Ayi Jihu (; born 1984) is a Chinese singer of Yi ethnicity, signed to British company Shlepp Records.

Early life

Ayi Jihu grew up in Leibo County in the

Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture Liangshan (; Yi: ''Niep Sha'', pronounced ), officially the Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture, is an autonomous prefecture occupying much of the southern extremity of Sichuan province, People's Republic of China; its seat is Xichang. Liangshan ...

Sichuan Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of the ...

. Dance was one of her early hobbies. Her parents were farmers. Her father died when she was just five or six, leaving Ayi to help her mother with farm chores, mainly raising ducks and chickens. She was exposed to traditional Yi ethnic music and dance from an early age, and found inspiration in the example of Qubi Awu, also an ethnic Yi from Sichuan, whose talents earned her a performance on China Central Television. In 1994, Jihu's aunt brought her over to

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. Her mother, who goes by the English name Cindy, also moved to the UK and remarried to a man named Samuel. She studied in

The Leys School The Leys School is a co-educational independent school in Cambridge, England. It is a day and boarding school for about 574 pupils between the ages of eleven and eighteen, and a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference. Histo ...

for Year 9 in the academic year of 1998-1999 in North B House. In her new country, she came into contact with a variety of musical styles in concerts and clubs she attended with her friends; R&B especially piqued her interest. Though living in the UK, she continued to observe a number of Yi traditions at home, including the

Torch Festival The Torch Festival or Fire Festival (; Nuosu language: ; YYPY ''Dut Zie''; Bai: ) is one of the main holidays of the Yi people of southwest China, and is also celebrated by other ethnic groups of the region. It is celebrated on the 24th or 25th d ...

Career

Ayi Jihu was signed to Shlepp Records in 2007, with whom she released her first album, ''Try Me''. She performed at

Macau Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a p ...

Sands Casino The Sands Hotel and Casino was a historic American hotel and casino on the Las Vegas Strip in Nevada, United States, that operated from 1952 to 1996. Designed by architect Wayne McAllister, with a prominent high sign, the Sands was the sevent ...

in February of that year. In September 2008, she performed at the London Week of Peace concert in

Trafalgar Square Trafalgar Square ( ) is a public square in the City of Westminster, Central London, laid out in the early 19th century around the area formerly known as Charing Cross. At its centre is a high column bearing a statue of Admiral Nelson comm ...

, singing an R&B song entitled "Winner". In September 2010, the BBC released an article describing Ayi Jihu's rise to stardom, dubbing her the "Chinese Madonna" and claiming that she had been awarded a gold disc to commemorate 100 million downloads of her album by fans in China. However, a

Xinhua News Agency Xinhua News Agency (English pronunciation: )J. C. Wells: Longman Pronunciation Dictionary, 3rd ed., for both British and American English, or New China News Agency, is the official state news agency of the People's Republic of China. Xinhua ...

report expressed suspicion of her claims, noting that she did not specify what organisation awarded her the alleged golden disc, and furthermore that the website of her label Shlepp Records did not list any singers under their management besides Ayi Jihu herself. In April 2011, she was in the "Fear Chaser" Event on '' AdventureQuest Worlds''. This is where the player helps her defeat the Fears of Heights, the Fear of the Dark, and the Fear of Death and even the personification of Fear. Ayi Jihu has been developing the Fear Chaser Chronicles franchise movie property with her manager and produce
Stevie Eagle Ellis
and independent produce
James With
An early treatment has now been developed into a full feature screenplay. In January 2014, Ayi Jihu embarked on a new series of performances around the world and commenced recording of new songs i
London's Battery Studios
A new song from Brazilian artist Edu Casanova with the legendary

Tito Jackson Toriano Adaryll "Tito" Jackson (born October 15, 1953) is an American musician. He is an original member of the Jackson 5 (later known as The Jacksons), who rose to fame in the late 1960s and 1970s with the Motown label, and later had continued ...

has been released. Ayi performed it in Brazil with Edu Casanova.

References

External links

Official website

Shlepp Records

Ayi Chinese website

Ayi Jihu Fan Page

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20110630133554/http://fear-chaser.info/ Fear Chaser Project with Ayi Jihu and Shlepp Records {{DEFAULTSORT:Jihu, Ayi 1984 births Living people Chinese expatriates in the United Kingdom Chinese women rappers People from Liangshan Yi people Musicians from Sichuan