Rapper MC HotDog wins Best Male Mandarin Singer at the Golden Melody Awards

Taipei, June 29 (CNA) Rapper MC HotDog beat four other contenders to win the award for best male Mandarin singer at the Golden Melody Awards (GMA) on Saturday.

The rapper, whose real name is Yao Chung-jen (姚中仁), emerged victorious with his latest album “Disgusted Artist” (髒藝術家) from a field of five competitors, including Jude Chiu (裘德), Xu Jun (許鈞), JJ Lin (林俊傑) and Marz23 (林志融).

“What an eventful day,” said Yao in his acceptance speech at the awards ceremony in the Taipei Arena. “Something like this probably only happens once in a hundred years.”

He was referring to an incident that had occurred just moments earlier and had sent shivers down the spine of the entire room.

Shortly before accepting the award, Yao took the stage to entertain the audience with his rap, but in the middle of the song his microphone was muted due to an apparent technical problem.

“It’s not my problem,” Yao said, kneeling, and asked the organizers to let him start the song again. Yao’s request was granted and his second attempt was successful.

Yao thanked his record label, family and fans for the honor.

Earlier that evening, Yao also won the award for Best Lyricist for the song “The Landlord Upstairs” (樓上的房東).

Yao gained a loyal following in Taiwan’s underground rap scene and on the internet before being signed to the Magic Stone record label in 2000.

Yao won the last GMA in 2007 with his album “Wake Up,” which was named best Mandarin album.