Hip hop takes a victory lap

江蘇陳洋中學 于玲娟

新事物的發展從來不是一帆風順、一蹴而就的。在藝術王國，嘻哈的“登堂入室”也經歷了一段過程。

體裁 文章詞數 難度 建議用時說明文 328 ★★★ 6′

海詞積累

1.legacy n.遺產

2.indie adj.不是大公司生產的；獨立的

3.prevail v.盛行；流行

4.dominate v.在……中擁有最顯眼的位置；占有優勢

5.nostalgia n.懷舊；念舊

6.nominate v.提名

7.resonate v.產生共鳴

As hip hop is declared Americans'favourite,experienced musicians consider their legacy.

Though indie rock has long prevailed,this year it was hip hop that would dominate both the conference rooms and the music venues.Young aspiring rappers participated in freestyle rap meet-ups and lined up to get career advice from celebrated managers.Newer artists looked at how the genre is evolving;experienced practitioners long considered how far it had come.

This was partly prompted by the release of Nielsen's year-end report on American listening habits in 2017.For the first time,hip hop surpassed rock as the most popular variety,seven of the ten most-consumed albums.

There is a growing sense that hip hop is a subject worthy of serious study and reflection.Last month,the Oakland Museum of California opened“Respect:Hip-Hop Style and Wisdom”,an exhibit that uses photography, video, art,music,dance and fashion to explore the genre's cultural and social significance.The crowning（至高無上的）jewel will be the Universal Hip-Hop Museum,scheduled to open its doors in 2022 in the Bronx.It will feature archives（檔案）,exhibits,interactive displays,performances,film screenings and classes aimed at showing,explaining and discussing hip-hop culture.

Nostalgia has always been a huge part of hip hop. “Knowledge”is considered the fifth of five “pillars”（核心）of the culture (the others are graffiti,MCing,Bboying,and DJing).It has,from its beginning,been a platform for black Americans and minority ethnic communities to give voice to their experiences of injustice.

As race relations have worsened in recent years,consumption of hip hop has increased.Alright, Kendrick Lamar's Grammy-nominated song,became a sort of anthem （社歌）for the Black Lives Matter movement, and Jay-Z's Grammy-nominated album 4:44 explored racism and the black experience.

Modern hip-hop musicians,whatever they think of their predecessors' musical contributions,are similarly engaged in speaking truth to power:the lyrics of early tracks still resonate.Regardless of how it evolves,that will be hiphop's legacy.

Reading Check

1.What does the underlined phrase“accounting for”in paragraph 3 mean?

A.Making up. B.Taking lead. C.Getting control. D.Taking in.

2.How many factors contributing to hip-hop's victory lap are referred to according to the text?

A.2. B.3. C.4. D.5.

Language Study

Complete the following phrases according to the text.