HONK KONG (Top40 Charts/ 1 Or 8 Faction Records) - Elvis was the king of rock n roll,
Michael Jackson is the king of pop, Monkey King is the upcoming, British born, Japanese saviour that is reviving rap and introducing the world to a new side of Asia.
As Monkey King puts it, 'Rap has been a part of my life ever since I was a kid, and having other genres of music progress, while rap has taken a back seat was just not acceptable. I am determined that my music will not only bring rap back into existence, but prove that Asia is going to be a pioneer for change in the music industry.'
Indeed a pioneer for change, Monkey King's first debut single, 'We Gonna Get There' embodies his ambition to revive rap, as he depicts an ambitious Asian coming-up into his own in the metropolis of Singapore.
'Everybody talks about the American dream, but 'We Gonna Get There' is my story of trying to make it big in Singapore, Asia because I believe in living the Asian dream and encourage everybody to do so.'
Monkey King intends to do exactly as he promises by releasing his urban, hip and motivational single available for free online on June 1, 2009.
Like most rappers, Monkey King takes orders from no one, but unlike many rappers he has been able to actually handle his music and business on his own terms, through his one year partnership with fellow Asian rappers from Japan, Korea and Singapore to form their very own record label. Following the Asian dream, they have aptly called their record label '1or8 faction', also known as 'ichika bachika', Japanese for 'do or die'.
Monkey King's journey through the Asian dream began at the age of 13, in East London and carried on when he moved to Germany. He started selling CDs that he produced himself at home at 17 and sold a whooping 1000 copies by hawking people in the streets of Japan.
With his music on such high demand, Monkey King only raised the bar by featuring at international locations such as Arts House and Butter Factory Club, in Singapore; Shibuya Vuenos, Roppongi Spiral, Shinjuku Loose, and Shinjuku Hoop in Tokyo; he was titled the winner of the 2004 Christmas rap battle and performed at the first ever Asian hip-hop festival 2008 in Thailand.
Monkey King has been on the 'revive rap mission' for seven, long years and his debut single, 'We Gonna Get There' says it all.
Produced by local producer, Kid and released under Monkey King's Singapore & Tokyo based record label '1 or 8 Faction', 'We Gonna Get There' is available for free download on www.1or8faction.com
