美国国家公共电台 NPR 'Crazy Rich Asians' Star Awkwafina Has Always 'Aggressively Been Myself'

 

AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:

The breakout star of "Crazy Rich Asians" goes by one name, Awkwafina. Clever and profane¹, she catapulted to Internet fame back in 2012, when she released a music video about - and this might offend some people - a slang word for her genitalia.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "MY ***")

AWKWAFINA: (Singing) My [expletive] like a operatic ballad². Your [expletive] like Grandpa's cabbage.

CORNISH: And we should note for our listeners, that word comes up again, and it may be sensitive for some. Born and raised in Queens, Awkwafina is unapologetic about being a rapper, an Asian-American woman and, as NPR's Mallory Yu explains, connecting with her audience.

MALLORY YU, BYLINE³: When Awkwafina first started as a performer, she didn't want the burden of representing all of Asian-America.

AWKWAFINA: No one wants to be the Asian. They want to be the artist, you know?

YU: Now it's a responsibility she's proud to have.

AWKWAFINA: The thing that I've always done is aggressively been myself. And I think that by being yourself, you don't really dictate⁴ what an Asian-American is in 2018. You just add to what we are as a diverse people.

YU: And for her, the reaction to "Crazy Rich Asians" so far has been incredible.

AWKWAFINA: People walk out of the theater, and their eyes are swollen⁵ from crying. And for some people, it resonates so deep. And for me, at least, it's the power of representation.

YU: She says she knew this movie would be big from the second she heard it would be made.

AWKWAFINA: You know, at first, it was just raw excitement. It wasn't even, oh, my God, I got to get in it. It was just, wow, that's so cool.

YU: She did get in the movie, as Peik Lin Goh, the Singaporean best friend to main character Rachel Chu. She acts as Rachel's confidant, guide and stylist.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "CRAZY RICH ASIANS")

AWKWAFINA: (As Peik Lin Goh) These people are so posh and snobby⁶. They're snoshy (ph).

CONSTANCE WU: (As Rachel Chu) Yeah, but Nick's not like that.

AWKWAFINA: (As Peik Lin Goh) Even if he isn't, I guarantee you the family is, which is why tonight, you need to not look like Sebastian of "The Little Mermaid⁷."

She's a best friend that I wish I had. She's honest. She's real. She has humility⁸ even though she does have money.

YU: For those who've read the book, Awkwafina's interpretation⁹ of her character, originally written as a Singaporean socialite, might come as a surprise. And she says it was a surprise for her, too.

AWKWAFINA: I really had to watch the movie to understand what I had done with Peik Lin because it didn't make sense to me. I think I just hit the ground running while we were filming.

JON M. CHU: In my opinion, she fully¹⁰ knew what she was doing. I mean, she didn't just break the mold of Peik Lin. She shatters it, throws champagne¹¹ all over it, and glitter and, in her heels, steps all over it.

YU: That's director Jon M. Chu.

CHU: In the book, it's a completely different character. I mean, she's, like, a Singaporean, like, through and through, then her sort of tour guide through the city. But when you have Awkwafina, you got to let her stretch. You got to let her be who she is.

YU: Because Awkwafina can only be entirely¹², aggressively herself. Before her acting¹³, she was best known for her rap.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "MY ***")

AWKWAFINA: (Singing) And my [expletive] a chrome Range Rover. Your [expletive] hatchback '81 Toyota.

YU: There's no special story to her moniker. It was a joke amongst teenage friends.

AWKWAFINA: Then people actually started calling me that in real life. And so that was a mistake. But, you know, at least it's memorable¹⁴.

YU: Born Nora Lum, the 29-year-old Queens native makes a distinction between herself and her persona. Awkwafina, she says, is a wild id with boundless¹⁵ confidence, able to say exactly what she thinks.

AWKWAFINA: I do believe there is a duality between Awkwafina and Nora. I would not be able to perform onstage without Awkwafina. Nora could not perform onstage. So I, you know, all the neuroses, all the self-consciousness that comes with adulthood¹⁶, Awkwafina doesn't have that.

YU: That allows her to rap about whatever she wants - growing up in Queens, being Asian-American, soda¹⁷ taxes - with a whole lot of words that aren't exactly FCC-friendly.

AWKWAFINA: I made an agreement with myself when I first started that I will never try to push my music to a mainstream¹⁸ audience because I enjoy having a small group of people that totally get it.

