Andrew Chow, the influential disc jockey and turntablist who helped establish Singapore's contemporary hip-hop movement, passed away on August 3 from stomach cancer. The 63-year-old was widely recognised as one of Asia's earliest champions of turntablism and hip-hop culture, leaving behind a legacy that shaped the city-state's nightlife and music landscape across multiple decades.
Chow, who performed under the stage name DJ Wiz, emerged as a transformative figure during the formative years of Singapore's electronic music and hip-hop scenes. Throughout his career, he graced the decks at numerous venues across the island, but his most significant tenure came at the iconic Zouk nightclub on Jiak Kim Street, where he maintained a resident DJ position from the mid-1990s through the early 2010s. This extended run coincided with some of the most vibrant periods in Singapore's nightlife history, when the establishment served as a cultural incubator for electronic music enthusiasts and dance culture aficionados.
During the 1990s and early 2000s, Chow accumulated an impressive collection of accolades that underscored his technical mastery and competitive prowess. He secured victory in three separate editions of the DMC Singapore competition, one of Asia's most prestigious disc jockey and turntablist championships. His achievements extended beyond local recognition when he claimed the Singapore leg of the 1998 Technics World DJ Championships, a global competition that attracted elite talent from around the world. These accomplishments positioned him among the continent's most respected practitioners of the craft during an era when turntablism was gaining mainstream acceptance as a legitimate art form.
Chow maintained his connection to the industry and the community he helped build right up until his final months. On May 24, he appeared as both a judge and performer at the DMC Warm-Up Battle event held at Kossa, a contemporary nightclub venue in Singapore. Notably, he had been selected to receive the DMC Legacy Award, a prestigious honour recognising lifetime contributions to the discipline of DJing. The award ceremony was scheduled for September 6 at Rasa, a nightlife venue and event space, representing a fitting capstone to his decades-long career within the industry.
The impact of Chow's work resonated deeply within Singapore's music community. Wayne Liu, known professionally as DJ KoFlow, spoke to the lasting influence of his predecessor, emphasising how Chow's dedication to cultivating hip-hop culture through his skills as a performer and innovator had created ripples across generations of musicians and enthusiasts. Liu and other peers acknowledged Chow's role not merely as an entertainer, but as an architect of a cultural movement that transformed how Singaporeans understood and engaged with electronic music.
Kavan Spruyt, the 46-year-old founder of Rasa and a longstanding figure within Singapore's nightlife industry, recalled his formative experiences watching Chow perform at Phuture, a club compartment within the original Zouk venue. Spruyt's memories captured the intensity and technical brilliance that defined Chow's prime years, describing him as someone whose command of the equipment and musical sensibility seemed almost transcendent to observers. For younger venues operators and promoters like Spruyt who came of age during Zouk's heyday, Chow represented an aspirational standard of excellence and artistry.
Eddie Chan, professionally known as DJ Small, had maintained a friendship with Chow spanning four decades and offered a personal perspective on the musician's character and abilities. Chan characterised him as both an educator and a brother figure within the community, emphasising the depth of knowledge and boundless passion that Chow brought to every performance and interaction. According to Chan, Chow possessed an encyclopedic understanding of multiple musical genres and maintained flawless technical execution across the full spectrum of mixing and scratching techniques that define professional disc jockeying.
Chow's daughter, Abby Chow, who is 27 years old, shared news of her father's passing and coordinated the funeral arrangements. The wake was held at Block 406 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 10, with the cortege departing on August 8 at 4:15 p.m. en route to Mandai Crematorium Hall 4, where the cremation service took place at 5 p.m. In a notably unconventional touch that reflected her father's personality and artistic identity, Abby requested that attendees arrive in colourful and stylish attire rather than traditional funeral dress, inviting guests to celebrate Chow's life, sense of style, and distinctive personality rather than observe solemn convention.
Abby later acknowledged the overwhelming outpouring of affection and recognition that emerged following the announcement of her father's death. She expressed gratitude for the messages and tributes from the broader community, noting that her father had passed peacefully and would have been deeply moved by the recognition of his contributions and the evident respect he commanded among those who experienced his artistry. His death marks the conclusion of a significant chapter in Singapore's music history, representing the loss of someone who bridged underground hip-hop culture with mainstream acceptance and left an indelible imprint on generations of musicians, promoters, and music enthusiasts throughout the region.
