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TL;DR
Tiankai Feng is perhaps one of the most unique creators and influencers in the data arena. While everybody says they bring ‘fun’ to something as serious as pipelines and governance, @Kai Feng really adds the glitter to glory!
Alongside stellar strategies and impactful data governance wins, Tiankai’s way of expression, delivery, and evangelism strikes a chord that most of us in the data space never expected: to be reminded of that childlike learning bug.
Below are the top ten quality hits and behind the scenes from the man himself. Get your records on!
Top 5 Hits by @KaiFeng & Exclusive Behind the Scenes!
Data - The Musical 🎵
This parody medley of Broadway musicals blends a humorous self-introduction with a playful, musical take on the daily madness of data work. It drops quirky takes (“You’ll be back, soon you’ll see, coz your user story’s not complete”), fun biographical deets, and great storytelling to poke fun at the hyper-structured world of data people. The lighthearted tone sets up the message:
…even though data governance, rules, and cleaning can look intimidating, the passion for data and the shared struggle are what bring the community together.
The humour works because it exaggerates the seriousness of data life while showing how human and relatable it really is.
The song highlights the hard realities of data, like endless lines to review, missing context, lost documentation, and the eternal search for KPIs that live “somewhere.” It makes fun of relying on Excel, the fact that not everyone knows SQL, and the universal pain of waiting for business input.
Yet beneath the jokes is a sincere emphasis that data literacy, collaboration, and joint ownership are the only path to true “data democracy,” and it can be unforgiving. Blending comedy with truth, the song celebrates the data professionals, acknowledges their frustrations, and encourages everyone to learn, participate, and enjoy the journey.
Tiankai Unveils the Behind-the-Scenes! 🎥
It all started with me being a huge fan of Broadway musicals, because I was always fascinated by the emotions and the contextual storytelling that these musicals could convey in their respective songs. One day, I finally had this genius spark of how these songs would sound like if they were about data, and in a few days, I had this whole collection of parodies written down, so I just had to record it and share with the world.
The folks at dbt had somehow gotten wind of it, and this specific version of the video had its world premiere at the Coalesce conference in 2022 - a true highlight for me till this day.
Governors of Data 🎤
Governors of Data, an original by Tiankai, is one of the biggest hits in data musicals, with thousands of plays, conveying key aspects and principles in the art of governance.
The song highlights how Governance acts as the bridge between business and technology that ensures clarity and trust across the organisation. Rather than being “data police,” governance teams function as sherpas. They’re guiding, enabling, and supporting teams so they can use data with confidence.
The original also highlights the pillars of governance: people, processes, and tools. It covers foundational practices like business rules, data models, metadata, master data, and catalogs, along with the need for automation and thoughtful solution design. Ultimately, governance is encased as a holistic, empowering framework that makes data reliable, discoverable, and ready for decision-making.
Imagine all this in a song!
Tiankai Unveils the Behind-the-Scenes! 🎥
When I had switched my career from being an analytics leader to being a Data Governance leader, my boss at the time joked that she expected me to write a song about Data Governance, because it really could use some rebranding and ice-breaking.
Well, what can I say, I took it seriously and I created this rap song about data governance, which is to this date the most-watched and listened song I ever wrote. It has truly worked magic for me too, because at that time it opened the doors for me to talk to senior leaders who weren’t approachable before, and nowadays my collaborators and clients use this song to break the ice with their stakeholders as well.
Digital Analytics Anthem 🎼
Unlike the general unfortunate practice, Analytics doesn’t end with charts. It is, in fact, more about translating raw information into decisions that make a business smarter. The song emphasises that business and analytics must work together, blending context with data to create insights that visibly move the needle. It frames analytics as a pure craft which is rooted in interpretation, communication, and partnership rather than isolated number-crunching.
It also highlights pride in the work. Opening the laptop isn’t just the start of a job, but part of a mission to bridge gaps and turn data into action. The repeated theme of “translating” hints at the role of analysts as interpreters who connect data to real outcomes that are measurable in business.
Tiankai Unveils the Behind-the-Scenes! 🎥
This song is the one that started it all
…and it all began with a lot of pain. Pain about digital analytics getting misunderstood and not getting enough priority, and I channeled all that into a rap song to just express how badass I think digital analytics really is.
Initially, I only shared it with colleagues, but those encouraged me to make it public and the encouragement and feedback I got was the spark that ignited many years of data music, and I still continue to enjoy doing it!
If ‘80s Songs Were About AI 🎶
This song uses humour and references some ‘80s great hits to capture the chaos of today’s AI-obsessed world. It pokes fun at how everyone wants to “do AI” without building the foundational data work needed to support it, and how people rush to prompts, tools, and hype before they’re even ready. The musical twists like “another job bites the dust,” “what’s love got to do with it,” “don’t stop investing,” add levity while highlighting the very real anxiety around rapid AI adoption, job displacement, and the overwhelming number of tools that appear every day.
Under the humour, this creation lands the message that AI may have powerful potential, but it must be built on solid data foundations which create lasting trust. Governed responsibly and supported by ongoing investment. By blending comedy with caution, the song encourages data folks to stay grounded, build wisely, and approach AI with both excitement and responsibility.
Tiankai Unveils the Behind-the-Scenes! 🎥
Something that I realized about the AI hype is that we keep on repeating same behavioral patterns from the past whenever a new technology came by, so I made the choice to cover 80s songs and reinterpret them for the age of AI, to also make a statement how if we can be positively nostalgic about things, can we not also remember the mistakes to avoid them in current times? The lyrics of these parodies are pretty fun, too.
If Disney Songs Were About Data 🎹
This song uses humour and musical parody to highlight the everyday struggles of data professionals, especially overdependence on Excel. The playful references such as “Do you want to build a dashboard?” and “We don’t talk about Excel… no no no,” turn common frustrations into lighthearted comments. From broken APIs to mysterious errors you “look and look” at but can’t figure out. Overall, making the shared experience fun rather than frustrating.
Beneath the jokes, the message is on better data literacy, stronger governance, and shared understanding of tools, from Python to R, being essential for improving data quality. The song encourages teams to move beyond spreadsheets, build real dashboards, adopt modern skills, and collaborate on governance. It ends on a note of both optimism and self-awareness:
…while AI might evolve, basic data skills will always matter.
Tiankai Unveils the Behind-the-Scenes! 🎥
Well, I’ll admit it, I’m a HUGE Disney fan, and I can probably sing along with most of the Disney songs that are popular - so in my view it was just a matter of time when I would combine it with my passion for data.
The most fun thing about writing this one was that I imagined the original singers / characters of the movies singing my newly interpreted data-related songs, and it made me chuckle quite a bit - and I hope this medley brings joy to everyone young and old as well.
Countless More Genius on Kai’s Channel
5 more special mentions!
🎵 If Broadway songs were about data
🎶 Match for life: A data quality themed love song
🎤 Data Mesh musical (parody medley)
🎹 When you believe (in data governance)
🎼 You & I & AI
The latest brews
🎧 Defining quality (a wicked parody)
🥁 (Unsolicited) jingles for data vendors
👩🏻🎤 Halloween songs about data
🦾 AI pressure (“under pressure” parody)
🎤 If ABBA songs were about agile
Tune in to the Kai Feng Collection
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