SKAI ISYOURGOD
揽佬SKAI ISYOURGOD | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Chen Sikai（陈思凯） |
| Born | 1998 (age 26–27) Huizhou, Guangdong, China |
| Genres |
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| Years active | 2020–present |
| Labels |
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| Education | Sichuan Media College |
SKAI ISYOURGOD[a] (born 1998; Chinese: 揽佬; pinyin: Lǎn Lǎo) is a Chinese rapper. His works combine Memphis rap and southeast Chinese coastal folk culture.
In August 2024, SKAI released his second album Ba Fang Lai Cai (八方来财). Songs such as "Ba Fang Lai Cai", "Yin Guo" (因果), and "Da Zhan Hong Tu" (大展鸿图) in the album went viral on Western and Chinese social media. On July 7, 2025, he exceeded 3 million active monthly listeners on Spotify, beaming the Chinese artist with the most monthly listeners.[2]
Early life and education
[edit]SKAI was born in the city of Huizhou, Guangdong, China, in 1998. His father is from Leshan, Sichuan. He attended the private Sichuan Media College (四川传媒学院) in Chengdu, Sichuan, for undergraduate studies in performing arts.[3][4][5]
Career
[edit]On 20 December 2020, SKAI released his first single "KNOW that" on NetEase Cloud Music, and then released several singles in succession, experimenting with several styles, including R&B. On 14 April 2023, he released the single "LAN LAO KING". According to SKAI in an interview with the Chinese hip-hop platform SoulSense TWH, it was the beginning of the creation of his signature Memphis rap style, his most recent experimental style.[6]
On 10 September 2023, SKAI's released his first album, Shun Feng Shun Shui Shun Cai Shen (顺风顺水顺财神).[7][8]
On 20 August 2024, SKAI's release his second album, Stacks from All Sides (八方来财). The album continued to use Memphis rap music as the creative basis, integrating Cantonese folk elements and ridicule of the workplace environment and human relationships in mainland China. The album went viral across social media, and Internet secondary creations, such as the Douyin broadcaster Xiao Cao Animation,[9] brought SKAI a lot of fame.[10] In April 2025, SKAI announced that he would go to Taiwan to hold a special concert on 27 July.[11]
On 10 July 2025, SKAI released his first Extended play album Stacks from All Sides: Fresh Off the Boat (八方来财之江船入海) on Music Streaming Services, which includes 9 new songs never get official released before, He marks it as a part of Stacks from All Sides. Chinese Hip-Hop producer "Jacking" joins as Executive Producer, nearly all tracks were produced by Jacking himself, excluding the Track 8. the song were produced by Jacking and another producer which artist name of "Phantom".
Album Stack from All Sides
[edit] | This section needs additional citations for verification. (June 2025) |
| Stack from All Sides 八方来财 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio album by 攬佬SKAI ISYOURGOD | ||||
| Released | 20 August 2024 | |||
| Genre |
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| Length | 54:32[12] | |||
| Language | Mandarin Chinese | |||
| Label | Showstart Release | |||
| Producer |
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| 攬佬SKAI ISYOURGOD chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Stack from All Sides | ||||
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In the album Stack from All Sides[b], three songs went viral: "Stack from All Sides" (八方来财), "Karma Code" (因果), and "Blueprint Supreme" (大展鸿图). SKAI's southeast Chinese coastal roots are noticeable though his Cantonese accent and numerous allusions and literary devices.
In the first half of the album, SKAI explores the ambitions of people in contemporary Chinese society to expand their material desires. In the second half of the album, SKAI incorporates his own life into the album, exploring the contradictions during early adulthood, societal temptations, and cherishing loved ones.[13]
Summary
[edit]The three viral songs come from the first half of the album.
