{"id":178771,"date":"2021-04-14T12:28:52","date_gmt":"2021-04-14T04:28:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thehoneycombers.com\/hong-kong\/?p=178771"},"modified":"2024-11-20T19:38:10","modified_gmt":"2024-11-20T11:38:10","slug":"haysen-cheng-hong-kong-rapper-interview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thehoneycombers.com\/hong-kong\/haysen-cheng-hong-kong-rapper-interview\/","title":{"rendered":"Haysen Cheng: the Hong Kong rapper who manifested success on the basketball court"},"content":{"rendered":"

The music game in Hong Kong keeps going from strength to strength. Whether you\u2019re into indie bands like Thud<\/a> and My Little Airport<\/a> or fresh R&B stylings from the likes of Wesley Jamison<\/a>, you\u2019re bound to find some local talent that hits in just the right way. And if you\u2019re a hip hop fan, then you\u2019re probably already familiar with Haysen Cheng, the Hong Kong rapper with the iconic voice and the lyrics to boot.<\/p>\n

Meet Haysen Cheng<\/h3>\n

For many young musicians, the early years are filled dreaming of becoming superstars. This was kind of true for Haysen Cheng, but not in the way you\u2019d think.<\/p>\n

Cheng grew up in Hong Kong and was surrounded by music, playing the cello in his school orchestra and also singing in choirs. \u201cFrom when I was 5-10, I didn\u2019t even know that hip hop music existed. I just thought that classical music was the only genre of music there was. All I had in my head was Mozart, Bach, Brahm\u2019s, and Canto Pop,\u201d explains Cheng.<\/p>\n

Aged 10, he moved with his family to Shanghai where life became all about studying and playing basketball. \u201cWhen I moved to Shanghai, the school was more international and I was hanging with kids from all over, so I discovered rap. And I loved the lyrics and the ways they told a story. The first album I ever purchased was a Rick Ross album called God Forgives, I Don\u2019t. I still listen to that album once a day because the story-telling is just legendary.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Haysen
Becoming a rapper wasn’t always on the cards for Haysen Cheng, but he’s carved out his own place in the scene<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Falling for hip hop<\/h3>\n

When he started listening to Lil Wayne he was always analysing the lyrics. As a child, Cheng was always taken by poetry and knew it was one of his gifts. Then, he began realising that hip hop and rap was like adult poetry.<\/p>\n

\u201cDrake changed the way my brain was wired completely. Lil Wayne and Rick Ross, I couldn\u2019t really relate to their image, but Drake… He was raised by a single mother and the stuff he went through was what I was going through, like really realistic financial stuff. He had to take care of his mother, he dropped out of high school, he didn\u2019t go to college. I really, really related to that stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n

The family had some financial problems, and at age 16, he wasn\u2019t able to continue at his school. \u201cAt the last minute, my basketball coach in Shanghai, who is actually Spanish, got me an offer to go and train in Gran Canaria. The whole goal of the place is to play College basketball in the US,\u201d he explains.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/BgtTKP3FNG3\/<\/p>\n

\u201cMy routine there was pretty brutal. We woke up at 5am every morning and went to practice until 7am, then we\u2019d go to school and I had no time to do my homework.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cheng says that his experience in Spain changed his life, the largest being developing his love for hip hop music and realising that he had a gift for rapping.<\/p>\n

\u201cThose 2-3 years really shaped who I am now. I was training with people from Senegal, Mali, the Netherlands, Canada, and Spain. A lot of things that seemed really far-fetched for me, like training with ex-NBA coaches, became reality. I learned the reality that race doesn\u2019t matter at all. It\u2019s all about your skills and what you\u2019re bringing to the table.\u201d<\/p>\n

Back to Hong Kong<\/h3>\n

At age 18, he had seven scholarship offers to go to the US, but Cheng didn\u2019t take any of them. Instead, he chose to return to Hong Kong and work with his mother to support the family business. A self-professed hustler, he was pulling long hours in the business and teaching English on the side to make ends meet.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=PIfPAzw6ayY&list=PLQrVJlcWK55g9dIoB5xNz18yoMUJyCX6Y<\/p>\n

When Asian rappers like Higher Brothers started coming out, he knew that he wanted to make rapping a career, so when he wasn\u2019t working, he was writing songs (we’re talking like 60 songs). Months went by where he wasn\u2019t able to actually produce his music, but when he\u2019d saved enough cash he started recording some of them and the result was his mixtape Durags and Chopsticks which garnered lots of success both locally and internationally.<\/p>\n