76-year-old Dr William Wan raps in new Singapore Kindness Movement music video

SINGAPORE - At 76 years old, Dr William Wan has contributed to newspaper columns, authored 13 books, and crafted lyrics for a children's musical. However, he has never ventured into rap writing - until now.

As part of Singapore Kindness Movement's (SKM) new Be Greater campaign, Dr Wan - who is the movement's senior consultant - co-writes and raps two complete stanzas in a new hip-hop track, B-Greater.

The song's accompanying music video debuted on Tuesday (3 Oct), and he jokingly said that he was "beaten" after the "completely different" challenge of writing rap lyrics.

He recalled his interest in writing lyrics decades ago in Canada, where he wrote the lyrics to a conference theme song with Singaporean Cultural Medallion composer Kelly Tang, who was a student in Toronto.

The "B-Greater" project gave him the opportunity to write a rap song, and Dr Wan was guided by local rapper Danial Bawthan, better known as Wheelsmith, in the fundamentals of rapping. These include keeping up with the rhythm and tempo of a beat.

The song and music video took around eight months to produce, said Wheelsmith.

The power of music and why the hip hop genre was chosen

Dr Wan's earliest recollection of music while growing up was through Rediffusion, Singapore’s first private and cable-transmitted radio station.

Started in 1949, the operation saw radio sets placed in households and coffee shops, where pop music to the likes of Elvis Presley and Cliff Richard and The Shadows were broadcasted daily. Music had been a part of Singaporeans' lives without any concerns over "noisy neighbours".

Dr Wan believes music can "transcends linguistic barriers", as it engages emotions, and has an "incredible power" to unite people.

He recalled his younger days living in the United States and Canada, of which hip-hop became a cultural movement pioneered by African-American street culture.

"Music has had a long history in rallying communities to tackle adversity or to stand behind a common purpose, and this is no different. 'B-Greater' is a simple call for Singaporeans to embrace kindness as an essential trait of greatness," he said.

Addressing community noise disputes and neighbourliness

The message behind the "B-Greater" song and music video, is a reminder for the nation to overcome noise disputes by building a more gracious society.

Scenes in the music video show how noise pollution from incidents such as hammering a nail into a wall, drilling, and loudly dragging a chair, can potentially spark negative interactions in his neighbourhood.

The latter part of the video shows neighbours becoming friends through acts of kindness such as casual greetings and sharing food. Noise pollution can also be reduced by gently carrying furniture, or plugging in headphones.

"Even if you want to move a chair or table, you can do so gently without dragging it. As long as you take active steps to reduce noise, it should be acceptable," said Dr Wan.

As the chairman of the Community Advisory Panel on Neighbourhood Noise at the Ministry of National Development (MND), he and his team had to dig deeper into managing neighbourhood noise.

Upon gathering feedback, and organising various focus group discussions with citizens, the panel found that most people would accept "30 to 60 minutes of some noise during quiet hours (10.30 pm to 7 am), but not more than 60 minutes at any given time."

The B-Greater music video and playlist featuring Dr Wan, Wheelsmith, and singer-songwriter Keyana will be displayed in public spaces, such as on Out-of-Home displays. Activations around neighbourhoods will also be carried out as part of the larger Be Greater campaign.

SKM’s newly appointed director of programs and operations, Michelle Tay, will be taking over Dr Wan as the brand’s key face and voice.

Do you have a story tip? Email: sgnews.tips@yahooinc.com.

You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Twitter. Also check out our Southeast Asia, Food, and Gaming channels on YouTube.