Matty Judah On Singaporean “Instagram Rappers”
S-S-S-S-Singapore
Matty Judah…
Born in Singapore, lived in Hong Kong, studied in an international school in Malaysia, came back to serve NS. Was always musical, influenced by American culture; wanted to produce something. Listen to it when I’m bored, need sound. It broadens my subconscious, improves my life.
Started, stopped a few “bands,” because, life. Others do it solo; why can’t I?
Made a diss track about my enciks as a joke; listened to it and realised I like my accent, pronunciation, how they gel with music. It was recorded raw, with a beat; uploaded onto SoundCloud on a Wednesday; it got a 1000 hits by the weekend.
Rich Brian heard it. He’s just like us, and a superstar. I want to meet him. Some friends told me I sound like him. I asked him. He said no, I just have a deep voice. I thanked him for allowing me to have a deep voice.
I don’t want to rap about money, hoes, guns. We’re in Singapore. I like the Lil Dicky vibe, mixing humour and rap. I like dark stuff too. It’s therapeutic. I want to take it as a hobby. Now, my rap reflects my uncertainty towards life.
I like metaphors, leaving them to interpretation. Indran (@bigocean) said: Juliet is a constant, where love can survive in a harsh world. I wasn’t even thinking that! I thought: “Juliet,” a girl, started rapping about her.
Singapore’s a small community; make connections. I would like to release an EP. Shafeeq (@kidmeddling) and I are working on big things.
Singapore “Instagram rappers.”
Everyone wants to be a rapper. We need more people in the game. Yung Raja, Fariz Jabba are the main ones. We’ve also Sheikh Banafe, Big D Bangla, Abang Sapau, etc.
Our rap culture portrays Singapore as an emo teenager.
We’re heavily influenced by America. Our generation grew up on pop music, weren’t exposed to 80’s rap: Tupac, NWA, WuTang. Hip hop picked off because of .WAV(Y) Szn. It’s linked to a “vintage” style.
It’s not knock-off American culture, but it’s silly too: It’s common when someone points a camera at their friends, they start throwing gang signs. I’d a friend who started wearing razor blades as earrings; she cut herself.
How to Instagram?
I post anytime. Surprise drop! I don’t care about likes, I care about impressions. It’s all about making noise. When people ask me about my music in clubs, I’m like: “Whoa, am I famous?” *laughs*
