Wee Meng Chee
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Wee Meng Chee[1] (simplified Chinese: 黄明志; traditional Chinese: 黃明志; pinyin: Huáng Míng Zhì; Hainanese Pinyin: Wee Meng Chee) (born 1983 in Muar, Johor[1][2]) is a Malaysian Chinese and formerly an undergraduate student majoring in Mass Communication at Ming Chuan University, in Taipei, Taiwan ROC. He is also commonly known under the alias Namewee (a bilingual pun, because his name in Mandarin sounds like the word for "name").
Wee gained popularity after releasing a controversial song fused with the national anthem of Malaysia, Negaraku, which describes the state of the country and its government. In the following weeks, the song increasingly drew both praise and criticism from various quarters of Malaysian society, and prompted the government of Malaysia to voice the possibility of action against Wee.
Contents
[hide]
* 1 Biography
* 2 Negarakuku
o 2.1 Reception
* 3 Other Notable Works
* 4 References
* 5 External links
[edit] Biography
Born and raised in the town of Muar, Johor, Malaysia, Wee was educated in SRJK Chung Hwa 1B and Chung Hwa High School. It was during his secondary school days that he composed the first of 500 songs in his life. Around the same time, a few good friends and he formed a band named "大娘乐队" and won several competitions. These few friends stuck very close to him and accompanied him through the ups and downs of his life.
In addition to studying abroad, Wee composes and performs hip hop music by using what public classified as kind of downstream approach and dirty words in various languages, releasing several songs with complementing music videos on YouTube. Among the songs released by Namewee include Muar's Mandarin (麻坡的华语) and Kawanku, a critical song directed at Malaysian Chinese and Malay people.
Despite the controversy surrounding Negarakuku, Wee released his first, self-titled album, 明志 Namewee, in Malaysia on September 3, 2007,[3] The album was completed in May,[4] and does not contain Negarakuku.[5]