"One of the best things about being in the show is meeting old friends and improvising together," Ma says. "We show off what we have and present Chinese hip-hop music in our own particular way. This isn't about winning; It's about showing people what I think about hip-hop music."

Ma, of the Hui ethnic group, born and raised in Karamay, came to hip-hop music by way of street dance, which was popular among young people in Xinjiang in the late 1990s. His father, a geological engineer, bought many DVDs of Western movies to learn English, which exposed Ma, then aged 12, to hip-hop music.

One of the movies Ma recalls is the American science-fiction action movie I, Robot, starring Will Smith, who rapped in it. Ma says that though he did not understand the language then, he was attracted to the beat. As a teenager he also used to dream about becoming a movie director, he says.

He formed a hip-hop duo with the Xinjiang rapper A-Mac after enrolling to study advertising at North Minzu University in Yinchuan, Ningxia Hui autonomous region, in 2006.

The duo, named 099X, represented one of Ma's first attempts at performing original hip-hop material and expressing his thoughts on the Western music genre.

"Hip-hop music seems to be full of anger and criticism," Ma says. "But rhyming lyrics with dirty language and unhealthy issues such as violence and drugs is not for me. I can show my attitude with proper words."

He is proud to rap in Chinese because it is profound and conveys myriad meanings with simple words, and it is at the same time witty and philosophical, he says.

He compares xiangsheng, or crosstalk, to rapping, both of which talk about social issues.

"Xiangsheng criticizes with humor, but it does not have to be dirty," Ma says.

He is a father of a five-year-old boy, he says, and he wants him to enjoy the songs, so is very careful about the language he uses.

In 2010 Ma had his biggest break as a rapper by winning the national freestyle battle competition, Iron Mic, which was launched in Shanghai in 2000.

Ma was considered a dark horse in the competition, standing out with his rapping minus the bad language.

"It was my first freestyle battle competition and was a life-changing experience because it made me confident about my music. Hip-hop music is open to different music elements and languages. It's about merging cultures. With my music I want to rap in a fresh way and with a deeper meaning rather than just superficial language."

After Ma graduated from university he gained a master's degree at the Beijing Film Academy with a major in movie directing.

In 2011 his father-in-law was diagnosed with kidney cancer and Ma returned to Karamay to take care of his family. In July 2013 his father-in-law died, and four months later Ma's son was born.

"Life is a battle," Ma says. "I want my music and movie to be powerful because I have experienced a lot and I have a lot to say."

Before taking part in the second season of The Rap of China, Ma withdrew from the limelight as a rapper but he has continued writing original material.

He was occupied with the Chinese movie Dying to Survive, which was released on June 30 and grossed 150 million yuan ($22.6 million) for its first two days.

Ma worked as the assistant to the movie director Wen Muye, a classmate of Ma at the Beijing Film Academy. The movie is about a pharmaceutical salesman who becomes a folk hero by helping people obtain cheaper cancer medicine.

"I had a real life experience like that depicted in the movie because my father-in-law used very expensive medication while he was battling cancer," says Ma, who played the leading role in Wen's movie Battle in 2012.

"My ultimate goal is to direct my own movies, and Dying to Survive rose the bar very high. I want to make movies and music that are thought provoking and connect with people and real life."