Keeping It Real in Chinese Hip-Hop: Everyday Authenticity and Coming From the Street

Abstract

The status of hip-hop in China is being reshaped by the sudden popularity experienced by the genre in the last few years. An aspect that has been overlooked by scholarly research on Chinese hip-hop authenticity is that underground rappers may have to simultaneously assume multiple personal, professional, and social roles while attempting to maintain authenticity. This article provides an empirical account of how authenticity and the ‘keep it real’ motto are understood and negotiated by underground Chinese rappers. Drawing from in-depth interviews with 12 rappers, this article proposes the notion of everyday authenticity as a means for rappers to draw inspiration from unembellished daily realities while also using music to alleviate everyday hardships. The article also examines the challenges faced by underground rappers in the attempt to retain this type of authenticity in the mainstream, commercially driven environment. The tension is resolved by creating an autonomous realm for rappers that come ‘out of the street’, which allows rappers to claim legitimacy inside and outside the underground. This article provides an extension of the conceptualisation of authenticity in the Chinese hip-hop context, thus critically contributing to the global debate around hip-hop authenticity.