“Lover Boy 88” by Phum Viphurit and Higher Brothers showed me a whole new world. I was going to use the original version of Lover Boy, but I changed my mind because I like how the remixed version includes Chinese rap. As a Chinese immigrant, this song, with its fusion of English and Chinese, reminds me of my experiences growing up. And this introduced me to a whole new genre of music!
I frequently went to Chinatown with my parents for the festivals, which had a mixture of tourists and locals with stalls catering towards both crowds. I have vivid memories of hearing both English and Chinese being spoken all around and interacting with one another. Somehow, this song taps into those experiences.
For my illustration, I decided to draw two people hugging since it’s about a love story. I used bright colors to express how the song’s lyrics and music pop out in a bright, expressive way. The song makes me happier whenever I listen to it. Surrounding the people in the drawing are the names of places the rapper mentions before Phum starts singing.
I sketched this with a pencil, then traced it using pens, and lastly used markers to make the colors show more. The song is linked below, enjoy!
