Abstract
In this chapter, the author argues that the seemingly “muscular vernaculars” in braggadocio rap songs in Taiwan are not simply a replication of the masculine braggadocio lyrics and tough rapper imagery in the United States. Through the composition of braggadocio lyrics based on creative and intelligent wordplay, these “academic rappers” are therefore able to construct an “alternative masculinity” in the global hip-hop universe dominated by commercialized discourses of black masculinity. Theorizing rap music in Taiwan as a masculine domain, Meredith Schweig talks about how clubs provide a venue for the cultivation of manhood in the midst of broader sociopolitical changes. The author traces the formation of this label from the venue of National Taiwan University Hip-Hop Club to the works by the rap group Tripoets. The line between underground and mainstream also became blurred.