囚歌, also known as Prison songs or Prison rock, became popular in the late 1980s. Prison rock was more folk-like than the XBF style. Prison rock was led & created by 迟志强 Chi Zhi Qiang, who wrote lyrics about his time in jail and set them to folk melodies from northeast China. In contrast to Northwest Wind songs, prison songs were slow and "weepy", and were characterised by the rude and vulgar language and lyrics showing pessimism, despair, anticonformity and cynicism.