he did say: “I am not looking for overnight success. I am looking for longevity.”

The album isn’t just a breakaway from the American hip-hop style he favoured a few years ago, it has let the rapper make his stamp. What ShiGGa isn’t afraid to do is keep firing on all cylinders. The young rapper (he’s only 23) has a lot on his plate: He is featured in Royston Tan’s new movie 3688, and recently released the video to his single from the movie, called Tapau (it’s a bonus track on the new album), and he intends to release more music videos and even an EP. That’s on top of his performing schedule.

“It’s not like I work all the way without rest, but I really enjoy what I am doing. If you are tired, but you love what you are doing ... you don’t feel the fatigue. I guess you have to always remind yourself why you started doing this in the first place, and not get blinded by the material stuff,” he said.

Considering how he has evolved, it’s doubtful that ShiGGa Shay will fall into the trap of pushing out the same groove all the time. It’s already evident on the new album. It will be interesting to see what he comes up with next.