Shigga Shay

Pek Jin Shen[1] (born 12 September 1992), better known by his stage name Shigga Shay (often stylised as ShiGGa Shay, the capitalised "GG" representing "Grizzle Grind"), is a Singaporean hip hop artist, songwriter, director and music producer.[2]

ShiGGa Shay
Birth namePek Jin Shen
Born (1992-09-12) 12 September 1992
Singapore
GenresHip hop
Occupation(s)Rapper, Song Writer, Producer, Director
Websitehttp://www.shiggashay.com

He has been featured on the covers of Juice,[3] the Today newspaper[4] and the Pioneer Magazine.[5] Having had over two million YouTube views, he has also been labeled one of the top 50 men to look out for in 2015 by the Esquire Magazine.[6] ShiGGa is also a founder member[7] of hip hop group Grizzle Grind Crew,[8] as well as production company Grizzle Films.[9]

Early life

Pek was born on September[10] 1992,[11] and became interested in hip hop music at age 9.[12] His mother Lindy Pek (née Tay) ignited Pek's passion for rapping after purchasing him few English hip hop records.[13] Pek's father died in 2009 of colon cancer.[14] He was educated at Henry Park Primary School, Queensway Secondary School and subsequently received a diploma in Media and Communication at the Singapore Polytechnic.[15]

ShiGGa Shay is an onomatopoeic play on the Chinese words, “是个谁” from “你是个谁,” which translates to mean "who is it" or “who are you”. [16]

Career and artistry

One of his ShiGGa's earliest appearances on the public stage was when he was still a "raw, cocky" 16-year-old, at the show Live N Loaded by MediaCorp.[17] According to Shigga himself, the stage name of "Shigga Shay" was just dreamt up by him[18] at age 14.[14] ShiGGa's music is rooted in hip hop. As of 2012, he has released one mixtape and one extended play album, ShiGGa Shay's in the Building (2010) and They Call Me ShiGGa (2012) respectively.[2] ShiGGa Shay's in the Building was reportedly recorded solely in Shigga's bedroom.[19]

On 16 December 2012, ShiGGa was named the "Unsigned Talent of The Week" by WorldStarHipHop.[20] ShiGGa is the "youngest hip-hop artist to have made it on the Singapore radio charts [...]", according to Aging Youth.[2] In June 2013, he released "LimPeh" (English: Your Dad), an English-Chinese-Hokkien rap song which became a chart-topper in Singapore. It features guest vocals from Tosh Rock and Wang Weiliang.[21] Other notable works include Lion City Kia, ShiGGa Morning and the official theme song for 3688, Ta Pau.

During his two-year compulsory National Service, he was a member of the SAF Music & Drama Company (MDC).[22] During this time he performed for the Ah Boys to Men musical, Rockhampton and the MDC 40th anniversary alongside other MDC alumni: Jack Neo, Dick Lee, JJ Lin, Jeremy Monterio and more.[23] He said in an interview with The Straits Times, "Before MDC, I was just a rapper but my time there made me an all-round performer,"[22]

ShiGGa had a few notable performances throughout his musical career. He was part of Singapore's National Day Parade 2015, leading one major rap segment.[24] He was part of Sing50 concert and performed in the hip-hop segment with APL de AP from the Black Eyed Peas.[25] During that year he also collaborated with Dick Lee during this performance. He was also part of the SG50 album, "Sing, Love", where he collaborated with Stefanie Sun in a duet titled "Simply Love" which they also performed live during the albums showcase.[26] Other notable performances in 2015 include: SEA games 2015,[27] Pink dot 2015,[28] Digital fashion week 2015,[29] the Shine youth Festival 2015.[30]

In 2015 ShiGGa released his first full-length self-titled album.[31]

In August 2016, ShiGGa performed at the White House state dinner after-party at which he, along with the local singer, Tabitha Nauser, were invited to perform by the US Ambassador to Singapore, Kirk Wagar.[32]

Influences

He considers artists like The Notorious B.I.G., 2Pac, Eminem, and Jay-Z as his influences.[11]

Music Videos

Through his production company, Grizzle Films, ShiGGa Shay not only directs his own music videos but also directed multiple music videos such as the Starhub Chinese New year Commercial 2014 "Wang Ah!"[33] as well as the Singapore version of the Durex-MTV global sex-ed campaign "Somebody like me" that featured The Sam Willows. He also directed the music video for the song 我们的故事 of Jack Neo's movie, The Lion Men.[34]

Discography

"ShiGGa Shay’s in the Building! (The Mixtape)" – (2010)
They Call Me ShiGGa (EP) – (2012)
"LimPeh" (Single) – (2013)
"Lion City Kia" (Single) – (2014)
"ShiGGa Shay" (2015)

Filmography

Movies
Year Title Role Notes
20153688 想入飞飞YoyoThis movie's opening weekend was recorded as the highest opening weekend for a local film in 2015[35]

