Malaysian singer-songwriter Namewee is no stranger to controversy as our sister site Coconuts KL have reported several times, like the time he filmed a music video outside a mosque and his backup dancers all wore dog masks, for instance.
But every now and then, Namewee writes something that is genuinely lovely and heartfelt, and his latest offering a song called Sing Cantonese Songs, an ode to 80s Cantopop, has been winning over Hong Kong’s netizens since it was posted online over the weekend.
Namewee last penned a song in Cantonese in 2013. Written in the style of a Cantopop ballad, Learn Cantonese shows him trying to woo Vienna Lin, a provocative model and web personality who shocked viewers by demonstrating on live TV various ways of moaning in bed. She also turned heads for demonstrating how to give a blowjob by sucking on someone’s finger, also on TV. Good sport.
Anyhow, the slightly NSFW (not safe for work) version of Learn Cantonese can be seen here, otherwise it’s a lovely song that works in some clever Cantonese puns.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6VfGo-nZg8&frags=pl%2Cwn
Also written Cantopop ballad style, Namewee’s latest song features Cantopop singer Candy Lo while also name dropping several famous Cantopop songs, performers, and even the odd Hong Kong film and TV reference here and there.
The video — which has racked up more than 420,000 views on Facebook, and more than 300,000 views on YouTube since it was posted online on Saturday — shows Namewee reminiscing about the music of the 80s, with lyrics like “Hong Kong Entertainment was still the king of all, coz all the kimchi dudes from Gangnam are not famous yet”, while images of famous Cantopop performers appear in the background.
Namewee, who was spotted in Hong Kong recently one month ahead of his 4896 world tour, told Apple Daily in an interview published on Friday, one day before Sing Cantonese Songs was published, that he had a song in Cantonese planned.
He added that he had friends to help him write the song because Hong Kong’s local tongue was a very “difficult language.” Nonetheless, he described the experience as a lot of fun.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YwpXIY7_c_w&frags=pl%2Cwn
Many Hong Kong netizens praised Namewee for taking them on a trip down memory lane, some admitted to crying while listening to this song.
Others, meanwhile, praised the Malaysian for seeing the beauty in Cantonese amid some fears that the Cantonese language is under threat in favour of Mandarin, which is more widely spoken in the mainland.
For those of you who aren’t familiar with the world of Cantopop, here’s a handful of references/beginner’s guide for anyone struggling to keep up with the plethora of references:
Four Heavenly Kings 四大天王
Not a reference to the four Buddhist Gods, but to Jacky Cheung, Andy Lau, Aaron Kwok and Leon Lai, four of the biggest male entertainers who dominated the Cantopop, Mandopop, and Hong Kong film since the early 90s, and still continue to dominate to this day. Lau, though, is in a bit of trouble after he voiced his support for a controversial land reclamation project.
Days of Walking Together 一起走過的日子
Speaking of Andy Lau, this song was also name dropped, and is one of Lau’s most notable hits.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YLmCaKPbapU&frags=pl%2Cwn
A Bright Future 海闊天空
Also known Under a Vast Sky, this was one of the hit songs by indie pop rock band Beyond in the early 90s, and with lyrics about freedom, it soon became one of the unofficial anthems for the 2014 Umbrella Movement. The chorus translated goes: “Forgive me for embracing freedom in my life, But also fear of falling down some day, To give up one’s hope, it isn’t for hard for anyone, It would be fine if there’s only you and me.”
Not Much to Choose (between the two) 半斤八兩
This was the theme tune of a 1970s comedy film called The Private Eyes, about a group of people working at a Hong Kong detective agency. The song is about working hard for very little money and any other complaints people have about the 9-5 grind. It’s a karaoke staple for Hongkongers, and singing cab drivers.
“Keep on chasing” 一追再追
A line from a song by the late performer Leslie Cheung, who was famous internationally for his starring roles in Wong Kar-wai’s Happy Together and Farewell My Concubine, which won the 1993 Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival. His hit song Chase was featured in this pivotal scene for the 1997 film He is a Woman, She is a Man where Cheung plays a songwriter who falls for a woman dressed up as a man trying to meet Cheung’s famous singer girlfriend.
The Wind Continues to Blow 風繼續吹
Another Leslie Cheung hit that was also the theme tune for the John Woo crime caper Once A Thief starring Cheung and Chow Yun-fat, about three orphans who are taken in first by a wealthy crime boss, and later a kind police officer.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vfOv6rvi0eg&frags=pl%2Cwn
A Man Should Strengthen himself 男兒當自強
It’s a pop tune that has become synonymous with a lot of kung fu films in Hong Kong. This George Lam hit was first featured in Once Upon a Time in China, a film franchise starring Jet Li as martial arts folk hero Wong Fei-hung.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hlC_keDz4Y&frags=pl%2Cwn
KTV
Karaoke.
