Higher Brothers

Origins Higher Brothers are formerly part of the major OG Chinese hip-hop label, Chengdu Rap House (成都说唱会馆), also known as CDC (an abbreviation of Chengdu City), which was formed in the early 2010s, and was succeeded by the name of Chengdu Corporation (成都集团),, with similar affliated members. Melo, who was the earliest member of the Higher Brothers to join the Rap House, who performed in the quadrennial cypher, CDC Cypher 2012, alongside original Rap House members Fat Shady, Sleepy Cat, Kafe.Hu, and Lil White. Meanwhile, Masiwei began rapping around 2013 as the AKA of OG Skippy, releasing three solo mixtapes in 2013, 2014, and 2015. Furthermore, Melo and Psy.P performed as a duo called 天地会 (Tian Di Clan, or TDC), releasing a mixtape in 2015. In 2015, KnowKnow (formerly DZ Know), who had recently arrived from Nanjing, released a song with Masiwei and Psy.P called "Haier Brothers" (海尔兄弟) after the old logo of the Chinese electronics company Haier, which features a pair of brothers. After the song received a positive reception, the members decided to form a group and name it after the song. The quick cycles of media consumerism in China allowed the Higher Brothers to enter the underground Chinese hip-hop scene and explode in popularity within a matter of months, and their international success would soon follow after signing with multinational label 88rising. At the end of 2019 the group announced that each member would release a solo album. DZknow released his album Mr. Enjoy Da Money on December 12, 2019, and also started a street wear brand of the same name. On February 28, 2020, MaSiWei released his solo album Prince Charming, named after the 1999 movie of the same name. Melo's solo album Old Master came out in April 2020 and revolved around the theme of paying homage to old guard rappers. Psy.P released his album PsyLife.25 in May 2020, featuring the singles "Chanel", "Tongzilin" and "Bad Habits". == Band members ==

, Washington in March 2018 • MaSiWei (马思唯; Mǎ Sīwéi), also known as Ma Shi (马师), group leader, from Pixian, Chengdu • Melo (谢宇杰; Xiè Yǔjié), from Chengdu == Discography ==

Studio albums Mixtapes Extended plays == Impact ==

The Higher Brothers became part of a wider phenomenon in China that ventured from the traditional ways of past generations. For many in the younger generation in China, the cutthroat housing market and job and marriage markets are extremely competitive and present a lot of obstacles for young Chinese. Higher Brothers are the first Chinese rap group to achieve international recognition, rivaling the overseas popularity of Chinese pop stars like Jackson Wang and Lay Zhang. The group has been able to circumvent Chinese censorship, believed largely due to the unmet need in cultural product of exportable quality. In an older song, Melo rapped "I don't write political hip-hop. But if any politicians try to shut me up, I'll cut off their heads and lay them at their corpses' feet." This line caused him to be brought into the Chinese public security bureau for questioning, but he was ultimately released. The Higher Brothers bring energy and crowd involvement into their performances through multilingual integration of their music: speaking to the crowd in mandarin while rapping in English, Mandarin, and Sichuanese. This kind of higher level participation from the crowd was largely unseen in the hip-hop scene during the Higher Brothers' rise, but has since become more prevalent. == References ==