Music video appearances
Year Song Artist Notes
2016One of These DaysMICappella

See also

References
  1. Rasul, Juliana June (23 May 2012). "Digging in his heels". The New Paper. Archived from the original on 16 June 2013.
  2. "Shigga Shay". AgingYouth. Archived from the original on 22 October 2014. Retrieved 28 April 2013.
  3. "Shigga Shay". Juice. No. #191. August 2014. Archived from the original on 11 May 2015. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
  4. Hon, Jing Yi (2 April 2015). "Singapore's rap star ShiGGa Shay plans to get bigger and bolder". Today. Archived from the original on 18 September 2015. Retrieved 7 November 2015.
  5. "SP DMC (Singapore Polytechnic's Diploma in Media and Communication)". Pioneer Magazine. Archived from the original on 8 June 2018. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
  6. "Facebook". Facebook. esquiresg. Archived from the original on 8 June 2018. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
  7. "ShiGGa Shay". Grizzle Grind Crew. Retrieved 28 April 2013.
  8. "Grizzle Grind Crew at Esplanade". Time Out. 11 March 2013. Archived from the original on 26 August 2014.
  9. Chin, Jeanette (5 June 2012). "Power of Pop Interview: Shigga Shay". Power of Pop. Archived from the original on 26 August 2014.
  10. Lim, Christopher (13 July 2012). "Local hip-hopper's true grit". The Business Times. Archived from the original on 3 September 2014.
  11. "ShiGGa Shay". Esplanade: Theatres by the Bay. Archived from the original on 8 June 2018. Retrieved 28 April 2013.
  12. Ibrahim, Shereen (14 October 2011). "let’s-roll"/ "Lion City's Very Own Shiga Shay Releases Single "Let's Roll"!". Fever Avenue.
  13. "Mom got him rapping". The Straits Times. 15 October 2011. Archived from the original on 29 October 2017.
  14. Lee, Cassandra (14 November 2012). "ShiGGa Shay: Taking the rap". Time Out. Archived from the original on 20 November 2012.
  15. "Make Way for Shigga Shay". Singapore Polytechnic. Archived from the original on 3 September 2014. Retrieved 28 April 2013.
  16. "Shigga Shay". AgingYouth. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  17. "PoPTV – Shigga Shay". Power of Pop. 14 October 2011. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016.
  18. Sarvananda, Sheeva (10 October 2012). "Happy go-luck isn't my style: S'pore rapper ShiGGa Shay". Yahoo! News. Archived from the original on 9 May 2013.
  19. "The Apprenticeship Programme 2011". Noise Singapore. Archived from the original on 16 June 2013. Retrieved 28 April 2013.
  20. "Unsigned Talent of the Week: Shigga Shay (17 Year Old Rapper From Singapore) – On My Grind". WorldStarHipHop. 16 December 2012. Archived from the original on 16 June 2013.
  21. Toh, Christopher (26 June 2013). "Shigga Shay tops iTunes Singapore charts". Today. Retrieved 4 July 2013.
  22. Hadi, Eddino (15 September 2014). "Rapper Shigga Shay is an unabashed Lion City kid". The Straits Times. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
  23. Koh, Eng Beng (28 November 2013). "Concert salutes NSmen, celebrates 40 years of MDC". Cyber Pioneer. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
  24. Shay, ShiGGa. "ShiGGa Shay live at NDP 2014 (National Day Parade)". Archived from the original on 18 December 2015. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
  25. Abdul Hadi, Eddino (25 April 2015). "Stefanie Sun, JJ Lin, Lang Lang and Rahimah Rahim among stars to join Sing50 concert on Aug 7". The Straits Times. Archived from the original on 16 November 2015. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
  26. Toh, Christopher (26 June 2015). "Final song for SG50 album released". Today. Archived from the original on 26 June 2015. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
  27. Low, Lin Fhoong (16 January 2015). "No expense spared for SEA Games' glitzy opener". Today. Archived from the original on 21 January 2015. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
  28. "Press Release: A Love Note, from 28,000 at Hong Lim Park to reaffirm their support for the Freedom to Love". PinkDot.SG. Archived from the original on 28 October 2015. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
  29. "ShiGGa Shay will be bringing the house down for #DigitalFashionWeek's opening show, the Lianhe Zaobao #SG50 themed fashion show. Can't get anymore awesome than this!". Digital Fashion Week. Archived from the original on 8 June 2018. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
  30. "SHINE Festival 2015". The Events Artery. The Events Artery. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
  31. Hon, Jing Yi (21 August 2015). "ShiGGa Shay celebrates debut album release with private party". Today. Archived from the original on 24 August 2015. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
  32. dshea@st (5 August 2016). "Proud to be Singaporean, say musicians Shigga Shay and Tabitha Nauser after performing at White House State Dinner after-party". The Straits Times. Archived from the original on 14 November 2016. Retrieved 16 January 2017.
  33. "StarHub CNY 2014 旺Ah! Extended Cut [Featuring Shigga Shay and The Lion Men]". StarHub. Archived from the original on 18 March 2016. Retrieved 4 November 2015 – via YouTube.
  34. "我们的故事 MV (Tosh / Weiliang / Bunz) "The Lion Men" Official Theme Song". JTV. Archived from the original on 23 August 2015. Retrieved 4 November 2015 – via YouTube.
  35. Bots, F. "Local film '3688' tops weekend chart". Fmoviemag. F***. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
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