China Is Censoring Hip Hop On Television and Streaming Sites
Last year, China banned Justin Bieber from performing in the country due to “bad behavior.” In 2018, the nation seems determined to crack down on its own hip-hop artists.
Although its presence has been felt since the ’80s, hip hop had a renaissance of sorts in China last year thanks to the massive success of the reality show The Rap of China and the boom of East-meets-West label 88rising.
In its first season, The Rap of China hadracked up over 2.5 billion views online. Despite these big numbers—or perhaps because of them—the show’s co-winners PG One (Wang Hao) and GAI (Zhou Yan) have both been sanctioned in recent weeks for “bad behavior,” or content that doesn’t align with the values of the nation’s Communist Party, Reuters reports.
Earlier this month, PG One was forced to apologize for “lewd lyrics” in his song “Christmas Eve,” with the Communist Youth League and the China Women’s News site calling out the track for “encouraging teenagers to use drugs” and “insulting women.” Xinhua, China’s official news agency, went on to say that PG One “does not deserve the stage,” and that platforms that promote such “low-taste content” shouldn’t be tolerated. Several Chinese streaming sites have pulled his content since.
In GAI’s case, the rapper was suddenly, and without explanation, pulled from competing in another reality show, The Singer. All clips of GAI, who was in third place at the time, have also been removed from the show’s YouTube channel. Rapper Vava was also removed from the variety show Happy Camp due to her hip-hop connections.
As the Chinese outlet Sina notes, these censorships are due to the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television of the People’s Republic of China (SAPPRFT), the nation’s top media regulator, which now “specifically requires that programs should not feature actors with tattoos [or depict] hip-hop culture, sub-culture (non-mainstream culture) and dispirited culture (decadent culture).” SAPPRFT also set out the following four rules:
“Absolutely do not use actors whose heart and morality are not aligned with the party and whose morality is not noble
Absolutely do not use actors who are tasteless, vulgar and obscene
Absolutely do not use actors whose ideological level is low and have no class
Absolutely do not use actors with stains, scandals and problematic moral integrity.”
Time will tell whether these government rulings will suffocate or motivate China’s underground hip-hop scene. And, while we might not see any more Sprite commercials featuring artist Masiwei (of the surging collective Higher Brothers), the numbers suggest that there’s certainly a place for successful hip-hop artists, and their peers, in outside markets.
For more on hip hop in China, and its recent global moves, check out our video feature with Chinese-American rapper Bohan Phoenix.
Since you are here, we would like to share our vision for the future of travel - and the direction Culture Trip is moving in.
Culture Trip launched in 2011 with a simple yet passionate mission: to inspire people to go beyond their boundaries and experience what makes a place, its people and its culture special and meaningful — and this is still in our DNA today. We are proud that, for more than a decade, millions like you have trusted our award-winning recommendations by people who deeply understand what makes certain places and communities so special.
Increasingly we believe the world needs more meaningful, real-life connections between curious travellers keen to explore the world in a more responsible way. That is why we have intensively curated a collection of premium small-group trips as an invitation to meet and connect with new, like-minded people for once-in-a-lifetime experiences in three categories: Culture Trips, Rail Trips and Private Trips. Our Trips are suitable for both solo travelers, couples and friends who want to explore the world together.
Culture Trips are deeply immersive 5 to 16 days itineraries, that combine authentic local experiences, exciting activities and 4-5* accommodation to look forward to at the end of each day. Our Rail Trips are our most planet-friendly itineraries that invite you to take the scenic route, relax whilst getting under the skin of a destination. Our Private Trips are fully tailored itineraries, curated by our Travel Experts specifically for you, your friends or your family.
We know that many of you worry about the environmental impact of travel and are looking for ways of expanding horizons in ways that do minimal harm - and may even bring benefits. We are committed to go as far as possible in curating our trips with care for the planet. That is why all of our trips are flightless in destination, fully carbon offset - and we have ambitious plans to be net zero in the very near future.
Culture Trip Spring Sale
Save up to $1,100 on our unique small-group trips! Limited spots.
