History
The origin of Thai hip hop can be traced back to Thailand in the mid-1980s. "Moo Kang Thong" (หมูแข้งทอง, Moo's Golden Kick) by Mr. Tang Mo (มิสเตอร์แตงโม, real name Pratchaya Srithanyarat) in 1985 is credited as the first song to feature hip hop music in the Thai language. However, there were earlier pop records that experimented with rap, such as Thaneth Warakulnukroh's "Buea Kon Bon" (เบื่อคนบ่น), and Rewat Buddhinan's "Mun Plak Dee Na" (มันแปลกดีนะ). [1]
The Thai hip hop scene began in the early 1990s, with artists like Jetrin Wattanasin and Touch Na Takuatung. While they were more representative of Thai pop, the earliest Thai hip hop group, TKO (Technical Knock Out), was signed to KITA Records. Their first album, Original Thai Rap, released in 1993 and produced by Kamol Sukosol Clapp (later one of the founders of Bakery Music), was commercially unsuccessful but helped introduce Thai hip hop, heavily influenced by US hip hop. [2]
Joey Boy's first album for Bakery Music in the same name, had hip hop influences from R&B and reggae and became a hit on Thai radio stations during the mid-1990s. For this distinction, Joey Boy became known as the Godfather of Thai hip hop. [3]
One underground hip hop artist, Dajim, became very famous among underground music listeners in the early 2000s. He was signed to GMM Grammy's Genie Records division and released his first hit album, Rap Thai.
During the 2000s, rap groups such as Southside, Sing Neua Seua Tai, Buddha Bless, and Thaitanium became primarily popular among hip hop fans.
One prominent Thai rapper and singer is Illslick, who competed in the S.E.A. Audio Battle in 2006 and initially created mixtape records. Illslick's popularity began to grow after the successful underground single "Jai Rai" (ใจร้าย) featuring Southside, which had a more slow jam and R&B influence. He later became widely known in Thai hip hop and has been cited as an influence on several Thai hip hop artists. Although Illslick's songs in later years leaned more towards a pop and R&B style, he was also synonymous with diss tracks and violent lyrics, drawing comparisons to Tupac Shakur. [4]
Since crossing over into the mainstream in the 2010s, Thai hip hop has become one of the most popular in the internet and streaming era, with artists such as D Gerrard, Youngohm, Younggu, PMC, and RachYO. [5] [6]
In mid-2021, "Ton" (ทน) a single of duo Sprite x GUYGEEGEE debut #89 on the Billboard Global. [7]
In September 2021, Lisa of Blackpink released her debut single album Lalisa . The first single, "Lalisa", and the second single, "Money" both charted in the top ten of the Billboard Global 200. It was also her first album to achieve this milestone, making her the first female artist to sell 736,000 copies of an album in its first week in South Korea.
In October 2021, Thai hip-hop musicians F.HERO and Milli released single "Mirror Mirror," featuring Changbin of the South Korean boy group Stray Kids. [8] With the social media app TikTok contributing to the song's international popularity, the music video for "Mirror Mirror" reached 53 million views as of February 2022. [9] Additionally, the female rapper Milli performed at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in 2022, making her the first Thai solo artist to perform there. [10] [11]
3cha hip hop
3 cha hip hop is a music fusion genre that blend with hip hop and Thai cha cha cha. Thai cha cha cha has influence from latin america cha cha cha, and adapt to create their own sound, which become popular genre among thai society. Espescially, In thai youth. Since hip hop music become popular genre and Thai producer/dj start to mix 3cha and hip hop together. The different between latin cha cha cha and Thai cha cha cha is Thai arrangement emphasizes the downbeat on the first count, creating a solid and grounded feel. When moving to the rhythm, one can sense the body naturally dropping in sync with the kick drum and bass, both of which accentuate the first beat. In contrast, the latin america arrangement highlights the upbeat, resulting in a lighter and more buoyant sensation. This is due to the bass line playing slightly off the main beat. When dancing to it, the movement tends to feel more fluid and free. Thai cha cha cha also put rum wong in the music. Also, the modern thai cha cha cha have high BPM around 130-150, and have sound of cowbell, tom-drum, ching (Thai cymbals). [14]
Example of song https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eUArRG92SaQ KANI$ - โยกย้าย FT. PKW
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJ9gzCYxDV8 KANI$ x PKW x ZaynSTX - ระบบ รถแห่
Yok lor Hip Hop
This genre is another style that has been blended with hip-hop, featuring a tempo starting from 128 BPM and above. Its foundation is adapted from traditional sam-cha rhythms and yok-lo music, incorporating Breakbeat patterns to create a more modern sound. Yok-lo itself is a subgenre that evolved from EDM, yet differs from its roots in both sound and rhythmic character. Thai-style production tends to emphasize brighter tones and conveys a lively, energetic mood, whereas international styles are generally smoother and place more focus on continuous, flowing beats.
Yok-lo has also been widely remixed, mashed up, and bootlegged, often incorporating various additional sound elements that diminish its original mix characteristics. A key feature of yok-lo is its distinctive synthesizer sound, particularly in the mid-frequency range, which is colloquially referred to as the “tûet” sound. At times, this sound blends both “tûet” and “tîw” characteristics. The genre also commonly includes DJ vocal samples layered in the background, adding identity to the beat and enhancing the party-like atmosphere.
As for sai-yaw (a related substyle), its tempo differs from traditional sam-cha. Sai-yaw typically ranges from around 128–130 BPM, whereas authentic sam-cha tends to be faster, at approximately 140 BPM. [15]
Example of song https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2yX5jdA_l4 [Official MV] แว้นแล้วไงวะ - แจ๊ส สปุ๊กนิค ปาปิยอง กุ๊กกุ๊ก [ JSPKK ]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T322TDmOKJI YOUNGOHM - THATTHONG SOUND ft. SONOFO
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1x0JXjWIkkY PEE CLOCK - I DEK TID YAA FT. GUNNER [ Prod. by Brownzer ] ( OFFICIAL MV )
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZ-NzLoMvsA SPRITE ft. M-PEE, MIKI - สองล้อไม่ง้อสองรัก OFFICIAL MV
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPuokJsmpCk GUNNER - เพลงรัก (Official Mv)
