Straight Outta Hong Kong

Tattooed, pierced and primed to provoke, a new generation of artists is reviving the spirit of Canto-rap

- Kristy Or.

In December 2019, Hong Kong’s original rap band LMF celebrated its 20th anniversary by organising its own music festival, LMF XX Year Fest, in Kowloon Bay, where the group reunited to perform its hit tracks for thousands of loyal fans. Along with the band appeared a group of rising and established artists, including JB, Dough-Boy, Tommy Grooves, Seanie P and Matt Force, a pivotal moment that saw the passing of a torch to a new era of Hong Kong rappers.

“We dreamt of the day when we would finally be able to play a whole night of Cantonese rap music, and now we could finally do that,” says LMF member Chan Wai-hung, also known as Phat. Adds Leung Wing-kit, who goes by Kit, “Some of the kids these days are really good. We have to consistently practise, to keep up and make sure they don’t overtake us.”

Today, many young rappers are following the road that LMF paved for them while performing with pop acts like Sammi Cheng and Josie & the Uni Boys. Phat and Kit have continued their push to popularise the genre, working with their current six-member hip-hop collective, 24Herbs, which they established in 2006, and on their solo acts. Phat and Kit recently released a Cantonese-language track with JB, a fellow acclaimed Hong Kong-born Filipino rapper, that translates to I Want to Play with You.