The namesake song, "Stack from All Sides"(八方来财), describes a life full of hustle. It opens with folk imagery, in which the protagonist dreams of social climbs, whether it be acquiring a better scooter, buying new fancy clothes, showing off his wealth, or upgrading to a white or yellow motorcycle license plate; white and yellow license plates in Guangdong and Hong Kong are a sign of success, and therefore, are a local status symbol. Wearing jade pendants for luck, keeping a home altar with incense and offerings, regularly bowing and praying, and seeking wealth from the divine, he is constantly chasing money and status, but not through glorified business. The man gambles, plays mahjong, and has side hustles in order to achieve this. He knows the methodology of his social ascension is bad, but he does it anyways, alluding to cultural elements, such as yin-yang from Taoism, and karma from Buddhism.
In the next song, "Karma Code"(因果), the protagonist is confronted by the divine about his unethical social rise by traditional Chinese deities, who seek to address the consequences of his deeds. Initially, the protagonist tries appease the gods, then shift the blame, but is ultimately is forced to reflect on and acknowledge his actions.
The lyrics of "Blueprint Supreme"(大展鸿图) paint exaggerated, humorous portraits of a nouveau riche lifestyle, describing absurdly lavish yet strangely familiar scenes of showy wealth in modern China, such as the scene of "singing karaoke in the villa and silver arowana in the pool" (Chinese: 别墅里面唱k，水池里面银龙鱼), which is a unique way of "showing off wealth" for Guangdong's wealthy, rather than luxury cars and watches in the traditional sense. In addition, the plot of "the master writes the words himself" (Chinese: 大师亲手题笔字) in the lyrics comes from his parents' obsession with Yi Tou (Chinese: 意头) and belief in Feng Shui during his childhood, as well as people's memory of using "qiu zi" (Chinese: 求字, lit. 'asking for a character')—the practice of asking a master calligrapher or fortune-teller to write a character, typically for symbolic or auspicious purposes—as a special way of socializing at that time.[14]
Reactions
[edit]The three songs have gone viral in Western social media, such as TikTok and Instagram Reels, being used as background for clips or memes, with countless spin-offs and remixes. Apart from the Orientalism, users noted the perceived wisdom in the album that Western discography seems to lack.[15]
The song "Stack from All Sides" sparked debates due to the term “憋佬仔”, meaning "bastard (The correct character for '憋佬仔' is '鳖佬仔', which means 'Son of a turtle')",[16] which some interpreted as a derogatory slur. However, the artist clarified that it's a colloquial term for "brother" in certain southern dialects, aiming to convey camaraderie rather than insult, similar to the comparable American slur nigga, which can also imply camaraderie in certain contexts.[17]
Discography
[edit]Studio Albums
[edit]| No. | Album | Tracks |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shun Feng Shun Shui Shun Cai Shen (顺风顺水顺财神)
|
Tracks
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| 2 | Stack from All Sides (八方来财)
|
Tracks
|
Extended play
[edit]| No. | Album | Tracks |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stack from All Sides: Fresh Off the Boat (八方来财之江船入海)
|
Tracks
|
Singles
[edit]- "KNOW that"（2020）
- "味儿正Cypher"（2021）
- "Bad Boy Doing Good Things pt2."（featuring. BroFA）(2021)
- "效应BT细胞"（2021）
- "BAD BOY and Goodthing Pt3."（featuring. BroFA）（2021）
- "孟菲斯130"（2022）
- "LAN LAO KING"(2023)
- "BAY GUY Pt.4"（featuring. BroFA）[c]（2023）
- "吹大水"（2023）
- "彝粤"（featuring. 13FlowMic）（2023）
- "生可乐"（2023）
- "天顶揽粒星"（2023）
- "Bad Boy Doing Good Things pt5."（featuring. BroFA）（2024）
- "求签"（2024）
- "江湖规矩AA制"（2024）
- "绿化带"（2024）
- "念财病"（featuring. Duke Deuce）(2025)
Mixtapes
[edit]- SKAI IS YOUR GOD NO.1（2022)
References
[edit]- ^ music.taihe.com https://music.taihe.com/artist/A12270185. Retrieved 14 June 2025.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ^ Chang Shaohua (8 July 2025). ""土嗨"神曲《大展鸿图》凭什么火遍全球？". Hubei Daily (in Chinese (China)).
