Confucius enlightened people on different elements of life. Some 76 generations later, his descendants are doing the same.

Jeffrey Kung, the 29-year-old American-born Chinese pop singer who is related to the famous philosopher, wants to expose Chinese youth to hip-hop and spark interest in the local music scene.

"Hip-hop is fresh, new and exciting in Beijing," Kung said. "It's still in its infancy. I want to help mold it and encourage kids to start rapping."

Since coming to China 10 years ago, Kung has been committed to his dreams. He has made two albums and is currently working on another.

He was awarded the Golden Melody - the Chinese version of a Grammy - in 2002 for Best New Artist. He is also a producer for other musicians.

His radio show - The Park on HIT FM88.7 - is his main source for spreading hip-hop in Beijing. It is the first station within China that promotes hip-hop. Between established rappers from other countries and local artists who send in self-produced mix tapes, The Park plays a wide variety of music with as much as 70 percent of songs recorded in English. Kung hopes one day the show will be 100 percent Chinese.

Jeffrey Kung jumps to show his Kung fu skills. [Zou Hong / China Daily]

The radio show also relies heavily on listener participation, such as reading e-mails and receiving phone calls from fans.

"We want to know what you want. We want to say what's on everybody's mind," he tells listeners.

Unlike most other radio hosts, Kung and his co-hosts don't script the show. He likens the set to a "chilled party where anyone can come and go."

"We started broadcasting from a living room," Kung said. "You could hear a lot of background noise like dog's barking and people playing NBA Live."

The show was picked up by China Radio International and is now broadcasted from a studio. Despite the new location, Kung maintains the original atmosphere.

The approach may be unconventional but he attributes his style to that of hip-hop's origins - a laid back party where people come together and enjoy music. When it first began in New York, hip-hop was nothing more than a DJ playing different beats for partygoers. An MC would try to get people involved by clapping their hands and moving the party to a different side of the room. Eventually, MC began rhyming their commands to make the party more fun and thus, hip-hop was born.

Kung wants to keep a similar spirit of fun in his music.

"I like using humor and telling stories with my songs," he said. "I focus more on my flow than what I'm rhyming."

Chinese culture is also part of his focus when it comes to songwriting. Overall, he avoids controversial subjects that most rappers are famous for talking about.

Hip-hop purists have a reputation for being wary of the mainstream and keeping their music underground. Kung admits that some listeners and artists were initially put off by him, since he is involved with producing pop singers. But after meeting with people and creating the show, few people doubt his enthusiasm for hip-hop. Kung looks at himself as a bridge between the mainstream and the growing underground hip-hop scene in Beijing.

"As a producer, I'm trying to push this music as much as possible and help it trickle into the mainstream."

Kung estimates that college students mostly make up the demographics of his listeners. He has been surprised though at the variety of people who have approached him to say they listen to his show. From middle-aged businessmen to mothers and foreigners, Kung has received a broad range of positive feedback for The Park.

For anyone wanting to find out more about hip-hop and Jeffrey Kung's music, visit him on the Web at xihapark.com.