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(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
Sydney
07 November 2007
Australia's first urban Aboriginal1 record label has been established in Sydney. Its founders2 say there is a great untapped market for Aboriginal hip3-hop4 and rap music that deals with drugs, violence, poor health and racism5. Phil Mercer reports from Sydney, where Redfern Records has released its first album, Beats from Tha (sic) Streets.
Aboriginal hip-hop is a gritty look at life in Australia's major cities, which are home to most of the country's indigenous6 citizens.
Redfern Records aims to bring these distinctive7 flavors to a mainstream8 audience. The label, based in a tough indigenous Sydney district of the same name, was founded by a brother and sister, Stephen and Nikita Ridgeway.
The Ridgeways, themselves Aborigines, see their move into the music industry as a mission: allowing Aboriginal voices to be heard - and to challenge the stereotypical9 views held by non-indigenous society.
"You know, most commonly when you think of indigenous music, people tend to think of traditional Aboriginal people like from Arnhem Land - Yothu Yindi," Nikita says. "They always automatically assume something political, but where we come in as an urban label, we want to portray10 other issues - what it's like for an urban Aboriginal to live in urban society, what we go through in comparison to people that live out in remote communities. It's very different."
"There has not been a vehicle for Aboriginal people to voice their aspirations11, dreams and so forth12 to the rest of the world," adds Stephen.
There is also a lighter13 side to Aboriginal hip-hop. "We Love To Party" by Pott Street, a four-member band from the northern city of Darwin, speaks for itself.
But beyond these hedonistic beats lies a serious social conscience.
O'Zee, one of Pott Street's singers, says his group hopes to set a positive example for indigenous people in the North.
"One of the visions we have is helping14 the indigenous youth throughout Darwin and the Northern Territory, so I think that'll be a big thing to get into next year," O'Zee says. "There is a lot of talent in the indigenous youth and we want to try to show them that you can get noticed and you can get your music recorded like we've done."
Australian rap - especially when it is fortified15 with a strong Aboriginal flavor - is unlike its international cousins. Gusto, another of the members of Pott Street, says his brand of hip-hop tells a very different story than that articulated by rappers in the United States.
American rap often talks of crime, and life on the mean streets of America's urban ghettoes. Gusto says Aboriginal rap talks about unemployment, ill health and racism, but also about the positive side of life: close family ties, appreciation16 of indigenous culture, and having a good time.
"With the Americans it's very gangster-fied. It's very thug. It's reality to them. You can't knock it. That's the one thing about hip hop - it's a clichéd thing to say, but keeping it real is the backbone17 of hip hop," Gusto says. "If you're going to rap you need to rap about yourself, where you're from and what's real to you…I mean, hey, we're not all gangsters18. We've got families, we've got jobs, we're at home, you know, we're going to Uni [university], we're doing all sorts of different things, so you've got to rap about your own life."
Despite all this enthusiasm, hip-hop remains19 on the fringes of Australian pop music.
Few Aboriginal rappers have dipped their toes into the big time, but industry observers like radio DJ Robbie Buck20 believe their unique insight can illuminate21 the many facets23 of indigenous Australia.
"It's got a traditional kind of facet22 but it's also got its contemporary reflection, and that is something that is really exciting because, you know, contemporary Aboriginal society and politics is a very controversial, a very interesting, a very dynamic place," he explains, "and finally having people using a really contemporary form like hip-hop to express that makes it a really exciting form."
And one that in many ways carries on the age-old Aboriginal custom of storytelling. Indigenous history is not written. It has been passed down over thousands of years through song and dance.
Hip-hop music maintains that oral tradition - and it might help young Aborigines gain new respect for their ancient culture.
1 aboriginal | |
adj.(指动植物)土生的,原产地的,土著的 | |
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2 founders | |
n.创始人( founder的名词复数 ) | |
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3 hip | |
n.臀部,髋;屋脊 | |
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4 hop | |
n.单脚跳,跳跃;vi.单脚跳,跳跃;着手做某事;vt.跳跃,跃过 | |
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5 racism | |
n.民族主义;种族歧视(意识) | |
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6 indigenous | |
adj.土产的,土生土长的,本地的 | |
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7 distinctive | |
adj.特别的,有特色的,与众不同的 | |
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8 mainstream | |
n.(思想或行为的)主流;adj.主流的 | |
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9 stereotypical | |
n.常规 | |
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10 portray | |
v.描写,描述;画(人物、景象等) | |
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11 aspirations | |
强烈的愿望( aspiration的名词复数 ); 志向; 发送气音; 发 h 音 | |
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12 forth | |
adv.向前;向外,往外 | |
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13 lighter | |
n.打火机,点火器;驳船;v.用驳船运送;light的比较级 | |
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14 helping | |
n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的,辅助的 | |
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15 fortified | |
adj. 加强的 | |
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16 appreciation | |
n.评价;欣赏;感谢;领会,理解;价格上涨 | |
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17 backbone | |
n.脊骨,脊柱,骨干;刚毅,骨气 | |
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18 gangsters | |
匪徒,歹徒( gangster的名词复数 ) | |
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19 remains | |
n.剩余物,残留物;遗体,遗迹 | |
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20 buck | |
n.雄鹿,雄兔;v.马离地跳跃 | |
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21 illuminate | |
vt.照亮,照明;用灯光装饰;说明,阐释 | |
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22 facet | |
n.(问题等的)一个方面;(多面体的)面 | |
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23 facets | |
n.(宝石或首饰的)小平面( facet的名词复数 );(事物的)面;方面 | |
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