YU: It took her family a little longer to come around.

AWKWAFINA: My dad had never really been that quintessential Asian dad ever until "My [Expletive]" came out. And that's when, all of a sudden, he was like, well, you should go become a sonogram technician.

YU: She understands her dad just wanted what was best for her.

AWKWAFINA: He didn't want me to end up in some credit hole, chasing dreams that wouldn't exist. And so that's why it was very important for me to just kind of not argue with it and to show him that I believed it would work.

YU: So far, early box office numbers for "Crazy Rich Asians" indicate that it did. And with at least two more books in the series the movie's based on, fans can expect to see more of Awkwafina's Peik Lin. Mallory Yu, NPR News.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "TESTIFY")

AWKWAFINA: (Singing) Give it time. I'm gon' make the city so proud. Let me testify.

1 profane   

adj.亵神的，亵渎的；vt.亵渎，玷污

参考例句：

• He doesn't dare to profane the name of God.他不敢亵渎上帝之名。
• His profane language annoyed us.他亵渎的言语激怒了我们。

2 ballad   

n.歌谣，民谣，流行爱情歌曲

参考例句：

• This poem has the distinctive flavour of a ballad.这首诗有民歌风味。
• This is a romantic ballad that is pure corn.这是一首极为伤感的浪漫小曲。

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 dictate   

v.口授；(使)听写；指令，指示，命令

参考例句：

• It took him a long time to dictate this letter.口述这封信花了他很长时间。
• What right have you to dictate to others?你有什么资格向别人发号施令？

5 swollen   

adj.肿大的，水涨的；v.使变大，肿胀

参考例句：

• Her legs had got swollen from standing up all day.因为整天站着，她的双腿已经肿了。
• A mosquito had bitten her and her arm had swollen up.蚊子叮了她，她的手臂肿起来了。

6 snobby   

a.虚荣的

参考例句：

• Can I really tell my snobby friends that I now shop at-egads-Walmart? 天呐，我真得好意思告诉那帮势利的朋友们我在沃尔玛买东西？

7 mermaid   

n.美人鱼

参考例句：

• How popular would that girl be with the only mermaid mom!和人鱼妈妈在一起，那个女孩会有多受欢迎！
• The little mermaid wasn't happy because she didn't want to wait.小美人鱼不太高兴，因为她等不及了。

8 humility   

n.谦逊，谦恭

参考例句：

• Humility often gains more than pride.谦逊往往比骄傲收益更多。
• His voice was still soft and filled with specious humility.他的声音还是那么温和，甚至有点谦卑。

9 interpretation   

n.解释，说明，描述；艺术处理

参考例句：

• His statement admits of one interpretation only.他的话只有一种解释。
• Analysis and interpretation is a very personal thing.分析与说明是个很主观的事情。

10 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

11 champagne   

n.香槟酒；微黄色

参考例句：

• There were two glasses of champagne on the tray.托盘里有两杯香槟酒。
• They sat there swilling champagne.他们坐在那里大喝香槟酒。

12 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

13 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

14 memorable   

adj.值得回忆的，难忘的，特别的，显著的

参考例句：

• This was indeed the most memorable day of my life.这的确是我一生中最值得怀念的日子。
• The veteran soldier has fought many memorable battles.这个老兵参加过许多难忘的战斗。

15 boundless   

adj.无限的；无边无际的；巨大的

参考例句：

• The boundless woods were sleeping in the deep repose of nature.无边无际的森林在大自然静寂的怀抱中酣睡着。
• His gratitude and devotion to the Party was boundless.他对党无限感激、无限忠诚。

16 adulthood   

n.成年，成人期

参考例句：

• Some infantile actions survive into adulthood.某些婴儿期的行为一直保持到成年期。
• Few people nowadays are able to maintain friendships into adulthood.如今很少有人能将友谊维持到成年。

17 soda   

n.苏打水；汽水

参考例句：

• She doesn't enjoy drinking chocolate soda.她不喜欢喝巧克力汽水。
• I will freshen your drink with more soda and ice cubes.我给你的饮料重加一些苏打水和冰块。

18 mainstream   

n.（思想或行为的）主流；adj.主流的

参考例句：

• Their views lie outside the mainstream of current medical opinion.他们的观点不属于当今医学界观点的主流。
• Polls are still largely reflects the mainstream sentiment.民调还在很大程度上反映了社会主流情绪。