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WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2009
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4

Hip-Hop Busts Out in China

Youths find freedom through rap

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(Newser) – You might not expect to hear freestyle rapping in Mandarin, but that sound is growing in China as youths grab hold of the outlet hip-hop offers, Time reports. “This music is free and creative. We can say what we want,” says one rapper. “There are no restrictions.” Even so, another artist points out, “the main concern is social stability. I can’t say anything that gets close to politics.”

Hip-hop is creating a common language shared by expatriates and locals, foreigners and natives. One radio show featuring up-and-coming Chinese DJs has grown to 10 million listeners and is syndicated in 85 cities, but the Chinese-American host says survival as a freestyler is still a concern among young artists: “They’ve seen people in the states get rich doing it. Nobody here’s gotten rich or famous doing it.”

American-born-Chinese rapper MC Jin poses for a photograph during an interview with the Associated Press, Tuesday, Aug 12, 2008 in Hong Kong, China.
American-born-Chinese rapper MC Jin poses for a photograph during an interview with the Associated Press, Tuesday, Aug 12, 2008 in Hong Kong, China.   (AP Photo/Jerome Favre)
A young man performs Street Basketball during the Chengdu Hip Hop Culture Festival on June 19, 2005 in Chengdu of Sichuan Province, China.
A young man performs Street Basketball during the Chengdu Hip Hop Culture Festival on June 19, 2005 in Chengdu of Sichuan Province, China.   (Getty Images)
Wang Bo, 24, one of a handful of rappers in China performs with a US friend in a nightclub in the outskirts of Beijing on July 27, 2003 in Beijing, China.
Wang Bo, 24, one of a handful of rappers in China performs with a US friend in a nightclub in the outskirts of Beijing on July 27, 2003 in Beijing, China.   (Getty Images)
Wang Bo, 24, one of a handful of rappers in China, performs with a US friend in a nightclub on the outskirts of Beijing July 27, 2003 in Beijing, China.
Wang Bo, 24, one of a handful of rappers in China, performs with a US friend in a nightclub on the outskirts of Beijing July 27, 2003 in Beijing, China.   (Getty Images)
Local rappers perform in a nightclub on the outskirts of Beijing on July 27, 2003 in Beijing, China.
Local rappers perform in a nightclub on the outskirts of Beijing on July 27, 2003 in Beijing, China.   (Getty Images)
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4 comments
VIEWING:
 
Sauerkraut
Jun 2, 09 2:13 PM CDT
Ill say this once, You cant spell crap without rap. Reply
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-3
IN RESPONSE:
Ioptout
Jun 2, 09 4:03 PM CDT
o.m.g.
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0
IN RESPONSE:
Robert_Dada
Jun 2, 09 6:31 PM CDT
I'll say this once, you have a narrow mind.
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0
TerrifiedCitizen
Jun 2, 09 8:02 PM CDT
Hop Sing found hip hop. And allow me to add; there's absolutely nothing wrong with that... Reply
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+1
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