Expat Rap Video Tackles the Beijing Experience

"In Beijing, commie jungle where dreams are made of,
There’s nothing you can do
Now you’re in Beijing.
Taiqi will make you feel brand new
The sites will inspire you, let’s hear it for Beijing, Beijing, Beijing."

Riffing off "Empire State of Mind," Jay Z's ballad to New York City, Beijing expats Mark Griffith and Andrew "Big Daddy Dough" Dougherty have just dropped their music video, "Beijing State of Mind."

Dougherty raps with support from singer Princess Fortier who plays the role of Alicia Keys. In the video, they hit up famous locations around the city, rhyming and crooning about life in Beijing.

The first verse starts with a poetic commentary at how many expats start their careers in the city as students before "graduating" from Wudaokou and moving to the CBD. To the songwriter's credit, there are no cliche jabs at English teachers.

Yeah I'z up at Beida, now I'm down in Guomao,...
I started as a student, but I run the show now.
I'm the nouveau expat, livin' in the CBD,
Ridin' on my dianpingche, everybody stare at me.
It ain't because I'm laowai, it's probably cause I'm handsome,
Yeah I'm the only pimp wearin' seersucker pants, and,
Did my share of modelin', acted with Ge You,
I'm dropping mad tracks I be hotter than Jay Chou.

Other cliches, however, find their way into the song. Dougherty raps about Chinese sanitary habits that shock most early expats and satirizes the exposed bellies of middle-aged men in the summer, the slits down the rear of baby pants and the ease with which their young owners pop a street squat. By the third verse, though, Dougherty gets a bit more serious, touching on social issues, like the plight of migrant children and the unemployment rate for university grads.

Save a few silly quips about scooters and the smell of the subway, the lyrics are quite insightful. The cinematography is also excellent. Shot in both color and black and white, with punchy edits and strong angles, the video weaves in some timeless photos of the Beijing landscape, which makes it worth watching even if it didn't have a soundtrack.

We won't give away any more – check out the video for yourself. Heck, you may even be inspired to make your own parody, and it will be like we're having a Gangnam Style craze all over again. (Please don't.)

For more on the video's back story, have a look at Griffith's blog.