Taiwanese rapper Dwagie (大支) is not your average music star. For starters, he is the only rapper in Taiwan, and possibly in the world, who can claim collaboration with the Dalai Lama on a sound track and music video.
Dwagie also has the distinction of being one of the first rappers in the Chinese-speaking world to produce a full-length album.
Lotus From the Tongue, released in 2002, features his breakout track Taiwan Song.
Photo: Sung Chih-hsiung, Taipei Times
Since then, Dwagie has become a top name in the Asian music industry.
For Dwagie, his music is not all about winning awards. Over the years, he has taken on the role of social activist, using his music as a medium to express his views on issues ranging from racism in the US to controversies involving Taiwan and China.
In the title track of his 2011 album People, he raps about poverty and injustice.
“We spend trillions on arms races, piling up rockets and planes, but are without resources to help poor children get education,” the lyrics read.
The track also features the Dalai Lama reciting part of the Tibetan Green Tara Mantra, which is believed to help overcome such problems.
Near the end of the track, the Dalai Lama speaks about the importance of working toward change, regardless of whether it will materialize in one’s lifetime.
“I often tell people: You should think right or wrong, then once you feel rightful, and can achieve, not complete, but at least some portion, that is achievement,” the Dalai Lama says in English on the music video for People.
Dwagie said it took two years to get the Dalai Lama to participate in the project.
First, he had to write a letter and send a demo of the song to the Dalai Lama’s representatives, then he had to wait for them to work around scheduling issues, the rapper said.
“In the end, I was very happy to make this seemingly impossible mission a reality,” Dwagie said.
The sheer power of having the Dalai Lama, winner of the 1989 Nobel Peace Prize, on the album was amazing, Dwagie said.
Another collaboration that Dwagie is proud of is one with US rap legend Nas, who has sold more than 30 million records worldwide and is a household name among hip-hop fans.
“Nas is my idol and the main reason I chose hip hop instead of mainstream pop music,” Dwagie said. “At first, I thought it would be impossible to get him to agree to work with me, but after the Dalai Lama experience, I realized that nothing is impossible.”
Dwagie said he sent a letter to a friend who was working at Universal Music in New York, pitching the idea of Nas’ collaboration on the title track of the 2014 album Refuse to Listen.
“I know Nas’ style, and when he heard the concept of the song and the story behind it, he really liked it,” Dwagie said.
The concept of the song is about refusing to listen to naysayers who try to discourage people from achieving their goals.
Dwagie has also worked with another famous US rapper, Raekwon of the hip-hop group Wu-Tang Clan.
Together, they wrote the lyrics for the track Words to Trump, which Dwagie said was aimed at highlighting an increase in racism in the US following the election of US President Donald Trump in 2016.
For example, some Americans were telling immigrants to go back to their countries of origin, Dwagie said, citing stories related to him by friends in Los Angeles.
“So, we wrote this song to highlight what was happening, and I also urged him [Trump] not to use Taiwan as a chess piece,” Dwagie said.
Nonetheless, he grew to support some of Trump’s policies, particularly his tough stance against China, Dwagie said.
“Although some of us are still worried that Taiwan will be treated like a chess piece, many people who are pro-Taiwan like his toughness against China,” the rapper said.
Dwagie has jumped into cross-strait issues with his mic, despite setbacks because of it.
In 2007, he set off a firestorm when he released a song about a fight that occurred during a friendly game between two professional basketball teams from Taiwan and China.
“I think in sports, a bit of physical tussling is hard to avoid, but Chinese forward Meng Da (孟達) [of the Jiangsu Dragons] deliberately hit Taiwanese center Wu Tai-hao (吳岱豪) [of Taiwan Beer] in the face,” Dwagie said, referring to their game at the Straits Cup on Sept. 3, 2007.
Dwagie’s condemnation of Meng in the song prompted Chinese rappers to hit out against Dwagie, which drew return fire from other Taiwanese rappers.
“That incident set off the biggest rap battle in history between Taiwan and China,” Dwagie said.
As a result, he said that his career took a hit just when he was preparing to release his second album.
“At the time, the record companies that were interested in working with me pulled out, because they thought any association with me would adversely affect their interests in China,” said Dwagie, who later launched his own record label, Kungfu Entertainment.
That experience was symptomatic of the broader factors at play in the Taiwan-China situation, he said.
People who value Taiwan’s freedom and democracy should understand that it is not right to sell out the nation for fame and money by claiming it is part of China, Dwagie said.
While China might be able to stage bigger productions for larger audiences, Taiwan has greater creativity and its rappers are using that to find success, he said, citing the example of Taichung-based group Nine One One.
“If you look at one of their earlier music videos A Macho Man With Crushing Love, which was filmed using online video conferencing, it has gained approximately 78 million views on YouTube,” he said.
In the digital age, big record companies no longer play such a pivotal role in the music industry, because links to music can be shared all over the Internet, Dwagie said.
“It all comes down to the quality of the song,” he said. “If the lyrics enter the listener’s soul, then the music will be shared and soon everyone will be listening to the song.”
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