M'sian Rapper Namewee Was A Construction Worker & Lived In The Basement Of A Garage In Taiwan Before Making It Big On YouTube - 8days Skip to main content

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M'sian Rapper Namewee Was A Construction Worker & Lived In The Basement Of A Garage In Taiwan Before Making It Big On YouTube

The controversial star opened up about the tough early days of his career on his 40th birthday.

M'sian Rapper Namewee Was A Construction Worker & Lived In The Basement Of A Garage In Taiwan Before Making It Big On YouTube

Rapper Namewee, 40, is known for being one of Malaysia’s most controversial artistes. The star has never been one to shy away from political commentary, and even includes political satire in many of his songs, making him one of the most talked-about figures in Chinese music.

But who knew that Namewee, who now boasts 3.51 million subscribers on YouTube and is said to have a net worth of millions of dollars, faced a very rough start to his music career some 20 years ago?

Earlier this month, Namewee turned 40 and he took to Facebook to share what he went through to achieve the success he has today.

The star used to work at a construction site in Taiwan 20 years ago

Sharing a picture of himself taken at a construction site in 2003, Namewee wrote: “At that time, I was working part-time while studying in Taiwan [to] save money to make music. I wrote hundreds of songs, but no one ever heard them.”

Namewee, who was a mass comm student in Taiwan’s Ming Chuan University, only achieved fame on YouTube in 2007, thanks to his rap parody of the Malaysian national anthem.

So how did he make a living before that?

“I was a waiter at many restaurants, worked at a fried chicken stall, and fixed windows for people at seven storeys high," wrote Namewee. "During school breaks, I worked part-time setting up stages. I also handed out flyers and was [even] chased by dogs when I worked as a salesman. The purpose of [working all those jobs] was to save money to invest in better music equipment, so I could record demos to sell to other singers,” he continued.

With his demos, he got on a scooter to visit “at least 20 to 30” record companies in hope they would take a liking to his music. Years passed and he never heard back from any of them.

“During that period, I moved homes five times. I lived in the basement of a parking garage, a tin-roofed house built on a dilapidated building, and also stayed in the red light district. I cooked my own meals and brought home-cooked food out with me in order to save money. If my ingredients went bad, I would try to finish them as long as they didn’t smell weird,” he continued.

He even worked behind-the-scenes for Taiwanese singing competition One Million Star because he wanted to build connections with the judges on the show.

Namewee revealed that he once doubted himself, and tried multiple ways to change up his creative process. He also tried to tailor his songs to suit the styles of different singers in order to maximise his chances of being noticed.

“Five years passed, and just when I was about to give up, YouTube was born,” wrote the rapper. “You guys know the rest, so I won’t go into detail.”

After years of hard work, Namewee now performs to packed stadiums.

Namewee went on to say that many people who are Taurus like him are known to have “bad tempers, are stubborn, and don’t know how to please others with their words”.

Still, he attributes his success to those qualities. “I’m thankful for my stubbornness as it helped me persevere to this day. As for pleasing others... I will try my best to work on it!”

He ended his post by thanking his friends who have always shown him love and support.

“I won’t forget why I wanted to be showbiz in the first place, and will do my best to help those in need. [I also want to thank] my parents for having me, and I hope I’ve managed to make [them] proud,” he wrote.

Photos: Namewee/ Facebook

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