Chinese media, advertising, and urban life.

NPR's website has published an article about Chinese hip hop titled, predictably enough, Made in China: Hip-Hop Moves East. It includes quotes from the Shanghai group Red Star, and DJ V-Nutz, but also from Ping Ke of Chinese podcast series Antiwave:

For one thing, it's hard [for hip hop bands] to get airplay where radio stations prefer saccharine pop music. And there are far fewer radio stations in China than in the U.S. The government still keeps a tight hold on radio licenses. But Ping Ke, a former radio DJ who quit because he was bored playing the same songs over and over again, says that the Internet has changed everything. Now he can not only podcast, but also listen to radio stations from all over the world.

"Also, most importantly, the Internet is having an impact on radio," he says. "If it caused a big change in the U.S., I think it's causing an even bigger change here in China, because in the past, we couldn't find out as much information as Americans. But now, everybody's more or less the same."

Ping Ke says that 20 years ago, when he was listening to rock music, the government wouldn't allow it on the radio. He says that back then, the government tried to control the airwaves for propaganda, but now "it's because of commercial reasons. For example, I have to do this and that just because my program has a sponsor."

Which is a good excuse to repost this old Danwei TV interview with Ping Ke and his Antiwave cohort Flypig:

On the subject of Chinese hip hop, below is an old Danwei TV video about MC Sha Zhou who raps in the dialect of his hometown of Qingdao.