S1E1: Alyph on why his TikTok sensation single Swipe is relatable; Singapore's hip-hop evolution

Jan 24, 2023

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Singapore's award-winning hip-hop artist, producer and songwriter is our first guest in this new music channel.

Synopsis: Each month, The Straits Times invites music acts to its podcast studio.

In this first episode, ST's music correspondent Eddino Abdul Hadi hosts award-winning Singapore hip-hop artist, producer and songwriter Alyph.

Over the past few years, he had focused instead on making hits for regional acts. Alyph’s produced songs have amassed more than 45 million streams on Spotify and 2200 million views on YouTube.

Signed to the South-east Asian wing of iconic American hip-hop record label Def Jam, Alyph, 33, teamed up with Malaysian cosmetics mogul and social media personality Dato Seri Vida for his latest single Swipe - released on October 21, 2022.

It has sparked a TikTok trend too, and even made an impact on Malaysian politics in the run-up to the country's general election late last year. Former Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, gamely danced to Swipe on his channel.

In the short clip, whenever Alyph sings “swipe”, the 75-year-old chairman of Perikatan Nasional would “swipe” away the logos of Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Harapan.

On social media, users have been doing their interpretations of the catchy lyrics that go..."Kalau aku like (if I like), aku like (then I'll like), Kalau tak (If not), Aku swipe (then I'll swipe), Swipe

Highlights (click/tap above):

2:10 How he appreciates different people interpreting his song Swipe; the message behind Swipe

5:15 The idea of working in Dato Seri Vida's infamous laugh and her eventual collaboration for the song

8:25 How is TikTok important for an artiste today?

13:16 On why Alyph makes music, to challenge normalcy in the music industry

17:45 How Alyph started writing and producing hits for artistes outside of Singapore, such as Kaka Azraff or K-Clique

21:48 Alyph on Singapore's hip-hop scene evolution, on being more serious as a pro artiste with Def Jam South-east Asia

Discover Singaporean artiste Alyph at:

Website: https://str.sg/wFV9

Spotify: https://str.sg/wFVC

Tik Tok: https://str.sg/wFVy

Produced by: Eddino Abdul Hadi (dinohadi@sph.com.sg), Ernest Luis, Hadyu Rahim, Teo Tong Kai and Eden Soh