- ^ "破億點擊廣東饒舌歌手攬佬！ 夾超洗腦神曲《八方來財》7/27來台開唱". Yahoo新聞. 5 April 2025. Archived from the original on 6 April 2025. Retrieved 13 May 2025.
- ^ ""老天保佑金山银山前路有"！中国说唱歌手揽佬《因果》爆红 口音超像大马人！". xuan新闻. 4 January 2025. Retrieved 13 May 2025.
- ^ "揽佬靠《大展鸿图》排名超过周杰伦，还赚1.2亿？本人回应：我拿什么跟人家比？_腾讯新闻". news.qq.com (in Simplified Chinese). 10 July 2025. Retrieved 10 July 2025.
- ^ SoulSenseTWH. "【揽佬SKAI ISYOURGOD】"任何一种风格都不重要 重要的是有没有把自己东西添加进去" | SoulSense TWH电台_哔哩哔哩_bilibili". www.bilibili.com (in Simplified Chinese). Retrieved 26 May 2025.
- ^ "Tom Phan／顺风顺水顺财神 - 副刊 - 影音 - 试听间". 星洲网 Sin Chew Daily Malaysia Latest News and Headlines (in Chinese (China)). 26 August 2024. Archived from the original on 5 September 2024. Retrieved 3 January 2025.
- ^ "【編輯之選】2023 年，我們最喜愛的音樂專輯（大陸篇）". www.spill.hkoverflow. 24 January 2024. Retrieved 3 January 2025.
- ^ 孔德罡. "揽佬与《八方来财》：鸿运不能总是当头，因为……". 澎湃新闻. Retrieved 13 May 2025.
- ^ "用《八方来财》让孟菲斯鼓点遇上财神爷，揽佬分享饮茶歌单". Hypebeast. 11 April 2025. Retrieved 13 May 2025.
- ^ "超人氣說唱歌手攬佬宣布：將於台灣舉辦專場演唱會". Hypebeast. 4 April 2025. Retrieved 13 May 2025.
- ^ music.taihe.com https://music.taihe.com/album/P10004251210. Retrieved 14 June 2025.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ^ "揽佬SKAI ISYOURGOD的专辑八方来财，八方来财歌曲大全MP3免费下载 - 易听音乐网". www.eev3.com. Retrieved 15 June 2025.
- ^ "〈大展鴻圖〉是什麼梗？攬佬洗腦神曲席捲社群！四大爆紅原因一次看｜熱門話題". 〈大展鴻圖〉是什麼梗？攬佬洗腦神曲席捲社群！四大爆紅原因一次看｜熱門話題 (in Traditional Chinese). 4 June 2025. Retrieved 15 June 2025.
- ^ Clarice. "How do songs of Huizhou Rapper "SKAI ISYOURGOD" suddenly go viral overseas?". www.newsgd.com. Retrieved 14 June 2025.
- ^ 南宫镬. "鳖仔詈言化昵解". Weixin Official Accounts Platform. Retrieved 7 July 2025.
- ^ "《八方来财》争议双迁，揽佬回应引发热议背后的故事与解读！_文化_歌词_旋律". news.sohu.com. Retrieved 14 June 2025.
Notes
[edit]- ^ The rapper currently uses the stage name "揽佬SKAI ISYOURGOD". Previously, he used "SKAI" as his stage name. His real name has never been revealed to the public.
- ^ Chinese: 八方来财; pinyin: bā fāng lái cái
- ^ When SKAI ISYOURGOD uploaded this single to the music streaming service, he may have misspelled the word. The single's title should be "Bad Guy Pt.4" instead of "Bay Guy Pt.4". The full name of the song is "Bad Boy Doing Good Things Pt.4", "Bad Boy Doing Good Things" is a series of singles that SKAI collaborated with his old friend and rapper BroFA.