Hip-hopper Sai Sai. Pic: Aye Zaw Myo

WHEN Sai Sai moved to Yangon from the chilly, hilly region of Taunggyi in 1996, he never in his wildest dreams imagined that he would become Myanmar’s biggest hip-hop star.

Two years later he was on stage in front of 600 pop music fans who were struck silent by his song "Find A Grave If You Don’t Agree" (Ma Kyay Nat Yin Lae Thae Lite).

Hip hop hadn’t quite hit the scene in Yangon, so it didn’t come as a big surprise to Sai Sai (full name Sai Sai Kham Leng) when he received no applause after his performance.

“At that time I was young and the definition of hip hop to me was aggression and violence. I think people were shocked.”

So why did he venture onto the stage when he had already gauged the au-dience’s negative re-action?

“Because I’m devilish,” he replied with a smile.

Eight years later, Sai Sai has been through the celebrity wringer and come out the other end a mature, experienced musician with more of a smile than a sneer.

Gossip and rumour has plagued his career but the star has soldiered on and remains one of Myanmar’s most loved musicians.

His private life has always been a topic of much discussion. His darkest time, he said, was when rumours began circulating about drug abuse.

“The rumours are still around,” he said. “It’s funny, because the only addiction I have is to cigarettes. I don’t even drink.”

Sai Sai has also been a favourite target of fashion critics.

When his music began to sound more like pop than hip hop, his clothing began to reflect this. Critics started calling him a copycat Rain — a popular South Korean pop star.

“Fashion trends are like streams that flow worldwide,” he said. “It just happens to be a coincidence that Rain and I dress alike. I am not a fan of Rain or his music.”

Along with the rumours and criticism, his fame has brought an even bigger drawback — loneliness.

Right now his love life remains a mystery, even to him.

“Love is like a battle for me and I never win. The girls that I tend to go for don’t want to have a serious relationship with a celebrity. Being in the public eye is too much for them.

“I want to have a normal relationship with an ordinary girl that I love. I want to be able to go on dates and feel like a normal person again.”

But that doesn’t mean he has given up hope — he already has plans to start a family.

“Within the next ten years I can only hope that it will be my wife walking through the door every night and not my sister!”

It has been 11 years since his move to Yangon and Sai Sai said it was his friends who got him through the tough times in his career.

“I have a strong group of friends whom I love so much and that is reflected on me. Maybe God gave them to me to replace my emptiness.”

Both of his parents are deceased.

His favourite way to relax is by spending time with his friends going to the cinema or a karaoke bar, but it’s not easy to go incognito when you’re as famous as Sai Sai.

“I’m used to thousands of eyes watching my every movement,” he shrugged. “It doesn’t worry me anymore.”

In April of this year he celebrated his birthday in front of hundreds of eyes, literally, at a concert.

“It is a rare opportunity to be able to celebrate your birthday in front of hundreds of people — an opportunity that not many people are offered,” he said.

Sai Sai first began his career in the spotlight as a model not long after he moved to Yangon.

“Modelling was just a stepping stone for me — it pushed me onto the stage,” he said. “I really only had one experience singing on the stage as a child. I was in the ninth grade at the time and I had no idea what I was doing. I didn’t even know what sort of music I liked back then.”

Two years after he began singing professionally, Sai Sai released his first album, Chocolate-Coloured Icy Dream (Chocolate Yaung Yay Khae‘ Einmet).

“It was a disaster because it wasn’t up to international hip-hop standards,” he said.

His second album, Many Friends (Thu Nge Chin Myar Swar), was a giant step up for the artist.

“I shot the VCD myself and I basically had free reign over everything.”
A boost in confidence contributed to the success of Sai Sai’s third album, February Diary (February Hmat Tan), but hip hop was still becoming established in Yangon at the time, so he added two rock songs to help it sell.
In 2004 he held his first solo show.

“It was a bit risky,” he said. “I was so stressed. I kept thinking ‘What if nobody comes and if they do, will they be bored?’”

But his worries were unfounded. The sales of his third album had begun to take off and the show was a huge success.

“It was from there that I really began to grow as a performer.”

He said his fourth album, The Name’s Sai Sai (Sai Sai Hu Khor Thi), released in 2005, is his best yet.

“I am so proud of this album,” he beamed. “It’s almost com-pletely ori-ginal. It is nothing like my other albums.”

When The Myanmar Times asked him about his upcoming album, all he could say was, “I’m not making any promises.”

With so many hip-hop artists bursting onto the scene in Yangon these days, Sai Sai is up against some fierce competition, but he said he’s not worried.
“Some of the new stars around right now are very talented but some are terrible. Some of the things they sing about are poison to the ears.

“Every hip-hopper is different and their talents can lie in their writing, singing or performing. As for myself, I think I’m a writer.”

He likes to write about his own life experiences.

“Everyone has their own stories but mine are a bit different from the rest. I write songs like I am writing a novel.”

In the song "The Name’s Sai Sai," on the album of the same name, Sai Sai uses his father’s words that he spoke to him before he passed away.

“I find that writing about unusual things that have happened to me is always best.”

His love for writing has led him to complete his second novel, which will be released in October and is yet to be titled.

His first book was Paper Bird (Sakku Hngat), published in 2006.

His latest VCD, Happy Sai Sai Birthday, will be released in September.

Sai Sai said he thinks hip hop still has a long way to go.

“More people enjoy the music but there are still so many haters out there. You can hate the music but you can’t hate the people who love the music.”