“Keeping It Real” in Beijing;
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View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by NORA - Norwegian Open Research Archives “Keeping it Real” In Beijing; Exploring Identity, Authenticity and Music as a ’Technology of the Self’ among Urban Middle-class Youth Eirik Blåsternes Thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the M.A. Degree in Social Anthropology, Department of Social Anthropology University of Bergen Autumn 2014 Acknowledgements First of all I want to express my gratitude to Professor Tom Solomon who inspired me to research hip-hop when I was bewildered about my upcoming fieldwork. Music has always been a great passion of mine and you introduced me to the field of music in academia when I needed it the most, right before I set off to conduct my fieldwork, perfect timing. You have aided me with ideas, guidance, literature and feedback from the very beginning, in which I am very grateful. I want to thank the people I met in Beijing for inviting me into your world of music, Nasty Ray, Wes, DJ Wordy, MC Heretic, Odd Pluton and especially D-Yosef - your musical talent and warm-hearted personality have inspired me tremendously. To Eirik Okkenhaug aka. Xiao Ou, I did not know that I would meet a Norwegian guy rapping in mandarin when I travelled to China, and even if I did, I would never foresee the journey we have been through. You have been a tremendous assistant, interpreter, friend, shrink, and “partner in crime” throughout the whole journey. We managed to produce your Chinese hip-hop album, we explored the local hip-hop environment together and the China-tour we performed during spring 2014 is probably the most exciting experience I have ever had. I would like to thank my supervisor, Professor Leif Manger, for constructive feedback and professional guidance throughout the whole process of this thesis. I also want to thank Mari Hansen Korsbrekke for taking the time to read my scripts, your feedback, comments and advices has been very helpful in the final stages of this thesis. Finally, to my family, thank you for your unconditional loving support. Eirik Blåsternes Bergen, November 2014 I Contents Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 1 Defining key-concepts ..................................................................................................................... 2 Field and Methodology .................................................................................................................... 4 Anthropologist and Hip-hop Artist ................................................................................................ 5 Cultural Translation .................................................................................................................. 7 Empirical Material ........................................................................................................................ 8 Analytical framework ................................................................................................................... 9 Chapter 1. Music in China .............................................................................................................................. 13 Pre-revolutionary China; the Intellectual and “Bourgeois” Shanghai .......................................... 13 Revolutionary China; the Voice of the State .............................................................................. 14 Post-Mao Era; 1980s and the Sounds of Technology ................................................................ 14 Individualization ..................................................................................................................... 15 1990s; Commercialization ......................................................................................................... 20 Suzhi; Embodied ‘Quality’ ...................................................................................................... 20 State Television and Censorship ............................................................................................ 22 21st Century; Mass-media and Communication ........................................................................ 24 Chapter 2. Youth and Music Cultures ............................................................................................................. 28 Ambivalent Fun-Seekers ........................................................................................................... 30 Sanlitun and Gulou; a Modern Landscape of Urban Leisure Activities ....................................... 31 Social Media .............................................................................................................................. 33 Hip-Hop Radio “The Park” ......................................................................................................... 35 Censorship and Government Control ..................................................................................... 36 Beijing Hip-Hop ......................................................................................................................... 37 Tracing the Origins of Hip-Hop in Beijing ............................................................................... 37 Hip-Hop vs. Mass-Media and Mainstream Culture ................................................................. 40 Hip-Hop vs. Parents ............................................................................................................... 40 Indication of a Middle-class .................................................................................................... 41 Defining ‘Youth’ ............................................................................................................................. 42 Defining ‘Middle-class’ .................................................................................................................. 44 The 80s Generation; Private and Public spheres .......................................................................... 45 II Modernity with Chinese Characteristics ........................................................................................ 47 Censorship as a Productive Force ............................................................................................. 48 Hip-Hop as Cosmopolitan Formation ......................................................................................... 51 Identity .......................................................................................................................................... 53 Social Boundaries ..................................................................................................................... 53 Similarity and Difference ............................................................................................................ 55 Summary ...................................................................................................................................... 58 Chapter 3. “Keeping it Real” in Beijing ............................................................................................................ 60 Authentic Imitation ........................................................................................................................ 72 Subcultural Capital .................................................................................................................... 74 Being “Real”; Defined by what you are Not ................................................................................ 75 “Keeping it Real”; Contextually Constructed .............................................................................. 76 Pollution .................................................................................................................................... 83 Summary ................................................................................................................................... 84 Chapter 4. Music, Embodiment and Communication of Self ........................................................................... 88 Tuning-In-Relationship .................................................................................................................. 98 Preknowledge ........................................................................................................................... 99 Familiar Structures of Hip-Hop ................................................................................................ 100 Body Language and ‘Tacit Knowledge’ ....................................................................................... 102 Creating Memory ........................................................................................................................ 104 Intersubjectivity ........................................................................................................................... 106 Resonance .............................................................................................................................. 107 Summary .................................................................................................................................... 108 Concluding Remarks ................................................................................................................... 111 Bibliography ...............................................................................................................................