He painted one of China’s most expensive pieces of contemporary Chinese art, worth close to six million US dollars. “The Execution” was inspired by the Tiananmen Square crackdown in 1989, one on a list of political and social landmarks which provide artistic inspiration for Yue Minjun.

“It’s a question every Chinese is thinking about today. I also ask why after China experienced so many changes and so much progress we’re still so immature politically?...I have a feeling that ours is the most politically immature nation.”

Yue famously depicts himself in his works, with a toothy grin and wearing only underwear. The Daqing-born painter explains why and also shares with host Anjali Rao his experiences growing up during the Cultural Revolution and what China’s rapid development means to him and his work.

Hip Hop does not automatically spring to mind when one thinks of South Korean music, but the genre is gaining a firm following in recent years since the international emergence of Epik High. Known for their soulful and insightful lyrics, the three members avoid sugary sweet k-pop to address serious social issues such as religion, war and discrimination. Anjali Rao joins them in the studio for a wide-ranging discussion as they reveal why they're grateful for government censorship and how they are coping with the “Epik hiatus” status with member DJ Tukutz away on compulsory military service.

“To me, it’s just I’m writing on a piece of paper these lyrics. It’s just natural to me. When the government censors me or when they put a comment on it, it only makes me more special. So I am very grateful.”

The creative force behind the band is Tablo, a graduate of Stanford University. The 30-year-old singer-songwriter recalls how he overcame two years of hardship, struggling to make ends meet, before he found chart success.

“I got screwed over by somebody that I trusted. He ran off with our studio recording money after we recorded it. So the debt fell on me…I struggled for about two years to get my album out so that I could have some company pay for the cost of that album…those two years were like hell.”

Tablo also discusses his high-profile marriage to one of South Korea’s most famous actress Kang Hye-jung: “For some reasons when I first met her, she didn’t appeal to me like a celebrity, I didn’t look at her and think she’s the actress. She just came into my heart as a very good person.”

As to whether he wants his soon-to-be-born baby to follow his footsteps in the world of hip hop: “I would definitely want him or her to love hip hop. This is what I do and I want my kid to love what I do. I think that’s a part of him or her loving me. Of course I’m gonna make sure that he or she listens to hip hop but at the same time I just want all the arts to be loved by my child.”