Hybridity and musical performance: the case of Rap of China

摘要

The links between culture and communication are undeniable, complex, and ever-evolving. An emphasis of cultural discourse studies has been on bringing together the differing ways to study communication and culture, with a particular focus on how local and global cultures interact in the process of globalization (Shi-Xu 2016). It is the globalization of music, particularly rap and hip-hop, that Flew, Ryan, and Su (2019) analyzed in the Chinese context. Drawing on Kraidy's (2005) hybridity theory, Flew, Ryan, and Su (2019) addressed how rap and hip-hop have developed into a hybrid musical and cultural genre in China, using the Chinese television programme The Rap of China as a case study. Through the use of secondary data about the show, two semi-structured interviews with an individual linked with the show, and a media practitioner in China, Flew, Ryan, and Su (2019) examined how rap and hip-hop, still developing musical forms in the Chinese context, push the limits of 'admissable' music forms in the Chinese media context. When I was first asked to write a commentary on this piece I wondered why. I am not by training a media researcher or expert in music. However, I have written on issues of cultural fusion and hybridity (Croucher 2011; Croucher and Rahmani 2015; Croucher and Kramer 2017). In collaboration with a trained musician with advanced degrees in music psychology, we agreed to comment on Flew, Ryan, and Su (2019).