Chinese Hip Hop Musicians React to Black Lives Matter Protests

In the aftermath of the tragic death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, people across the USA have been protesting police brutality and urging justice and freedom for black people around the world. Across social media platforms, supporters of Black Lives Matter have been sharing stories, images and insights.

Many have compared scenes of protests in the US to those that have been ongoing in Hong Kong for over a year. Meanwhile, others have been quick to point out the years of collaboration between Black Americans and China, such as the visits taken by W.E.B Du Bois and Black Panther leaders Elaine Brown and Huey Newton to the country (hit "Read more" at the bottom of this message for more on that).

Such references have often been made while encouraging Asian communities to also stand up for Black Lives Matter and associated organizations. But what of China’s hip hop community, one that has explicitly benefited from Black culture? As is being excellently documented on Twitter by Chinese hip hop news account, RISING! CHINESE HIP HOP (@rapofchina), a number of musicians have shown their support for the movement.

Among some of the more notable contributions, Asian-American rapper MC Jin took to Instagram to tell the story of his son, Chance, seeing a broadcast of the news report on George Floyd’s death. He ends the lengthy post by saying, “I told him, maybe you can include a message that you think he would want the world to know. Not only was he eager to include that but suggested, ‘We should also make sure people know his name.’ Indeed son. Indeed.”

Label 88rising — whose artists include Higher Brothers and Jackson Wang — has also posted its support of Black Lives Matter, noting the end of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, while calling for awareness for equality everywhere.

Higher Brothers themselves posted the same picture in support of the protests. Rapper Bohan Phoenix took to Instagram to point out connections between the black community and Chinese community.

He also posted an insightful Tweet that further outlined the shared history between both communities.

Beijing-based rapper and producer Bloodz Boi noted his contribution to the cause on Twitter.

Eastern Margins, a music collective based in London, posted these thoughtful pictures on Instagram:

They also pointed towards Music Black Out Tuesday, an initiative that music industry leaders will be undertaking, pausing all business for a day “in observance of the long-standing racism and inequality that exists from the boardroom to the boulevard.” That initiative is being led by music executives Jamila Thomas and Brianna Agyemang under the hashtag #TheShowMustBePaused, according to CNN.

Jay Park and Cha Cha Malone’s record label H1GHR MUSIC is one of those to declare support for the day on China’s microblogging site Weibo, where the company’s official accounted posted using the Black Lives Matter hashtag.

Canadian-born Hong Kong actor and singer Edison Chen posted this image on his Instagram page:

And Tia Ray, who is set to appear on new music variety show, Rap Star, posted a blacked out image to her Instagram accompanied by the hashtag #blacklivesmatter.

Sichuanese rapper Vava also posted the blacked out image to her Instagram.

However, whether more will join them and whether these artists and labels will take more substantive action remains to be seen.