Drawing on traditions

Alongside the launch, Def Jam Recordings China also announced its focus on "guofeng hip-hop".

The term guofeng is widely used in China's creative industries to describe contemporary music that draws from the Chinese language, cultural references, and storytelling traditions, while engaging with modern production approaches and global music trends.

"Instead of trying to fit into rules set by others," Wang said, "we should build our own unique voice."

Internationalization, in his view, does not mean homogenizing local voices. It means accentuating them — so that when global audiences press play, they encounter not an imitation of Atlanta or Los Angeles, but the humidity of Chengdu, the laughter of its alleys, the philosophical chatter in its teahouses.

In recent years, dialect rap, guofeng aesthetics and a "Chinese narrative" have increasingly entered the mainstream of the country's hiphop scene.

ComeLee believes this is not a passing trend but an expression of deeper generational change.

"Gen Z has strong cultural confidence and national identity," he said. "They are genuinely interested in traditional culture. We are seeing more ethnic minority rappers emerge, blending international rap styles with Chinese cultural elements — from instrumental sampling to vocal delivery."

The integration of traditional instruments — such as suona, erhu, guzheng and dizi — has become increasingly common.

"If these instruments are simply layered onto a track, that becomes superficial," ComeLee said.

"But if artists deeply study traditional culture — travel to regions where ethnic groups live, learn from intangible heritage inheritors, cultural scholars, and folk musicians — then the internal essence of that culture can be integrated into the music."

ComeLee and his team are currently planning a variety program centered on ethnic groups' rap — using popular music to tell Chinese stories and highlight China's diverse landscapes and cultures.

Asked about the difference between today's young rappers and earlier pioneers in China, ComeLee attributes it to ambition and cultural awareness.

"The early generation fought for space," he said. "Today's generation is fighting for expression."

They are more strategically minded, more visually fluent, and more comfortable blending genres, he said. But perhaps most importantly, they possess what ComeLee describes as "cultural ambition" — a desire not just to succeed commercially, but to articulate identity.