From the underground to mainstream dominance: charting 35 years of Malaysian hip-hop

KUALA LUMPUR, July 11 — Rap, a genre marked by spoken word over beats, thrives on rhyme, wordplay, and poetic techniques like metaphors and similes. Its socially driven lyrics trace back to the Bronx neighbourhood in New York City in the 1970s, forming a core part of hip-hop culture alongside DJing, graffiti, breakdancing, and fashion. Closer to home, in Malaysia, rap burst out of the underground scene in Kuala Lumpur during the early 90s. Krash Kozz, then a four-member group, introduced the Malaysian masses to hip-hop with their well-received mixtape, Pump it Up, in 1989 which was certified by Billboard as the first hip-hop album to be recorded by a Malaysian artiste. Advertisement After trimming down to a trio and releasing a self-titled EP in 1992, they were joined by emerging acts, with commercially-friendly poppy leanings in the arrival of rap releases in Bahasa Malaysia from KRU, 4U2C, and Les Enfant. It would however be a year before Nico’s first album, Buatan Los Angeles, before the true dawn of Malay-language rap. The same year, which saw the release of the third and final album from Krash Kozz — also saw the first actual celebration of hip-hop locally in Konsert Rap...