ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the implications of a massively popular web-based talent show for China’s youth culture, Rap of China (RoC), which debuted in the summer of 2017. Through close analysis of public discussions and fan activities, I discuss the contention between mainstream and underground cultural spaces for the youth-centric practice of rapping after it has suffered decades’ lack of mainstream recognition due to China’s vast political and cultural sensitivities. Although Western observers tend to dismiss Chinese hip hop for its relative lack of overt subversiveness compared to its Western counterparts, artists, fans, and scholars argue for the unique socio-political background to hip hop’s survival in China and its expressive power based in China’s social tensions. In discussing the significance of RoC for rap to become more accepted in the mainstream culture and the impact of scandals and government crackdown, public discourses in China reinforce the common anxiety with potential adverse effects of rap on China’s youth. On the other hand, public reflections reaffirm the confidence that rap will establish itself more successfully if artists could incorporate more Chinese cultural characteristics in their work, such as unity and positivity, while maintaining their subversive edge through railing against unjust social realities.
