Forget about gold chains and Lambos for a sec – we’re talking about fallouts, failure, and newfound freedom with Hong Kong’s most criminally underrated rapper: Young Hysan.
You might recognise Young Hysan (aka Nile Bun) from The Low Mays, a controversial local hip hop group who made waves with its unabashedly satirical and brutally humorous lyrics. Or, you may be familiar with the indie rapper through his collaborations with various Cantopop A-listers, such as MC Cheung Tinfu, Dear Jane, and Jay Fung. But whether underground or mainstream, Young Hysan’s progressive style and bilingual wit proves his passion lies more in his artistry than any one chart position or award. Having departed from Warner Music and founded his own independent label Fulham Productions last year, the rapper is now continuing to push creative boundaries with his new album – Start Again.
Even as a new listener, it’s not hard to see that Start Again is more than a work of musical experimentation. The deeply impassioned lyrics reveal a journey of self-discovery, giving an intriguing glimpse of the artist’s candid and vulnerable self as he gets to grips with his professional detour and personal growth. Join us as we explore Young Hysan’s evolution, transformation, and recent reflections.
Keeping it real: A deep dive with Young Hysan
From a regular local school student to hitting it big with The Low Mays, to becoming a full-fledged rapper – how did it all start?
I went to a strict local school and many of us were made to focus on getting into university. In order to step away from all the pressure and expectations, I actually stopped going to school for two years. That gave me a lot of time and space to work on my music and find myself. It was really tough though, because I had to discipline myself and try to balance between being a musician and preparing for public exams. Eventually, I managed to get into HKU, but back then was the first time I decided to get my act together and chase my dreams.
As for The Low Mays, those people have been my best friends since middle school. We’ve been through a lot together – even when I was constantly getting in trouble, when I was arguing with my parents, and when I was having a hard time figuring out my position in the world. They’re the ones I relied on. I think our bond and mutual trust brings out our humorous side, and it makes The Low Mays a nice “by-product” of our friendship. Making music is just a fun thing we do together whenever we hang out. On the other hand, my music as Young Hysan is more about myself in entirety – my personal experiences, as well as my thoughts and feelings.
Where do you get your inspiration from?
I find inspiration everywhere; it’s more about removing the barriers between myself and those inspirations. I know this sounds a little abstract, but hear me out: it’s difficult to get myself into the right state of mind. In order to get there, I have to be very mindful of what I’m thinking and experiencing. So, I journal a lot; I talk to my friends about how I feel; I listen to their experiences. I have to be honest, self-aware, and sensitive about what’s going on within me and around me, in my circle of friends and in society. Many of these things, then, just bleed into my music.
What are some challenges you’ve been facing in your career?
The Hong Kong market is definitely challenging. I’m a freestyle rapper at heart, but hip hop culture and English rap music just aren’t commonly accepted or understood here. My output over the past couple of years has become more like pop rap, hip hop-influenced pop music, or even R&B, instead of straight-up English rap music (like the stuff by Lil Baby or Drake). I suppose it’s partially my responsibility to introduce the American rap culture to Hong Kong, but I still recognise that certain aspects might not translate well, given the cultural differences. The fact that my music wasn’t mainstream was a major source of frustration I struggled with earlier on in my career. But I think I’m pretty versatile, so I should be able to find a way to make music I love while also resonating with the local audience. Sometimes I do get the urge to just move to LA and drop a mixtape there though!
What are some common misconceptions about you? Here’s your chance to clear them up!
I imagine the most common misconception is that I’m rude, unfriendly, or really narcissistic, maybe due to the stereotypes about rappers or the fact that my music sounds confident – when in truth I’m a pretty friendly guy! Also, some people seem to think I’d be frustrated or miserable about myself being underrated, especially back when I was signed to a major record label (Warner Music). But I’m hopeful and I don’t think other people’s success takes away from mine. In fact, I believe the Hong Kong music industry needs change; it needs new blood to become more versatile in terms of genre, sound, and emotion, so I’m happy to see other artists, especially my peers, do well.
Tell us about your new album Start Again!
Start Again is about failure and hope. I was going through a bit of a quarter-life crisis when I wrote this album, feeling lost and stagnant after a few years in the music industry. Questions like “what am I doing?” and “will I ever make it?” always came to mind, and I had a lot of self-doubt. I was trying hard to become a popstar – so much so that I lost touch with myself, my passion and inspiration, and the time to connect with my friends. I constantly feared running out of time. So, Start Again stemmed from these crises; it’s about feeling disoriented and failing to meet expectations – but still finding hope amidst it all.
In the album, you’ll find songs like “Rockstars”, which is about my career and struggles; “Waiting for the Day” is about being stuck in a dead-end job; “I Wish” and “Broken Dreams” are about relationships where I’d given my all, just to watch them fall apart. These trials and tribulations, however, helped me find myself and Start Again in life. Instead of setting my eyes on external success and pleasing others, I’ve “started again” by internally changing how I see the world, setting my priorities straight, and choosing how to live my life and who to surround myself with.
I feel that a lot of the times when people fail, we don’t show them much sympathy. We just want to blame them for “being lazy” – typical Hong Kong way of thinking. I made Start Again for those people – those of you who feel you’ve wasted your time and youth in your jobs, schooling, relationships, family… And feel like you can’t start again. But you have to. And you will. And you will be fine.
So now that you’ve started again per se, where are you heading?
Now that I’ve started again, I want to be able to share more of other people’s stories and of course, my own story, too. I wish to make music that celebrates life (whatever that means) and stay in touch with what’s going on in the world, in my city, and with my generation. Everyone goes through different things, but there are certainly some universal experiences – and music is about discovering what they are. I also want to explore more genres of music. I already stepped out of my comfort zone with Start Again, which included quite a bit of pop rock. This time, I hope to experiment with acoustic music, maybe some R&B, bits and pieces of post-punk rock… I want to be able to show people what it’s like inside my head and give them a truly immersive experience.
Where do you think Hong Kong’s hip hop scene is heading, then?
Hong Kong’s hip hop scene has been getting bigger since around 2015, when Show Me the Money in South Korea and Rap of China became a thing. Hip hop is now more widely accepted across Asia, but unfortunately, I’d say Hong Kong is probably the most behind on this. In places like Cambodia, Malaysia, Vietnam, and the Philippines, you’d find rappers everywhere in the charts! I feel we’ll eventually catch on though. I hope people become more open-minded towards the counterculture here and embrace different forms of expression.
Listen to Young Hysan on Spotify and follow him on Instagram.
