By Andrew Hoon

So who is the real lion city rapper?

In case you didn’t know, we have two local musicians who have the words ‘Lion City’ in their monikers. Shigga Shay calls himself ‘Lion City Kia’ while Kevin Lester calls himself the ‘Lion City Boy’.

Here, we share whom we think deserves the title more.

1. Lion City what?

Pek Jin Shen, 22, the ‘Lion City Kia’, goes by the name of Shigga Shay in the local music scene. He has been rapping since he was in Polytechnic.

Shigga Shay (in the middle) and his crew on ‘Limpeh’

Kevin Lester, 30, goes by the moniker of ‘Lion City Boy’. He left his full-time job in 2010 to focus on being a professional musician. He has been a musician since 17 (around the same age as Shigga), but only decided to quit his full-time job after his stint in local band Sixx ignited his passion for music.

Kevin Lester (in the white sweater) and friends on “Overdrive”

2. What’s cool about these two rappers?

Shigga has released two popular songs recently, namely ‘Limpeh’ and ‘Lion City Kia’. In Limpeh, he raps with Tosh Rock in Hokkien to a mini-story about our local history, and why Generation-Y Singaporeans are not ‘soft’ and ‘weak’. The epic fight scene is also one you should check out, here:

"> " width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen">

Shigga Shay and friends show you how to fight like Ah Bengs

In Lion City Kia, he drops the hard hitting beats again, rapping about being ‘born and raised’ as a ‘Lion City Kia (chap)’. This time, the music video features many cameo appearances from local celebrities, such as Chua Enlai, Jade Seah, and Zhou Chongqing.

But what is most awesome in this video is the Malay and Tamil rapping by local artists Akeem and Lineath respectively. Talk about embracing multiculturalism. In this aspect, Shigga Shay is probably the first local artist to feature all of our official languages.

Lineath shouts out to all his homies

Akeem teaches you how to be a fashionable Malay

You can catch ‘Lion City Kia’ here:

"> " width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen">

Kevin, on the other hand, has quite a number of international fans. Also, his song ‘Rockstar 2.0’ has been named by Guardian UK as one of the top songs around the world in 2011. Kevin was also the brainchild behind the song, ‘P.Y.C.O’, used for our Lions XII in a Starhub commercial, and has collaborated with local artists such as Sezari Sezali and Vanessa Fernandez.

"> " width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen">

Kevin’s ‘Rockstar 2.0’ which received mention by Guardian UK.

3. Can they survive in Singapore?

In his song ‘Moon Talk’, Shigga Shay raps that Singapore is a ‘city with no future in music’. While still pretty accurate, given the overall support that he has in the local scene, we think that he can still survive. Even despite the haters.

What Shigga Shay has to say about haters

As for Kevin, who has managed to garner some fans when promoting his music overseas, he probably has more fans in total than Shigga Shay. Also, he has recently been signed to Black Eyed Peas member Apl.de.Ap’s personal record company, which pretty much gives him all the awesome lobangs in the States. With such connections, we think there may be great things awaiting Kevin. 

Source

4. So why do they deserve to be the real Lion City rapper?

Shigga Shay’s ‘Limpeh’ hit No.1 on Singapore’s iTunes chart earlier this year. Besides his own successes, he has collaborated with local artists, such as Inch Chua and Sylvia Ratonel. He has also been holding gigs at local clubs and music events. He also once made it on WorldStarHipHop, an American hip-hop site, as the ‘Unsigned Talent of the Week’.

Apart from musical achievements, his father’s passing when he was 19 has led him to actively help cancer patients whenever possible. So yes, this sometimes angsty rapper does have a nice side to him as well.

As for Kevin on the other hand, while his music seems to be more and more based overseas, Kevin maintains that he is grounded in Singapore in terms of his music, and he has proven this by performing at several events in Singapore this year.

Kevin also encapsulates one of the struggles that musicians in Singapore face: to pursue their passion fully, or to stick to their day job for the money? Kudos to Kevin who decided to fully pursue the former.

5. So will the real Lion City Rapper please stand up?

Our verdict is: Both are equally worthy of the title of the real Lion City Rapper. Both display genuine local flavor and culture in their music that doesn’t come across as trying too hard, and they are proud to keep it that way. Also, it’s often complained that our little red dot is too small for big things that exist in two or more, be it television companies, MRT, bus services, or even the telcos. But we think that for the status of Lion City Rapper, two is possible.