Sublimated Machismo: Patriarchy, Hegemonic Masculinity and Popular Nationalism in China's Hip-hop Culture

Hip-hop has been a predominantly masculine enterprise. As hip-hop became mainstreamed in China, it intersects with the gender and nationalist politics, cultural norms and regime of governance in the local context. This chapter explores the articulation between the performativity of masculinity and the popular expression of nationalism in the Chinese hip-hop scene. Through an in-depth look at the works of an iconic Chinese rapper, GAI, including his early hit singles epitomising the gangsta rap style and his more recent ones produced after a brief official crackdown on unruly hip-hop artists, this chapter analyses how, in response to the state's taming of hip-hop, aggressive masculine desires running through his music are transformed or—in a psychoanalytic sense—sublimated into a brand of masculinist nationalism. In so doing, this chapter opens up broader discussions on patriarchy, the cultivation of normative masculinity and their linkage with popular nationalism in contemporary Chinese media culture.