Critically acclaimed Chinese-American hip hop artist Bohan Phoenix just dropped a new track with singer-songwriter 9m88, and needless to say, it’s groovy as hell.
The rapper released the track on American Thanksgiving and notes on YouTube that he no longer wants to celebrate what the holiday stands for. Instead, he writes that he wants to “dedicate this song and day to my beautiful mother, Yumei.”
The two-minute-fifty-one-second song, “GLORY,” is a ballad of gratitude to Bohan’s mother. “Every kid’s dream is to feel love,” says the artist in the opening lines, adding, “and you gave me nothing but that real love.”
The track features the seamless intermingling of English and Mandarin Chinese vocals characteristic of the rising artist, with a trumpet-heavy melody that we’ve come to love in the music of Joanne Tang, better known by her stage name 9m88.
This is the second collaboration between Bohan Phoenix and the Taiwan-based singer after the hit 2020 release of “ORIENTATION” with Singaporean artist Slodown, which explored themes of Asian identity amid a global rise in anti-Asian hate crimes.
9m88 performing at 2019 Megaport Music Festival. Image via Wikimedia
Born Leng Bohan in Central China’s Hubei province, Bohan’s adolescent relocation to the US and his mother’s sacrifices are indeed familiar to many first-generation Chinese Americans. He often explores themes relating to this cross-cultural upbringing, so the latest single is right on brand.
9m88, renowned for her soothing blend of RnB, jazz, and pop music, tackles the chorus on the track. “Thank you for your love and glory, all the things that you had to give up for me,” she sings.
“And just by the way you chose to trust me, you gave me the heart to try to be somebody.”
Diehard fans will note that we got a sneak peek at Bohan’s latest earworm on Mother’s Day 2020, albeit without 9m88, when he released a video singing praise to the family matriarch.
In 2019, we joined Bohan in LA as part of our china.wav series to hunt down the city’s spiciest tacos. With family roots in China’s spice capital, Chengdu, it turns out fire is no stranger to Bohan’s music or his palette.
Cover image: screengrab via YouTube
