Namewee’s “Stranger In The North� Finally Penetrates China, But Not The Original Version

[5201314]

 

 

 

https://hype.my/2018/159285/namewees-stranger-in-the-north-finally-penetrates-china-but-not-the-original-version/

 

 

Namewee’s (黃明志) most famous hit “Stranger in the North†(漂å‘北方) featuring Wang Leehom (王力å®) has been a fan favourite’s since its released, garnering various covers and parodies from many music artistes and YouTube talents.

 

Recently, the song was performed on China’s rap competition “The Rap of China†(中国新说唱) by contestants You Zhangjing (尤长é–) from boy group Nine Percent (百分ä¹å°‘å¹´) with new rap lyrics by rapper Lil-Em (é‚£å¾å…‹çƒ­).

 

 

 

The duo scored high scores for the performance, receiving wide applause from the audience and high praises from the judges, making them the champion of the night. Judges Kris Wu and Will Pan even compared rapper Lil-Em to American rap god Eminem.

 

The new rendition was so famous that it landed on several China’s charts including Kuwo Music (酷我音ä¹), QQ Music (QQ音ä¹), China’s Billboard, and more, and was widely discussed on forums and chart forms like Baidu Tieba (百度贴å§) and Zhihu (知乎).

 

 

 

 

But what’s surprising is that many netizens from China didn’t know that the song was released a year ago and was originally sang by Malaysian singer-songwriter Namewee. Some of them were also surprised to know that Wang Leehom was featured in the original version.

 

After discovering the original singer of “Stranger in the Northâ€, many Chinese netizens flocked to Namewee’s social media to express their love for the song. The 35-year-old local talent also openly welcomed his new fans and explained the reason why he was not very well known in China.

 

“These few days there has been a lot of Chinese netizens on my page. I want to say Hello to all my new friends,†Namewee shared on his Facebook. “It is true that I have  been struggling outside of China’s wall for many years. The reason most of you didn’t know me is because there’s a huge old wall blocking me from the outside.â€

 

 

“I will be going to China soon to promote myself and there will be tons of new works coming out, hope that you all will support. But I also recommend everyone to check out my other works on YouTube because some of them are not available inside the wall of China,†the Johor-born singer continued.

 

Upon seeing the new rendition of “Stranger in the North†on the rap competition, Namewee shared the story behind the creation of the song in a lengthy Facebook post as many started to compare the 2 versions.

 

 

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bnyi50TBwBH/

 

 

 

 

“When I was discussing about the song with Leehom, we understood that it was very personal as it was about one’s hardships in life, which is why when we sang the rap or the hook part, we decided not to overdo it as it comes from the heart. This is something we both agree on as we share the same feelings towards the song,†Namewee expressed.

 

“What I’m trying to say is, if I want Leehom to turn this song into R&B, using his real and falsetto voice in the chorus, I’m sure it’s going to be a piece of cake for him. If you want me to rap the song in a cool and vigorous way, I don’t think that’s a problem for me. But we both didn’t do that, because the song is ‘Stranger in the North’.â€

 

 

 

[doby]

The cover is so much better. Leehom's nasally voice always bothered me

[5201314]

The RoC version is definitely more pleasing to the ears.

[Andrexo9]

I love that Xinjiang rapper ! 

[whitedove]

 

 

 

 

https://hype.my/2018/159285/namewees-stranger-in-the-north-finally-penetrates-china-but-not-the-original-version/

 

 

Namewee’s (黃明志) most famous hit “Stranger in the North†(漂å‘北方) featuring Wang Leehom (王力å®) has been a fan favourite’s since its released, garnering various covers and parodies from many music artistes and YouTube talents.

 

Recently, the song was performed on China’s rap competition “The Rap of China†(中国新说唱) by contestants You Zhangjing (尤长é–) from boy group Nine Percent (百分ä¹å°‘å¹´) with new rap lyrics by rapper Lil-Em (é‚£å¾å…‹çƒ­).

 

 

 

The duo scored high scores for the performance, receiving wide applause from the audience and high praises from the judges, making them the champion of the night. Judges Kris Wu and Will Pan even compared rapper Lil-Em to American rap god Eminem.

 

The new rendition was so famous that it landed on several China’s charts including Kuwo Music (酷我音ä¹), QQ Music (QQ音ä¹), China’s Billboard, and more, and was widely discussed on forums and chart forms like Baidu Tieba (百度贴å§) and Zhihu (知乎).

 

 

 

 

But what’s surprising is that many netizens from China didn’t know that the song was released a year ago and was originally sang by Malaysian singer-songwriter Namewee. Some of them were also surprised to know that Wang Leehom was featured in the original version.

 

After discovering the original singer of “Stranger in the Northâ€, many Chinese netizens flocked to Namewee’s social media to express their love for the song. The 35-year-old local talent also openly welcomed his new fans and explained the reason why he was not very well known in China.

 

“These few days there has been a lot of Chinese netizens on my page. I want to say Hello to all my new friends,†Namewee shared on his Facebook. “It is true that I have  been struggling outside of China’s wall for many years. The reason most of you didn’t know me is because there’s a huge old wall blocking me from the outside.â€

 

 

“I will be going to China soon to promote myself and there will be tons of new works coming out, hope that you all will support. But I also recommend everyone to check out my other works on YouTube because some of them are not available inside the wall of China,†the Johor-born singer continued.

 

Upon seeing the new rendition of “Stranger in the North†on the rap competition, Namewee shared the story behind the creation of the song in a lengthy Facebook post as many started to compare the 2 versions.

 

 

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bnyi50TBwBH/

 

 

 

 

“When I was discussing about the song with Leehom, we understood that it was very personal as it was about one’s hardships in life, which is why when we sang the rap or the hook part, we decided not to overdo it as it comes from the heart. This is something we both agree on as we share the same feelings towards the song,†Namewee expressed.

 

“What I’m trying to say is, if I want Leehom to turn this song into R&B, using his real and falsetto voice in the chorus, I’m sure it’s going to be a piece of cake for him. If you want me to rap the song in a cool and vigorous way, I don’t think that’s a problem for me. But we both didn’t do that, because the song is ‘Stranger in the North’.â€

 

 

 

 

LOL this does sound like a bit of a shade. I'm not sure if Namewee actually did hear the ROC version or not, but the lyrics for the melodic part have been tweaked a bit and Lil-Em actually added his own verse. While Namewee & Leehom's version is only filled with despair and hopelessness, Lil-Em & Zhangjing's version is despair but also hopeful and prideful. That's why the ROC version sounds like that, plus it's made for competition so naturally the ROC version needs to be more spirited and aggressive. And they did it well.

 

Also I don't know why the original article never mentioned that Zhangjing is also from Malaysia hmm...Seems like purposeful omission to me.

[HoneyJN]

I think Namewee ft G.E.M is the best version I've heard so far but I really like this version as well.

Have to agree that the original version with Leehom is a little bit weaker in comparison.

[topazz]

It's an amazing song  cover, Zhangjing's stunning high note is what I replayed over and over. Man's got golden vocal chords