‘Friendly, Loving, and Supportive Circles’ – Thongpoon Explains His Connection To The Thai Hip-Hop Community

Thongpoon PK Saenchai has earned worldwide popularity with his entertaining Muay Thai performances inside the ring, but he’s also garnered plenty of attention for his style outside of it.  

The Thai slugger – who will return against Zakaria El Jamari at ONE Fight Night 22: Sundell vs. Diachkova on Prime Video in U.S. primetime on May 3 – has more eyeballs on him than ever, and new fans who follow his social media accounts can see his commitment to the hip-hop subculture.  

Thongpoon is fully immersed in the lifestyle, and he says both the music and the people have hugely benefitted his life.

The 26-year-old spoke to onefc.com ahead of his strawweight Muay Thai clash at Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand: 

“What I love about hip-hop is the friendly, loving, and supportive circles. And I also love hip-hop culture. I like its style and the music.  

“Hip-hop gave me a new community.” 

Although Thongpoon spends most of his days preparing for battle in the world’s largest martial arts organization, he uses any free time to get as involved as possible in the local hip-hop scene.  

The PK Saenchai representative has even joined a collective called Superfly and instantly jelled with the crew because of their shared mindset. 

Despite the negative stereotypes that sometimes get associated with rap, the group is largely focused on using its influence to help others.

Thongpoon explained: 

“An original member of Superfly invited me to join their group. I was impressed by how friendly the meeting group was.  

“They have a goal of helping society. They help the children and the underprivileged have better lives. So I decided to join them.” 

Thongpoon Reveals His Favorite Hip-Hop Acts 

Before he got further embedded in the community, Thongpoon PK Saenchai’s passion for hip-hop originated from the music – and that’s still his biggest passion.  

The Bangkok resident likes a wide array of artists, but his favorites are the homegrown names making waves in Thailand.  

He added: 

“My favorite hip-hop artists are Saran and GTK – Thai artists. My favorite song is ‘If you want,’ which is written by GTK.”