Hong Kong rapper looks to follow Rich Chigga and become an international hip hop star
With more than a million views on YouTube for his goofy lyrics and irreverent music videos, rapper Yung Takeem is rising in the indie music scene, despite studying most of the year in Toronto and working from his bedroom
Editor's note: After the publication of this article, Rich Chigga changed his name to Rich Brian.
It’s late at night on Christmas Day 2017 and Yung Takeem, a 22-year-old rapper, is bouncing up and down while he performs at a pop-up show in Hong Kong.
His teenage fans have swarmed to the front of the violin store where the show is taking place, moving in time with the trap beat and shouting out each line of the Cantonese lyrics back at the MC.
Throughout the night, the rapper is approached by fans, many of whom are 14 or 15-year-old secondary school students. One youngster tells him: “People at my school are all listening to your stuff. Keep doing what you’re doing.”
Rich Chigga effect puts spotlight on Indonesia’s hip hop scene: now rappers want to match his success
Receiving such feedback in person doesn’t happen often for Hung Tak-shun, the Hong Kong-born university student behind the Yung Takeem moniker. For most of the year, he lives in Markham, a suburb close to Toronto, Canada, and does everything related to his music online. Most of the school year, he is away from the Hong Kong scene where he has received the most recognition, and only comes back to his hometown for winter and summer holidays.
