Local rapper Namewee (黃明志) aka Wee Meng Chee has made a name for himself as a talented yet controversial artist. Be it taking the mickey with China’s leader, touching on sensitive topics or even simply speaking his mind, Namewee’s bold nature is both celebrated and scorned.
But, what do we really know about the singer himself? Well, mandarin podcast R U OKAY!? (你OK吗) recently sat down with Namewee to get to know him better, and unsurprisingly, the singer dropped some gems: from the reason behind his name to his rise to fame.
The 40-year-old singer started off strong with the one question everyone has been wondering about: his name. “This was a common argument I would have with my teachers,” Namewee shared. “What is your name? Name! I almost got slapped for it.”
As name in Mandarin “Míngzi (明子)” and his name in Mandarin, “Míngzhì (明志)”, sounded similar, teachers would often think he was being cheeky with them. But, Namewee explained that his grandfather, who had given him the name, was a Hainanese and hadn’t realised it would sound that way in Mandarin. “Hainanese and Chinese have different languages,” he added.
Well, his name isn’t the only thing that makes him stand out. Namewee started writing and composing songs in secondary school, creating roughly 400 songs after studying others and realising “it was easy“. His first song “One Night Stand”, written at fifteen, was a huge hit with his classmates who memorised and sang it. “It made me think, “Wow, it’s nice to write songs”,” he said.
Knowing he wanted to keep producing songs, he later travelled to Taiwan to study and grow his career. At the time, he was focused on producing songs, so he would hit up music studios, and pass demos to producers. However, even after six years, Namewee had yet to sell a single song. But, an accident on YouTube, along with his famous controversial streak, catapulted him to fame.
His song “Muar Mandarin (麻坡的華語)” had been the first one he’d uploaded to YouTube with the intention of sharing it with his classmates and friends in Muar. “After uploading (it), I didn’t realise the account was open to the public,” he said. While the song achieved overnight fame with 80,000 views, it touched a nerve with others who resented its controversial topics, including the municipal council who wanted to sue him.
“But all was well afterwards,” he concluded. “Since I was safe, I wrote “Negarakuku”.” Most will remember the remix of Malaysia’s national anthem and the waves it caused afterwards. He even received a death threat, sent straight to his home in Muar. Namewee added he had been worried for his parents in Malaysia, as he was still in Taiwan at the time, but had not regretted writing and releasing the song.
While his songs didn’t earn him any favours with the Malaysian government, it did spotlight him to upcoming artists. Namewee ended up collaborating with other well-known artists, including Japanese AV actress Mikami Yua, Joyce Chen and even Jacky Wu. While he approached some, others have approached him, and others have approached him, Namewee’s most memorable collab by far was the first artist who agreed to work with him: Wang Leehom.
Namewee shared he had Leehom’s contact thanks to being in a group chat under the Chinese show “Remix”. “I contacted (Leehom). I said it was the perfect song for him. I’d like to do a collab,” the singer recalled. “He said yes immediately after hearing the demo. The others (have) never agreed as quickly.”
It didn’t take long for “Stranger In The North (漂向北方)” to be a sensation. Naturally, Namewee wondered why an A-lister like Leehom hadn’t hesitated to do the collab song. “He (Leehom) said the reason was simple. (The song) sounded great,” Namewee shared. The praise gave him a confidence booster which has since bolstered the singer through the ups and downs in his career.
Namewee’s latest album “Weenomenon” still carries his same unrelenting belief about art. “The message is “sing it out loud for freedom”. Freedom of speech and freedom of publication. It’s an expression of your work,” he explained. Unsurprisingly, that core part of Namewee hasn’t changed.
As he presents himself, Namewee has always been an unyielding artist, willing to find fun in the unlikeliest of areas and challenge what he disagrees with. We’re certain many will continue supporting him as he continues growing both as a singer and a composer.
Watch the podcast here:
Source: YouTube
