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Runso Refuses to Be Smeared: “I Chose to Be an 8+9”

From Liberty Times · () Chinese

Translated from Chinese and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

In-depth Named sources Context piece
  • Taiwanese rapper Runso released “All Black,” a song inspired by being punished as a child after a teacher blamed him for damaging a classmate’s bicycle without investigating.
  • He said “black” refers to inner darkness and premature exposure to deceit, not poverty or an all-black appearance.
  • Runso rejected the idea that the song represents defiance, saying his “8+9” identity and hip-hop background both reflect his authentic self.

Runso’s new single, “All Black,” began with a childhood accusation. When a classmate’s bicycle was damaged, he said, the teacher did not first establish what happened and instead treated him as the culprit before punishing him.

That experience of being labeled before he could explain himself became the central idea behind the song. For Runso, “all black” does not describe an entirely black look. It describes what happens when other people decide who someone is before giving that person a chance to speak.

All Black is more about darkness inside. Being exposed to deceit early and often shaped the way I see things today.

· RunsoHe explained that the song’s title refers to inner darkness, not financial hardship.

Some listeners assumed the “black” in the lyrics referred to financial hardship. Runso rejected that reading. “All Black” is more about darkness inside, he said, explaining that early and repeated exposure to deceit shaped the way he sees the world. He also clarified the lyric about being “born in the mud”: the phrase points more toward emerging from a difficult environment without being corrupted by it, rather than extreme poverty.

No, absolutely not! It naturally carries a bit of gratitude.

· RunsoHe rejected the idea that the song expresses a rebellious decision to become what others accuse him of being.

Runso said people treated him differently throughout his childhood because of his unusual background. He found that painful when he was young, but gradually came to accept it as he grew older. “I guess I really am pretty strange,” he said.

He also pushed back against the idea that the song says, in effect, that if others already see him as black, he will become completely black in protest. “No, absolutely not! It naturally carries a bit of gratitude,” he said. “Part of the reason I’m cold today is because of these people, but thank you to those people too. I also really like who I am now!”

Part of the reason I’m cold today is because of these people, but thank you to those people too. I also really like who I am now!

· RunsoHe described how childhood experiences influenced him while saying he accepts his present identity.

Runso said he eventually entered show business and followed what outsiders call the “8+9” path. But he does not see that as another case of being misunderstood. “I originally wanted to be an 8+9,” he said. Even if his appearance or behavior resembles that image, he considers himself, at heart, a hip-hop artist. The two identities do not conflict, he said, because both represent the real him.

I originally wanted to be an 8+9.

· RunsoHe addressed his path into the identity outsiders associate with him.
About this summary

Originally published by Liberty Times in Chinese. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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