Chinese Name: 阿跨面
Original name: Wang Ching-yi (王景鐿)
Born: 2001
Birthplace: Tainan (Southern Tainan)
Did You Know That…?
After winning “The Rappers Season 2 (大嘻哈時代2),” Aquaman gained significant media attention throughout 2023. Although several record companies approached him, he chose instead to establish an independent studio with a friend. To fund this project, he sold the car he had received as part of his championship prize and launched a crowdfunding campaign. With strong support from his fans, he released his debut album “Sim (心),” which earned him the Best New Talent award at the 15th Golden Indie Music Awards (金音獎).
At just 21 years old, he won the title of champion from the talent show “The Rappers Season 2.” Known for his distinctive use of Taigi (Taiwanese Hokkien) in his music, Aquaman’s Southern Taiwanese roots set him apart in the genre. Aquaman quickly rose to prominence as one of the most promising young stars in Taiwan’s hip-hop scene.
As a high school student, Aquaman was active in his school’s dance club. Later, at university, he began experimenting with rap. Both dance and rap served as important emotional outlets for him, allowing him to release stress and express his inner thoughts. He would dance with all his heart or pour his feelings into lyrics whenever he needed to vent.
Aquaman has humbly stated that his understanding of hip-hop isn’t especially deep. Rather than drawing inspiration from major artists, he credits his friends as his main influences. His performances on “The Rappers Season 2,” featuring lyrics in Taigi that he wrote himself, impressed audiences with their elegant phrasing and authentic pronunciation. Having mastered Taigi from a young age, he was praised by noted Taiwanese writer Cheng Shun-tsung (鄭順聰) as a “Taigi hip-hop poet.” Aquaman responded that his performances felt natural to him, as Taigi is his first language, and its grammar and vocabulary are, in his words, “ingrained in my body.”
His fluency in Taigi is deeply rooted in his family life, where the language is used for everyday communication. Despite receiving acclaim for his Taigi rap performances, Aquaman remains modest, saying his proficiency is only slightly above average. He also notes that fluency in Taigi is becoming increasingly rare among young people today.
Aquaman initially turned to hip-hop simply because he thought it was “cool.” At first, he wrote his songs in Mandarin, like his peers did, as he was in the exploratory stage of his passion. He hadn’t planned to engage deeply with Taigi until a collaboration with a friend prompted him to experiment with his mother tongue in his music. He found this experience surprisingly intuitive. Since then, he has committed to writing in Taigi, believing it’s something meaningful he can contribute. Today, with his growing popularity, he takes pride in hearing that his songs have inspired listeners to start learning the language.