In an unusual display of Chinese-South Korean pop culture harmony, Chengdu-based trap phenomenon Higher Brothers has linked up with Keith Ape of It G Ma fame for a new song, simply called WeChat.
WeChat is the ubiquitous Chinese messaging/social media app that defines the majority of the country’s mobile social power: you can call a taxi, order food, pay for coffee, browse feeds and connect with businesses all without leaving the app. In many ways, WeChat is the network that keeps the country running and prospering, so maybe it’s not so surprising that Higher Brothers decided to honor their favorite app with a smartphone-friendly vertical music video shot entirely inside the WeChat user interface. The video starts with an explanation:
There’s no Skype, no Facebook, no Twitter, no Instagram, we use WeChat!
They’ve been pretty direct with their feelings on censorship before (they told Pigeons and Planes last year they feel they have fewer resources due to the Chinese firewall, and that their reach to the outside world is limited), but the rest of the song is your standard everyday flexing — the hook translates to, “I don’t open WeChat to listen to your bullshit.”
It’s a lyrically dense, melodic new-school trap bump, the likes of which would make Lil Yachty proud.
Yachty also appears in the video, one of several major artists featured as WeChat messages — the likes of Migos, Famous Dex, G Herbo, Smokepurpp, Kyle, and Bohan Phoenix. A message from Bohan Phoenix reads vid dropping soon fam, and one from Kyle says he wants to set up a collab pronto. Foreshadowing?
For those behind the Great Firewall, watch the video here; best viewed on a phone.