Why I Like Blueprint Supreme

Scrolling through TikTok, I notice a new trending song: Chinese rap song “Blueprint Supreme”. As it turns out, the catchy songs I’ve been hearing are from the 27-year-old SKAI ISYOURGOD from Guangdong, China. With several of his songs going viral on social media, he has surpassed even the beloved Mandopop singer Jay Chou’s popularity on platforms like TikTok and Spotify. His real name Chen Xukai inspired part of his English stage name (Xukai, Skai), though he also goes by Lan Lao. In 2020, he released his first single KNOW that on NetEase Cloud Music, launching his musical career. He eventually developed a signature style of Memphis rap peppered with references to Chinese culture.

Lan Lao’s rise to fame was aided primarily by the popularity of his album, Stacks from All Sides. Specifically, “Blueprint Supreme”, “Karma Code”, and the titular song of the album went viral on both the Chinese and Western versions of TikTok, mostly because of memes. For example, “Karma Code” was popularized with the AI rapping animal meme, and “Stacks from All Sides” was known colloquially on TikTok as the “sushi don’t lie” song due to its Chinese lyrics being mistranslated into similar-sounding English words, as well as being used in Love Island edits because one of the lines sounds like “you gotta vote for Huda,” who was a contestant on the show. However, his songs are also enjoyed due to their rich melodies, catchy beats, and resonant lyrics alone.

Personally, I think that his song “Blueprint Supreme” is the best. Its combination of traditional Chinese and Guangdong culture boosts it to first place in my eyes. The opening melody is a small excerpt from a classic Cantonese opera known as The Imperial Flower, a sad love story where the main couple kills themselves to be together in the afterlife. In the opening score, the couple describes the beauty of heaven where they will get married after they die. Then, the song launches into a few lines with a “Chinese old money” vibe, featuring descriptions of singing karaoke all night in a large villa, silver arowana (a type of expensive fish), swimming in a pool, gifting tea sets, and Chinese calligraphy. Additionally, the music video of the song features the rapper at a horse racing event, which is another popular pastime of Chinese people in possession of generational wealth.

The song moves into the chorus portion, where the line “大展鸿图” (translation: “grand ambitions unfold”) is repeated, commonly used to wish people luck in business or political ventures. In the chorus, SKAI references Guan Gong, a character in the classic Chinese novel The Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Guan Gong was portrayed as a loyal, pious man, and was later turned into a figure of worship, including by gangs. He proceeds to rap about gangs and the moral code of gangsters, an element inspired by Memphis rap.

SKAI then starts rapping about many cultural aspects of his home region in Guangdong, China. He also sings a couple lines in Cantonese, my native language and one of the main languages in the Guangdong region. Lan Lao also mentions an architectural style specific to Guangdong, references The Imperial Flower again, and includes popular foods from the area, including roast meat, hot pot, a specific type of tea, char siu bao, and zongzi made with rice that has been treated with alkaline water. This especially resonates with me because my family is also from that same region in China, allowing me to relate to some of these cultural aspects, particularly the food. Overall, I enjoy this song not only because of its musicality but also for its blend of Chinese and Western culture and multiple references to my family’s hometown.