Huang Wei-jie's music follows in the footsteps of a social movement in southern Taiwan started by singer-songwriter Lin Shengxiang in the late 1990s. Lin and lyricist Zhong Yongfeng shook up Taiwan's music landscape with their blistering songs of protest and poignant stories about modern-day rural life. Their music, made by their band Labor Exchange, had helped save their hometown of Meinung from being destroyed by a government dam project. The national attention they drew helped re-instill a sense of pride among people from Meinung.

Wei-jie was one such person. Inspired by Lin Shengxiang's music, and eager to tell his own stories, he took up the guitar and songwriting, composing lyrics in Hakka, the native tongue of his family and many Meinung residents. In Wei-jie's music, one will clearly hear the influence of Lin Shengxiang and Zhong Yongfeng, which he doesn't deny; he even composed a song as a direct homage to their work.  

And so a social movement in Meinung has further borne fruit: Wei-jie's songs are full of keen observations on society and environmental issues, especially with respect to rural life, cultural identification and people's connection with the land. He proudly sings in the Hakka language, which was once frowned upon by mainstream Taiwanese society, letting his sonorous voice convey an air of resistance and a desire to speak truth to power.

Huang is already recognized as a rising talent. He has been nominated in the Best Hakka Album and Best Hakka Singer categories at the Golden Melody Awards for his albums "Dim Night" and "Daybreak," which also won Best Hakka Album at the Chinese Music Awards.