Singer’s rap song about love for the city he has called home for three decades steals show at TV Most event
VIVIENNE.CHOW@SCMP.COM
PUBLISHED : Tuesday, 12 January, 2016, 6:52pm
UPDATED : Tuesday, 12 January, 2016, 7:07pm
Australian singer Gregory Rivers performs a Cantonese rap song at the awards. Photo: SCMP Pictures
When Gregory Rivers bought a one-way ticket from Australia to Hong Kong 28 years ago, his burning ambition was to become a Canto-pop singer like his idols Leslie Cheung Kwok-wing and Alan Tam Wing-lun.
Three decades later, not only did his dream finally come true, he is also a face of Hong Kong.
At Monday night’s TV Most 1st Guy Ten Big Ging Cook Gum Cook Awards Distribution, Rivers won the gold song award and most popular male singer, rapping in Cantonese about his love for Hong Kong.
“It wasn’t just an award from [TV Most]. It was the people of Hong Kong who gave me the award. It is very significant,” said 50-year-old Rivers.
The singer is among the best-known Western faces in Hong Kong. A former TVB actor of 20 years, Rivers, better known to the local Cantonese-speaking population as Ho Kwok-wing, played only supporting roles on screen.
But at the awards show, Rivers was the undoubted star. Not only did he perform ATV Forever, a parody poking fun at the beleaguered broadcaster that will finally lose its free-TV licence in April – he sang the finale Hong Kong Place, a Cantonese rap song about his love for the city.
“The song says ‘I’m the same as you. I’m a Hongkonger’,” said Rivers, whose Cantonese is so fluent that he occasionally forgets how to phrase his words in English.
Awards organiser TV Most is a popular satirical multimedia-content website founded by popular youth magazine 100 Most. Rivers said that while some might claim the 100 Most or TV Most culture only belongs to a minority, to him the youth internet channel reminds Hong Kong people of their cultural identity.
Rivers said he had witnessed many changes during his time in Hong Kong – historic buildings being torn down, much of Victoria Harbour being reclaimed and even street culture falling victim to the property developers.
“Under the growing influence of mainland China, you might start forgetting your identity,” he said. “100 Most says a lot of things that many people want to say. They talk about issues in an intelligent way.
“It’s not against the government. We are a city and we are part of China. It’s OK. Cities should have different cultures and personalities. Protecting Hong Kong does not mean being a rebel from China.”
http://m.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1900432/all-rapped-australia-born-canto-pop-star-gregory-rivers-lifts-two
