Our primary school anthem just went rap. In lieu of Dick Lee’s 60th birthday concert, the much beloved Singapore composer has decided to revisit one of his old hits from the late 80’s, ‘Rasa Sayang’.
Originally off 1989’s The Mad Chinaman, the song (and album) established Dick as an international music presence. The song was a huge hit in Japan where it was the first time the Japanese were exposed to Singapore music. In the 2016 version, Dick has invited rapper ShiGGa Shay to collaborate with him.
Dick Lee shares, “I am excited to work with ShiGGa as I think he is a Singapore performer who infuses his Singaporeaness into his music. I chose Rasa Sayang as it was an early example of local rap when it came out in 1989. I wanted to hear ShiGGa give his contemporary take on the song.”
“I really love the result as it’s got my favourite ingredients in a good pop song – old meets new. In this case, it’s reflected in his new interpretation of an old song. My original version was also doing that too. Rasa Sayang 2016 serves as the collaboration between a new artist and a veteran.”
ShiGGa Shay adds, “Working with Dick has been a pretty refreshing experience for me and my producer LINEATH. It is an honour to sample one of the most legendary 90’s Singapore songs. ‘Rasa Sayang 2016’ is produced and mixed by ShiGGa Shay’s Grizzle Grind Crew member LINEATH.
The song will be released on iTunes, Apple Music and Spotify on Tuesday 9 August and the rest of the digital music services on 10 August. Hear it first on Popspoken, song dropped below.
