嘻哈音乐 VOA standard
Hip Hop's Evolution, a Cause for Concern?
James Donahower
Rap music is heard in every corner of the world these days, and the so-called " hip hop " culture it spawned has traveled with it. But rap's roots are in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City.
This track is commonly thought of as the "first" rap song and it is the work of The Sugar Hill Gang. The group got its name from Sugar Hill, a section of New York City's Harlem, which lays claim to the title, "Birthplace of Hip Hop". But how that baby has grown. Kevin Powell, hip hop historian and editor of a book called, Who Shot Ya? Three Decades of Hip Hop Photography, says that hip hop culture, of which rap music is the cornerstone , is "the dominant youth culture on the planet".
"If you go to Germany, you'll see that cats have taken the influences of, say, a Chuck D from Public Enemy and put it on their take of what's going on in German society since the Berlin Wall came down," explains Mr. Powell.
"France is the second largest selling market for rap music on the planet. A lot of people don't realize that, but that's incredible . You see a mixture of French and Arab and African traditions creating this rap music that is indigenous to that community there."
Mr. Powell says the other elements of hip hop culture fashion and dance have accompanied rap music on its ascent to "world domination." Baggy trousers, basketball shoes, and "doo-rags" tight, nylon skull-caps are sported by young people in New Zealand, Australia, Iceland, Africa. Kids break-dance in the Dominican Republic and Japan.
Rap music has changed dramatically in the 30 years since it first rose from the hot streets of Harlem. Although it began as pure entertainment, rap tracks were soon infused with politics that were as complicated as the tracks' arrangements of beats and samples.
Rap has also come under increasing criticism from parents' groups and politicians for its lyrics, which can often be both excessively violent and sexually-graphic .
Kevin Powell says the uproar is just the latest chapter in a long history of tension between artistic innovation and what he calls, "the status quo." He says critics attacked blues, jazz, and rock and roll with the same fervor.
"If you go back and listen to the records of an Ethel Waters, or a Bessie Smith, or a Robert Johnson, you're going to hear violence, you'll hear sex, you'll hear coded language for sex and violence, you'll hear happiness, you'll hear rage , and you'll definitely hear those things manifested in hip hop, no question," says Mr. Powell.
On the streets of Harlem today, young rappers are unconcerned with the critics, or even with the wild popularity hip hop has attained. They just want to maintain rap music's role as the voice of what Mr. Powell calls "the
disempowered ".
Every Thursday in Harlem, Tiffanydenise hosts an event called "A Hip Hop Affair". Neighborhood poets and rappers come by and demonstrate their handiwork . She says that, while the shows are entertaining, they have a definite purpose.
"I'm dismayed at the commercialism of hip hop. It's not what the kids are doing on the street. But a lot of them are trying to imitate that because that's the only way they'll be able to get into the industry," she says. "But there are a host of underground artists that are just phenomenal that don't get the respect they deserve. So, I wanted a venue that would showcase that talent and would teach the young people coming up in hip hop. "
注释：
rap music 说唱音乐
hip hop 嘻哈音乐
spawn [☐⏹] v. 产卵，这里指诞生
evolution [ ☜●◆☞☜⏹] n. 发展，演变
rapper [ ❒☐☜] n. 说唱歌手
The Sugar Hill Gang “糖山帮”（来自布隆克斯的乐队）
cornerstone [ ⏹☜☜⏹] n. 基础
dominant [ ❍⏹☜⏹] adj. 支配的，占统治地位的
Chuck D 是Run-D.M.C 这个hip hop乐队的灵魂人物
incredible [⏹❒☜●] adj. 难以置信的
indigenous [⏹✞⏹☜] adj. 本土的
ascent [☜⏹] n. 上升
baggy [ ] adj. 宽松的
nylon [ ⏹●☜⏹] n. 尼龙
break-dance 霹雳舞
Dominican Republic 多米尼加共和国
infused with 灌注
excessively [●] adv. 非常地
sexually-graphic 表现色情的
uproar [ ☐❒] n. 喧嚣
innovation [ ⏹☜◆☞☜⏹] n. 创新
coded [ ☜◆] 编码的，这里指一长串的
rage [❒✞] n. 愤怒
manifest [ ❍⏹] vi. 出现
disempowered 未授权的
demonstrate [ ❍☜⏹❒] v. 展示
handiwork [ ⏹☜] n. 手艺，这里指他们在墙上涂鸦的技艺 dismay [❍] v. 惊慌
commercialism [ ❍☞☜●☜✆❍] n. 重商主义 phenomenal [⏹❍⏹●] adj. 显著的
venue [ ⏹◆] n. 集合地点，这里指表现的舞台
showcase [ ☞☜] v. 展示
turn away 走开，不予理会
impinge [❍☐⏹✞] v. 冲击
integrity [⏹❒] n. 真实，完整性
distressed [❒] adj. 哀伤的
misinterpret [ ❍⏹☜☐❒] vt. 曲解
desperate [ ☐☜❒] adj. 令人绝望的
condemnation [ ⏹❍⏹☞☜⏹] n. 谴责
endorsement [⏹❍☜⏹] n. 认可
affluent [ ●◆☜⏹] adj. 丰富的
embrace [❍❒] vt. 拥抱
incorporate [⏹☐☜❒] vt. 合并
idolize [ ☜●] v. 极端崇拜
thug [ ] n. 暴徒
depiction [☐☞☜⏹] n. 描写，叙述
pepper [ ☐☐☜] v. 加入
landscape [ ●⏹☐] n. 一片领域
misogynistic [❍✞⏹] adj. 厌恶女人的
perspective [☐☜☐] n. 观点，看法
degrade [❒] v. 使堕落