In his tracksuit, silver chain and sparkling trainers, MC Tenzin would look like any other rapper if not for the backdrop of towering Himalayan peaks in his videos and rhyme-dropping about karma.
The self-described “Godfather” of Tibetan rap is a leading light of the region’s hip-hop scene, where tight social constraints are at odds with the in-your-face art form.
Tibetan rappers walk a tightrope unfamiliar to their peers overseas, with some cautiously exploring local pride and Buddhist identity in coded lyrics to avoid the unwanted attention of Chinese authorities.
Most, however — MC Tenzin included — give politics a wide berth to be able to continue creating their music.
“I am a little bit different from Western rappers. I do my best to create a positive experience,” says the 36-year-old, whose real name is Tenzin Dhondup.
He discovered hip-hop listening to American giants like Eminem and 50 Cent in his home village of Pasum near the foot of Mount Everest, connecting so much with the music that it felt like “home”.
“I listened to them so much that sometimes my ears would hurt,” he told AFP during an interview at a bar in the Tibetan capital Lhasa’s nightlife district.
Against the wishes of his parents, budding rhyme-slinger MC Tenzin eventually relocated to the big city, Lhasa.
“I worked in a travel agency, slept there at night. In the beginning, it was very difficult.However, one night, me and my friend sat drinking Lhasa Beer and we started to make music,” he said.
Rapping in Tibetan, Mandarin, English, and Nepalese, he mostly uses Douyin — the Chinese version of social media platform TikTok — along with live shows to share his music and interact with fans.
The Tibetan scene is so embryonic, however, that MC Tenzin also works as a tour guide since he still hasn’t earned enough to make a living — or the support of his parents, who “don’t understand rap music”.
His parents had planned for him to make a life in their village with his family and follow the social practice of fraternal polyandry — a once-common custom where several brothers marry the same wife.
Ultimately, MC Tenzin feels his mission is to bestow a musical blessing on his fans.
“I want to make music so that positive energies go to everyone,” he said.