Some say Thailand's hip-hop scene is starting to find its own voice. With the younger generation growing up with political instability, they're using rap as an outlet to spark debate. One teenager has a huge following for using music to highlight the reality in Thailand's biggest slum. Our correspondent Dusita Saokaew reports.

In a classroom of a middle school in Bangkok, the discourse of rap music is in the midst of a battle with that of education. But this is actually a rap class and students are channeling their creativity and musical flair to write songs and freestyle about well, their lives.

It's a class initiated by 17-year-old Thanayut Na Ayutthaya, also known as Elevenfinger. Of course, not everyone on the school's board was jumping at the idea of this unconventional classroom. One teacher, saw students' musical potential, spearheading the class onto the school timetables as an elective.

YUTHAPOOM POHSRI RAP CLASS TEACHER "It helps the students vent to reduce the pressure and stress in their lives. Most of these kids have faced a lot of hardship. This helps them communicate their thoughts through their hearts."

Teenagers rapping about their qualms and frustrations about life and society are nothing new. But these lives are ones that many cannot fathom. They grew up here in Klong toey- a densely populated patchwork of illegal and semi-legal settlements, home to almost 100000 Thais in just about 1 square mile of land. Nestled alongside the city's glitzy shopping malls, it's a complete contradiction to the otherwise urban landscape of the city.

DUSITA SAOKAEW BANGKOK "For many Thais, Klong Toey is seen as a 'slum', it's seen as 'drug-infested' and 'full of crime'. And it it this perception that has bombarded the minds of the community's youth since the day they were born. With limited opportunities, in addition to believing that outsiders see them as futureless misfits, Klong Toey's youth tend to feel hopeless- believing that they'll never escape the cycle of poverty."

But what Thanayut may lack in opportunity; he has made up for it in talent. Using his rhyme and versus, he uses rap to spread awareness about serious issues like poverty and education- Hoping to show the world the other side of his neighborhood, the tight sense of community that comes with living on top of each other for so long.

THANAYUT NA AYUTTHAYA RAPPER "I hope that this can open their eyes and hearts to look at us more closely. Outsiders see us as bad people from the slum, with no talent or skill. I want people to know that Klong Toey kids do have talent."

Fast gaining recognition with his rap videos on Youtube, Thanayut seems to have eluded the traps that poverty places before the underprivileged. Dusita Saokaew, CGTN, Bangkok.