Promises of the New Year

[Photo provided to China Daily]

For most Chinese university seniors, the coming months will be critical for finding a job. But Li Yijie, a senior majoring in English language and literature, has already made his career choice－to become a professional musician.

Li is the singer and lyricist with the rap group CD Rev, from Chengdu, Sichuan province. The group became famous for its English-language song This Is China, which explains their views about China and counters some misconceptions about the country held by Westerners.

The band got a lot of media exposure at home and abroad in 2016, but Li is not satisfied to leave it there.

"We wanted to influence others through our music, but this goal is far from being accomplished," he says.

Besides retaining the group's current style, which mixes elements of rap with Sichuan Opera and focuses on current news, Li wants to try styles that are softer and will appeal to a wider audience.

Another resolution is to do some work on the business side of music. "This year, we want to cooperate with government agencies and companies to host musical-selection events in seven cities to discover and support more indie musicians and groups."