Electronic dance music festival Ultra Singapore returns this September 10-11 with a stellar line-up including internationally renowned names – Swedish DJ Alesso, Norwegian songwriter/producer Kygo and Canadian house music producer Deadmau5 – and some of Singapore’s top DJs and rappers. Here’s why you should catch the latter:
Fan count: 12k Facebook “likes”
Why catch him: Last month, homegrown rapper/songwriter Kevin Lester, who goes by the moniker THELIONCITYBOY, released the infectious track Yaya, which stars the Female Collective’s Aarika Lee (she’s his wife) and features vocals from The Sam Willows’ lead singer Benjamin Kheng). His latest album Paradise also made #2 on iTunes’ Singapore hip-hop and all genres charts.
Fan count: 1,172 Facebook “likes”
Why catch him: The DJ (his real name is Wayne Liu) has played alongside the likes of Missy Elliott, Kanye West, and Black Eyed Peas since striking out in 2001.
Fan count: 2,213 friends on Facebook
Why catch him: It’s not easy juggling two jobs, but Maurice Simon does it with aplomb as a lawyer by day and DJ by night. He’s performed at top venues and parties around Asia like Kilo Lounge and Kyo, and will be playing at this year’s upcoming ZoukOut Festival in December.
Fan count: Over 13k Facebook “likes”
Why catch him: The 24-year-old hip-hop artist, whose real name is Pek Jin Shen, is prolific in incorporating Mandarin and Hokkien phrases into his raps, like 2013 track “Limpeh”. His most recent work: A collaboration with popular Korean rapper Jay Park on the song “You Know”.
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