Bohan Phoenix

Leng Bohan (born 1992 or 1993), better known by his stage name Bohan Phoenix, is a Chinese-American rapper.

Rapper Bohan Phoenix stands in a park in Chinatown, Manhattan.
Bohan Phoenix in 2021 in Chinatown, Manhattan.

Early life

Leng was born in Hubei, China, in 1992 or 1993.[1] His mother worked in Shenzhen, and his grandparents took care of him.[2] Leng at the age of 11 immigrated with his mother to Newton, Massachusetts, where he heard hip hop for the first time.[2] In high school, he joined the choir, where the director encouraged him to rap.[3] Leng studied at New York University.

Career

In 2017, having lived in New York for seven years, he moved back to China after learning there was a strong desire for live hip hop music while going on tour.[4] He released a short film detailing his reasons for returning to Chengdu in China called 3 Days in Chengdu produced by Roni Shao.[5] After the Chinese rap competition show The Rap of China popularized hip hop in China, Leng experienced a huge increase in performance invitations, earning him enough funds to remain financially secure living in China.[2] The show's producers asked him to compete on its first two seasons.[2] Wary of how the show would edit his appearances, he declined to join the competition.[2] A November 2021 article said that he was based in New York and had spent the last half decade traveling between New York and China to do shows.[3]

To show his support for Black Lives Matter, he published the song "Unconditional" in September 2021 as part of EMPIRE Presents: Voices For Change: Vol. 1.[3] Around 2021, he signed with Warner Music China's hip hop label JUUICE and planned to publish an album in 2022 that he had begun creating in 2018.[6] The 2022 Pirelli Calendar included Leng, making him the "first Chinese musician" showcased in the trade calendar.[7]

Artistry

Leng's music fuses together Chinese and Western elements through singing in Mandarin and English as well as combining hip hop rhythms with Asian instruments.[2] Olivia Wycech of MixMag said, Leng's work demonstrates a "syncopated harmony of the two transnational cultures he grew up in: rapid fire lyrics riffing in English and Mandarin with stories centred around his cultural identity and experiences as an immigrant — altogether challenging western stereotypes about hip hop".[4]

He cites American rapper Eminem as his inspiration. Leng was captivated by Eminem's film debut 8 Mile, saying in an interview, he was "impressed by how Eminem was able to stand out, especially in an all-black environment back then. He is the gateway for so many people."[8]

References
  1. Deng, Jireh (9 May 2022). "Bohan Phoenix, 'New York Made Me'". NPR. Retrieved 22 October 2022.
  2. Siu, Joyce (31 March 2018). "The Chinese-American hip-hop star who won't go on The Rap of China". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 22 October 2022.
  3. Guanzon, Sofia (25 November 2021). "How Chinese-American Rapper Bohan Phoenix Makes Homecoming An Art With His Music". HipHopDX. Retrieved 22 October 2022.
  4. Wycech, Olivia (14 September 2020). "Why rapper Bohan Phoenix left the birthplace of hip hop for China". Mixmag. Archived from the original on 13 October 2022. Retrieved 22 October 2022.
  5. Billboard Radio China (15 March 2019). "Rapper Bohan Phoenix Releases Short Film, '3 Days in Chengdu': Watch". Billboard. Retrieved 22 October 2022.
  6. Davis, Rebecca (3 June 2021). "Warner Music China Signs Rapper Bohan Phoenix, Expands JUUICE Hip-Hop Imprint". Variety. Retrieved 24 October 2022.
  7. Lanigan, Roisin (6 August 2021). "These are the stars of the 2022 Pirelli calendar". i-D. Retrieved 24 October 2022.
  8. Billboard Radio China (20 December 2018). "Chinese-American Rapper Bohan Phoenix Talks Balancing East and West Hip-Hop". Billboard. Archived from the original on 13 October 2022. Retrieved 22 October 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.