FEATURE | Asen Azhitsune

Text by Miho Matsuda

Asen emerged from a small regional city called Enshi, Hubei Province, China, just as Compton gave birth to Kendrick Lamar and Kawasaki gave birth to BAD HOP. He is currently a member of Digi Ghetto, a hip-hop group based in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, and has made a global presence as a Chinese hip-hop artist, second only to the Higher Brothers, who is affiliated with 88rising, including appearing in both solo and group roles in Rolling Loud Thailand 2024 in 2024.

His rap style doesn’t show off his Rich Chinese flex lifestyle or his street position. The introspective lyrics that reflect life, such as the sense of frustration about gaining fame and wanting to be recognized by local friends and family, and the public image of a rapper and conflict with himself, are layered on an emotional sound that combines R&B, jazz and pop. Its unique, repressive, sharp and heated flow, like poetry reading, is supported by people who don’t normally listen to hip-hop, and attracts a wide range of listeners.

The background to Asen’s popularity is his own story of a small town in the countryside, where he has experienced many setbacks, yet crawling with realistic words and melodic sounds as his weapons. This is the life of a Chinese rapper, but also resonates with everyone who has left his hometown.

Photo by JasAnowilm

Asen grew up in a regional city called Enshi, Hubei Province. The boy with a good memory and loves music was said to have been expected by his grandmother and father, saying, “I hope he will become an engineer or a civil servant in the future.” He listened to Will Pan (Pan Yongbai) and Jay Chou (Zhou Zhen Lun), which were popular at the time, and began writing and compose music from high school due to the influence of the Internet.

As my family expected, he went to a university in Chongqing and majored in science and engineering. There, he happened to stop by and meets Trap at a bar, and his life changes completely. He wanted to become a rapper and dropped out of college. He signed with Xiamen label and made his debut in 2018 with “Iced Out.” At the time, the label wanted to appear on a popular hip-hop variety show in China, but there was a gap between him and he wanted to concentrate on the film.

As a result, the contract with the label was terminated. In 2019, he moved to Chengdu, a hip-hop sacred place with Thomeboydontkill and others whom he met online, and the following year he formed Digi Ghetto with a crew of five. It released three mixtapes and the single charted on major Chinese music platforms. The song “Dokou-no-no” with Thomeboydontkill was a huge hit on the short video platform, and it attracted attention as a follower of the Higher Brothers.

Among them, Ai Zhiheung’s solo album “NESA” (2022) was released. While he is growing fame in “Single Sword”, he calmly puts his feelings towards his grandmother, who has been reluctant to pursue his career as a rapper, while in “Single Swords” he shows his feelings for his grandmother, who has been reluctant to pursue his career as a rapper. The lyrics, which seem to describe his life, attracted sympathy from young people in their teens and 20s in the Chinese world, especially those from rural areas.

In 2023, they released their collaboration album “Kuu-bite Dog” with Higher Brothers’ Masiwei. He made his first appearance as a guest on Masiwei’s world tour “MASIWEI 2023 WORLD TOUR” held at Ebisu The Garden Hall in October of the same year, along with RollFlash, where he took his first stage in Japan. During the “PYT” with Masiwei, a chorus that trembled by the native Chinese audience that filled the venue. The floor, which was filled with so much excitement that you wouldn’t see at a live performance in Japan, proved how popular they were by young people in the Chinese world.

Additionally, the album “Life After Small Town,” released last year, already symbolizes the next phase. “The Silent Pt.2/Fufu” is a song about a new family, featuring the feelings of escaping the current suffering on a sleek track. The evolution from the previous work and current preparedness were expressed, such as the “Xiao-cho” who accepted his former self and said goodbye to his obsession with the past. This world tour, featuring this album, will travel to Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, the United States, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Taiwan, and will then be performing live shows in 11 cities within China.

The Tokyo performance, which will be held at WWW X in Shibuya, Tokyo on Saturday, April 5th, will be his first solo performance in Japan. This stage will mark the beginning of a new chapter and yet at the same time bringing the present moment of the Chinese hip-hop scene to Japan.