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‘Black China Boy’ WoShiJay a hit with Tamil-Mandarin rap

Blending the Chinese language with slick beats, WoShiJay is making waves with his unique blend of music and swagger.

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WoShiJay
Ponmugilan Sekaran aka WoShiJay wants people to know him as an authentic Mandarin rapper. (Andrea Rhiannon Edmonds @ FMT Lifestyle)

PETALING JAYA:
“Hello. Wo shi Jay (I am Jay).”

Years ago, Ponmugilan Sekaran would drop this line while working at a call centre, breaking the ice with Mandarin-speaking customers. It was also a nod to the nickname that has stuck with him since childhood.

Jay is what his family calls him, and it naturally carried over to his friends as well. Today, the world knows him by a slightly remixed version of that name: WoShiJay.

“When I started, I needed to have a rapper name,” he explained to FMT Lifestyle. “At the call centre, I kept on saying ‘wo shi Jay’. So, I was like, ‘I want to make this my rapper name.’”

Today, WoShiJay has made a name for himself in the entertainment scene by rapping in both Tamil and Mandarin. “That’s why I call myself Black China Boy!” the 35-year-old from Sungai Buloh quipped.

The diploma graduate in hotel management began learning Chinese at a young age, having attended a Mandarin-medium kindergarten and primary school before continuing classes in secondary school.

Thanks to his language skills, picking up odd jobs wasn’t much of a struggle while he hustled to carve out a place for himself in the local rap scene.

Free Malaysia Today
WoShiJay made his official debut as a Mandarin rapper in 2013. (WoShiJay Facebook pic)

Last year, his Chinese New Year track “You Dunno Meh?”, a collaboration with singer Jasmine, went viral. The song charmed audiences with its catchy beat, his Tamil swag, and his slick Mandarin rap.

“I was quite shocked,” WoShiJay admitted. “Suddenly my followers increased all around the world. It was exciting to see that people could vibe with my verse.”

His love affair with rap began when he was 15. During a school oral test, he was assigned to recite a syair, a traditional Malay poem.

“It was quite boring for me. I stood up and said, ‘Teacher, I don’t want to recite it like this. Can I rap instead?’. She said OK. So I rapped, and the teacher gave me full marks.”

This passion for rap would later be ignited by local Tamil hip-hop icons like Yogi B, Dr Burn, and Stylomannavan. In 2011, he kicked off his music career as an underground Tamil rapper, and eventually formed the group Aathitiyanz with his brother and cousin, honing his skills under Stylomannavan’s mentorship.

Free Malaysia Today
It was WoShiJay’s father who inspired him to become an artiste. (WoShiJay Facebook pic)

The second of three siblings, WoShiJay recalls enjoying Chinese New Year growing up, visiting friends, collecting ang pows, shopping at malls, and playing at the arcade.

The festive season was equally fun after he became a rapper – only this time, he would find himself performing at corporate gigs alongside the likes of local Cantopop rapper Beeman.

And while he has faced criticism for mispronouncing some Mandarin words, WoShiJay takes it in stride. With the help of fellow rapper Super Mojo, he continuously sharpens his skills to “upgrade myself and fight with all the competitors”.

This year, he’s focusing on pushing boundaries, breaking stereotypes, and establishing himself as a full-fledged Mandarin rapper by launching some new singles. One upcoming track will be “One Type” – a song that challenges racial stereotypes often perpetuated on social media.

“We are all one type,” he stressed. It’s a belief shaped by his diverse influences and upbringing – one that saw WoShiJay grooving to Andy Lau ballads and watching Jackie Chan films.

Yet his real hero has always been his dad, who fulfilled his childhood wish to attend a Chinese vernacular school.

WoShiJay
The rapper will be launching a new album this year with Mandarin tracks. (Andrea Rhiannon Edmonds @ FMT Lifestyle)

Still, mastering Mandarin wasn’t always smooth sailing. Despite his early education, he found the language more difficult in secondary school and struggled in his PMR Mandarin exam.

“It was quite tough,” he acknowledged. “My mum sent me to a tuition centre but I couldn’t learn anything. The teacher called and told her, ‘You should stop sending him – he cannot learn Chinese.’”

Refusing to give up, WoShiJay took extra classes and practised speaking with his Chinese friends. His determination has clearly paid off.

Today, WoShiJay enjoys a growing fanbase of Mandarin-speaking listeners, including hip-hop legend Land Slyde, who first noticed him after his 2013 Mandarin debut on DJ Fuzz’s song “Ritma Merdeka”.

“He texted me, saying: ‘Bro, in those days, people called me Black China Man. You are the Black China Boy now!’ He’s a legend. That’s the best compliment I’ve ever had!”

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