S’pore is ‘mini wonderland’ for beatboxer Dharni Ng who lived 10 years abroad
He left Singapore in 2011 for further opportunities overseas as he felt “restricted” as an artist.
Now back home after 10 years abroad, he feels the local artistic scene is “much better” with foreign talents coming here to inspire people and creating “projects that are out of the box and on a global scale with locals”.
He has also learnt to “truly appreciate” Singapore.
“Living here is like a mini wonderland,” the 36-year-old told YouTuber Max Chernov in an interview.
Ng said: “Once you move out of Singapore, then you truly appreciate what Singapore is… Singapore is always one of the best because the taxes are low, super safe, the government is logical, everything is clean, the education system, it’s so good and the support is good…
“After I moved out and experienced all these crazy things and came back to Singapore, then I truly appreciate it. I don’t have to watch my back all the time. I don’t have to worry where I’m going, I don’t have to worry for my wife when she goes out late. I don’t have to worry about many things.”
Ng, who won The Grand Beatbox Battle Championship in 2013 and 2014, has opened concerts for Lady Gaga and Kanye West and collaborated with K-pop star Jackson Wang.
He said he moved to Warsaw, Poland, because he wanted to stand out and make his mark as one of the few Asians in the city at the time. He also felt living there would be “very affordable”.
But he soon learnt that people treated him differently.
“Every time when I was on the street, although it was cheaper, it was a bit more dangerous too. I needed to know where I was going. Sometimes, I met people who approached me and they asked me for things. If I spoke Polish a bit, they would respect that. If I didn’t, they looked at me weirdly.
“It was just that they were unfamiliar with me and my race. So they were always stereotyping, making fun [of me],” he said.
He revealed that the most common stereotype was that as an Asian, he should be “in the kitchen, cooking rice”.
But he noted that things were different now, thanks to social media opening people’s eyes to the world
Ng, who is married to Singapore-based Polish influencer Weronika Heck, 32, added that he treats Warsaw as his second home now and says it has become similar to Singapore in recent years.
“I really like Warsaw city because it’s like Singapore, super clean, and now it’s super safe. I checked the Safety Index, it’s the same as Singapore. And it’s cheaper! Super clean, much cheaper, like some of the prices are cheaper than Malaysia.”
Get The New Paper on your phone with the free TNP app. Download from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store now