Stars Singapore hip hop music industry heavyweights such as Shigga Shay and THELIONCITYBOY.
The 16-minute documentary charts each rapper’s journey through music and the reasons why they choose to express their Singaporean identity through music.
According to Shigga Shay, up until five years ago, people were not proud to be Singaporean – not until music acts like Gentle Bones, Charlie Lim and The Sam Willows put Singapore on the map.
“That’s why I made Lion City Kia. I wanted to show Singaporeans that it’s perfectly fine to be proud to be Singaporean… I’m trying to tell people that it’s good to embrace where you come from. It’s important to be real,” says Shigga in We Rep.
Tosh Zhang, actor and Grizzle Grind Crew mates with Shigga Shay, also recounts the need to feature Chinese dialects such as Hokkien in mainstream music to reignite the youths’ interest in such traditional vernacular, which is slowly diminishing.
Overcoming cultural expectations is another struggle that Singapore musicians face. THELIONCITYBOY discusses the criticism and questioning he faces due to his mixed heritage, his looks, and his accent.
We Rep, produced by Monosyllabic Pictures, is an illuminating as it is a heartfelt piece of work that spotlights the trials and triumphs faced by music makers in the Singapore hip hop and music industry.
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