Asia’s Homegrown Hip-hop Artists Are Ready for the World

文/安迪·史密斯 譯/郝福合

With a population of an estimated two billion people in the 16-34 age range, demographic numbers alone illustrate the Asian music market’s potential. At SXSW 2018, a number of hip-hop and R&B artists are out to demonstrate the region’s commercial promise.

[2] Hip-hop first took root in Japan.According to Ian Condry, a professor of Japanese Cultural Studies at MIT and author of Hip-Hop Japan, the country’s homegrown scene1scene活動領(lǐng)域。took root after Rapper’s Delight21979年由美國的“糖山幫”組合（Sugarhill Gang）推出的說唱歌曲。made the rounds3make the rounds流傳，傳播。at discos in 1979.

據(jù)估計，年齡在16至34歲之間的亞洲人口達(dá)20億之多，單看人口數(shù)字就足以說明亞洲音樂市場的潛力。多名嘻哈和節(jié)奏藍(lán)調(diào)藝人亮相2018西南偏南藝術(shù)節(jié)，將展現(xiàn)該地區(qū)音樂的商業(yè)前景。

[2]亞洲嘻哈樂最初在日本扎根。按照麻省理工學(xué)院日本文化學(xué)教授、《嘻哈日本》一書的作者伊恩·康德瑞的說法，1979年《說唱者的喜悅》風(fēng)靡于各迪斯科舞廳之后，日本的本土嘻哈樂便生了根。

[3] Hip-hop grew through dancing—in both the higher-class clubs and with the breakers in Tokyo’s Yoyogi Park.“You have a couple breakthrough hits in 1994,” Condry says. “Up till then the record companies were skeptical.” The success of rap trio Scha Dara Parr in the'90s helped Japan’s grassroots hip-hop grow, and the genre is represented at SXSW by Rude-a and PRANKROOM.

[4] What started in Japan spread to Seoul, South Korea, which has asserted itself as a music hotspot with a welldeveloped industry promoting K-pop4K-pop韓國流行音樂，Korean pop的縮寫。to a worldwide audience. More recently,hip-hop and R&B have challenged the K-pop establishment for commercial dominance.

[5] “The influence has been big in fashion as well. Street brands are performing far better than other lifestyle brands… Also, there’s always a rap verse5verse歌曲中的段落。in most Korean pop songs.” explains Jessica Oak, Editor-in-Chief of Billboard Korea.

[6] Among the most prominent of the Korean artists at SXSW 2018 is Jay Park. The Seattle-area native started as a member of K-pop band 2PM before breaking out on his own6break out on one’s own單飛，獨自創(chuàng)業(yè)。. Since then,Park has become a major star, even signing with Roc Nation. In 2017, Park partnered with musical collaborator Cha Cha Malone to launch H1GHR MUSIC Records, a venture focusing on rappers from both the U.S. and South Korea.The two MCed a H1GHR showcase7showcase新歌推介會。at SXSW.

[3]日本嘻哈樂是通過高級夜總會和東京代代木公園霹靂舞者的舞蹈發(fā)展起來的。“1994年出現(xiàn)過幾首紅極一時的突破之作。”康德瑞說道，“此前，各家唱片公司一直抱有懷疑態(tài)度。”20世紀(jì)90年代說唱三人組Scha Dara Parr的成功促進(jìn)了日本草根嘻哈樂的發(fā)展。在西南偏南藝術(shù)節(jié)上，Rude-a和PRANKROOM是這一音樂類型的代表。

[4]發(fā)端于日本的亞洲嘻哈樂，后傳至韓國首爾，這座城市已成音樂之都，音樂產(chǎn)業(yè)發(fā)展成熟，將韓國流行音樂向全球聽眾推廣。最近，嘻哈和節(jié)奏藍(lán)調(diào)已對韓國流行音樂的商業(yè)統(tǒng)治地位構(gòu)成挑戰(zhàn)。

[5]“這種影響在時裝領(lǐng)域也是巨大的。街頭品牌的銷售狀況遠(yuǎn)勝其他時尚品牌……同時，在大多數(shù)韓國流行歌曲中總有一段說唱歌詞。”韓國公告牌主編杰西卡·奧克解釋說。

[6]在2018西南偏南藝術(shù)節(jié)上最引人注目的韓國藝人當(dāng)屬樸宰范。這位生于西雅圖的歌手剛出道時是韓國流行音樂團(tuán)體2PM成員，后來單飛。從此樸宰范成為一線明星，甚至簽約Roc Nation公司。2017年，樸宰范攜手音樂合作人恰恰馬隆，成立H1GHR唱片公司，專門推出美韓說唱歌手。兩人在西南偏南藝術(shù)節(jié)期間主持H1GHR新歌推介會。

[7] “I respect an artist who is an artist,” explains Malone about the type of acts8act演出團(tuán)體。H1GHR RECORDS looks to work with. “Someone who can write their own songs, melodies, and have their own aspirations but could use some help ful filling them.”

[8] Crush has dominated the Korean music charts recently with his airy falsetto9falsetto（尤指男高音的）假聲。and R&B sound, which he says is influenced by the likes of Stevie Wonder and Musiq Soulchild. He is excited to see the diverse array of artists at SXSW. “Watching the performances of the musicians from around the world,”Crush says. “I want to receive positive energy and be inspired by them.”

[9] DPR LIVE and L.A. native Junoflo represent the more grassroots side of Korean hip-hop at SXSW, earning acclaim without major label backing.

[10] Rappers have also emerged from Indonesia and Vietnam. Whether or not the East Asian twist10twist變化形式，變體。on hip-hop and R&B will turn into a global phenomenon remains to be seen. Music fans at SXSW can catch some of the artists trying to make it happen. ■

[7]“我尊重名副其實的藝人，”在談及H1GHR唱片公司尋求與哪類樂隊合作時，馬隆解釋說，“可以自己寫歌、譜曲，有個人抱負(fù)并能利用助力實現(xiàn)抱負(fù)的人。”

[8]近來Crush憑借其輕盈飄逸的假聲和節(jié)奏藍(lán)調(diào)的曲風(fēng)，雄踞韓國音樂排行榜首位。他稱自己的風(fēng)格受到史蒂維·旺德和音樂頑童等人的影響。在西南偏南藝術(shù)節(jié)上見到風(fēng)格多樣的眾多藝人，他感到興奮。“通過觀看世界各地音樂家的演出，”Crush說道，“我希望從他們身上獲得正能量和靈感。”

[9]在西南偏南藝術(shù)節(jié)上，DPR LIVE和出生于洛杉磯的Junoflo代表了韓國嘻哈更為草根的一面，他們沒有大型唱片公司的支持卻贏得了贊譽(yù)。

[10]印尼和越南的饒舌歌手也已脫穎而出。東亞版的嘻哈和節(jié)奏藍(lán)調(diào)能否成為世界現(xiàn)象尚待分曉。西南偏南藝術(shù)節(jié)的樂迷們會目睹一些藝人為此所做的努力。 □