A hip-hop singer-songwriter who’s repeatedly returned to the question of how to live as an individual in modern society, Zhang Yanzhuo devotes his third album P.I.G. to exploring the games people play in today’s fast-paced wired world. Performing under the name Capper, the artist expands his title acronym into thematic headings for the album’s three discrete parts. “Pretty” is represented by lovely melodies and sweet emotions; “Image” by cool trends masking authenticity; and “Game” by more thoughtful meditations on life itself. Capper describes the album as the complicated reflection of the self in a mottled looking glass—echoing the line “P-I-G, man in the mirror” from “WSID”, a meditation on digital iconoclasm on 2023’s Uniconfication. Health issues in 2023, including a debilitating vocal cord injury, forced Capper to take a break from performing for much of that year and brought an additional layer of nuance to his critical perspective. He continued work in the studio, boosting his characteristic boom-bap and mumble rap with autotune and vocal processing. The album welcomes appearances by regular guests LEGGO, Yan Luo and Cool-Aid 陈轶伦—plus a host of first-time features like FiRe (of Decent Mob), Masiwei (of Higher Brothers) and US rapper Lil Mosey, whom he met on social media before collaborating in person on “Tequila Sunrise”. Below, Capper gives Apple Music some background behind the album’s concept and production. Regarding the title P.I.G., did you think up the three keywords first, or only arrive at the album’s concept later on? “I had the concept fairly early. I started out approaching it objectively, thinking how in an age of swiftly moving digital currents, people have gradually sunk into games of pretty images. They’re all looking for their real selves and their own voices on the internet. What I wanted to say is that while the internet will always be there, my hope is that people can go enjoy their lives. Then I fell ill. When I went back to finish the album, I began to think about it from a more subjective standpoint—I’m part of this era too. I’m also a player in the game. In that role, do I have a duty to bring my own feelings and emotions into the game and share them with everyone else? That’s the approach I eventually settled on.” Do you have an overall order in mind for the album’s three parts? “The three parts work in any order. It’s OK to start listening with any of them. The reason for the split is because of the sheer number of songs—I don’t want them to be ignored. Time moves so fast these days that only a dedicated fan will listen attentively from the first track to the last to appreciate what I’m sharing. Passers-by don’t have the time to listen to an entire album. So I had some options: I cut down on the number of songs on each release and did as much as possible get people to think about each part from a musical perspective—so my framework and structure would be crystal clear when all three are taken together. My own mental organisation is for them to hold up no matter which part you start from. That’s what I aimed for in splitting up the album.” How do you balance the fast pace of the internet with offline life? “For me, the real world is the most important thing. It requires your whole body and mind, all your focus. I tend not to scroll much—I don’t really read updates or trending topics. And as a singer-songwriter I’m not a fantasist. I’m a firm believer in the perspective that art and music always originate in life. I just put what I see, feel and experience into the pretty image game and post it online in the hope that it will prompt people to think, to love themselves and to love their lives.” Capper also shares with Apple Music the stories behind six of his favourite album tracks: “Tequila Sunrise (feat. Lil Mosey)” “After I hurt my vocal cords last year, I wanted to write this song for myself and for my fans to say that the sun will always rise on time. That was around the time that Mosey messaged me on Instagram to tell me he appreciated my work. We kept in touch afterwards, and when I was shooting the video for ‘Dive!!!’, he was also in Japan. We went for a meal and discussed this song. The whole process was silky smooth. I’m really happy about this collab.” “Us (feat. Masiwei)” “I’ve been planning a song with Masiwei for ages. When this song finally came about, we did rap lyrics like I never imagined—I always thought we’d make a decent ballad or some joyful music, but there’s depth to this collab, with musings on identity. Musically, it goes in some interesting directions, with the kind of switch that’s my specialty, a piano solo in the outro and the declaration that the curtain has fallen on you and me. It’s a piece you’ve got to ruminate on.” “S/O TO BAE” “First of all, this is a new boom-bap track so I’m in my element. Thematically, it’s a shout out all the way through, since there are so many stories and people I can write about that even now I feel like I haven’t exhausted them. So from a creative perspective this went really smoothly. I believe that every person and event you come across in the course of your life is set by fate. No matter what your takeaway is, or what happens to endure, we ought to be thankful and keep moving forward.” “Magpie (feat. LEGGO)” “My previous work deals with ‘mother’ either as a metaphor or in a few passing lines. I always feel I have so much to say about mothers but can never figure out where to start. Due to my illness last year, I finally screwed up the courage to write this song for my mother. I had so much to say from so many possible angles that I’d write out lyrics, delete them and then write more, until I eventually decided to adopt the most self-centred angle possible—to write it using stories only known to the two of us. It is my sincere hope that all the world’s magpies can bring good news home with them—and I wish all mothers in the world health and happiness.” “(Beat)Up and coming” “The creative mood behind this track is one of grievance and resentment, a simple wish to express what’s on my mind. People are always wanting you to go back to an earlier time, but aren’t we all constantly moving ahead? Do we really have to go back? You write ballads and they’ll say you lack the wits to make cool music, so you update your style and production but they’ll say they miss your unprocessed voice—you’re pursuing your own ideas all along, but people still can’t believe their ears.” “Spots (feat. FiRe)” “This one switches between a straight-up EDM drop and techno beats. The vocals have a variety of flangers. What’s interesting is the aesthetic and stylistic aura lent by the choice of synth and tone. As I was writing it, I was also constructing the design in my head—lights and visuals going on at the same time. That’s why it’s such a complete whole, and why it goes so far.”