China’s Grassroots Hip-Hop Youth and the Power of “Abstract” Culture

In March, a rapper known as Nuomi, or Lodmemo, captured the internet’s attention with his infectious track “Thank God, Thank Heaven.” Featuring the catchy refrain “Shady, Shady, I want to diss you” and showing Lodmemo lounging on fitness equipment, the song quickly went viral. As of the beginning of July, the music video has garnered approximately 1 million likes and has trended multiple times on social media, earning Nuomi more than 3 million followers on Douyin, China’s version of TikTok. Nuomi is a grassroots rapper from a small town in the Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture in southwestern Sichuan province. Before he found fame, he was representative of many in China’s overlooked corners of society: a left-behind child, a young man who grew up in a small town, and an urban migrant worker. Nevertheless, his drive to leave his hometown — sometimes with the help of his fans — and his search for success have helped him to realize his dream of becoming a rapper. Determined to promote rap in his local Yi dialect, Nuomi entered to compete on the popular “The Rap of China” talent show earlier this year. However, during the audition, he was given a failing grade by...