HipHopDX Asia, Warner Music’s label agnostic Asian hip-hop media platform, announced today the launch of ‘The Regionals’, a rap cypher series that is the first of its kind in Asia. Supported by Warner Music’s Asian hip-hop imprint Asiatic Records, the project invites top hip-hop emcees from different Eastern markets to jump on beats by some of the most prominent hip-hop producers from the West.
‘The Regionals’ serves to drive the globalization of hip-hop music from Asia by spotlighting the versatile talent in the region, as well as providing fans with the opportunity to discover and experience Asian hip-hop culture at its finest. The project also connects acclaimed rappers from Asia with some of the top producers from the West, linking up the culture-shapers of global hip-hop into one unified community.
The inaugural round of cyphers will kick off in September, bringing together a meshing of styles and cultures by featuring chart-topping emcees from different Asian markets including ARKHO, JON PROTÉGÉ, JRLDM, LOONIE, and MHOT from the Philippines; JULIA WU, KARENCICI, KUMACHAN, and NICKTHEREAL from Taiwan; as well as B-WINE, BLACKA, GONZO, and TLINH from Vietnam. The producers for the cyphers in the corresponding markets are iconic Grammy Award winners !llmind, Hit-Boy and 9th Wonder respectively.
Eddy Lim, Regional Director of HipHopDX Asia, said: “Asian hip-hop music is rapidly growing in popularity. We’ve been very pleased to observe how communities throughout the region have thrived through the acculturation of hip-hop, while still holding fast to their own local cultures. There’s so much amazing talent here in the region, and the world needs to take more notice. For Asian rap to go global, more alliances and collaborations between rappers from different markets are needed. ‘The Regionals’ is our way of showing everyone else what Asia has got.”
David Stouck, Vice President, A&R Asia, Warner Music, added: “Freestyle cyphers are a cornerstone of hip-hop culture. ‘The Regionals’ provide the first-ever cypher series to elevate and celebrate the best-in-class emcees from the East, in close collaboration with Grammy Award-winning producers from the West. Asiatic Records is delighted to leverage its global distribution networks, which tap into vast audiences worldwide, to support HipHopDX Asia on launching this ground-breaking initiative.”
The first round of cyphers from the different markets will be released on September 2nd (The Regionals Philippines), September 23rd (The Regionals Taipei), and September 30th (The Regionals Vietnam) on all major DSPs.
