Rap meets tradition

Starting at a young age, a Gen Z rapper is making inroads into the global rap scene.

"Drums of gold resound far and wide, the red lion awakens, breaking new ground. With high spirits, he strides the skies, the youth dances forward without looking back." When 21-year-old rapper Cas14 penned these lyrics, he knew the song was complete.

Cas14, whose real name is Zhang Fenghe, is from Haikou in Hainan province. He was invited to create the ending theme for I Am What I Am 2, the animated film directed by Sun Haipeng and produced by Zhang Miao, which was released on Dec 14 across the Chinese mainland.

Zhang Fenghe named the song Shaonianqiang in Chinese, which translates to "youth power", perfectly capturing the spirit of the film and the qualities of its protagonist, A Juan.

I Am What I Am 2 continues the story of this rural boy from the first film. Despite winning the lion dance competition, A Juan must leave his hometown and work in a big city to support himself and cover his father's medical expenses. In Shanghai, he faces a series of setbacks before an unexpected opportunity arises: he is chosen to represent a declining traditional Chinese martial arts club in a competition. To succeed, he must overcome rivals, prejudices, injustices, and his own fears.

Recognizing the importance of traditional cultural elements in the movie, Zhang Fenghe decided to write the rap lyrics in a style inspired by ancient Chinese poetry, giving the piece a unique "sense of power".

"In middle and high school, I used to discuss classical literature with my dad at home," he said. "I had thought about writing songs in this style before but never had the chance. This time, I decided to give it a try."

He believes the greatest appeal of Chinese rap, compared to Western rap, lies in the unique atmosphere the Chinese language brings to the lyrics.

"China has a more moderate and reserved culture. Chinese expressions are not as open or direct as those in many Western songs, but they have their own charm," he said. "Foreign artists often write about what they do and think, but with Chinese, you can write lyrics that convey a subtle and beautiful feeling, like Jay Chou's songs and Vincent Fang's lyrics."

I Am What I Am 2 marks Zhang Fenghe's first experience creating music for a film, and he finds it quite different from his usual songwriting.

He explained that regular songwriting is a form of self-expression, while film songs require him to immerse himself in the characters and carefully consider and feel their emotions.

Although Zhang Fenghe is young, he has been passionate about rap from an early age.