隐藏 laowai raps in Chinese

[randall_flagg]

I just love the Beijing Band 隐藏， but didn't know that one of their main rappers is a laowai!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NgKw-usDca4

That kind of blew my mind!

Randall

[雅各]

Hi,

I'm well aware there are some black rappers (Schooly D being an example) who refer to their race as "niggers", while others object to the term. Likewise, opinion among Westerners is likely to be mixed, although the sample size is a lot smaller because of the fewer Westerners who actually know what the term "老外" means. I would count myself among those who object to the term, and would never use it to refer to my own race, especially in my own country, Australia, where I was born and consider myself a 本地人, despite being referred to as a 老外 on a regular basis.

Here's a bit more on my opinion on the matter, for anyone who's interested.

雅各

[roddy]

Enlighten us as to what it actually means then. . .

[雅各]

Roddy, no problem, happy to help.

Courtesy of Wenlin:

老外 lǎowài n. 〈coll.〉 ①foreigner (PRC/TW); furriner (PRC) | Nà ∼ ¹jiǎng Zhōngwén ¹jiǎng de bùcuò. The foreigner speaks Chinese well. ②〈slang〉 layman | Wǒ zài zhè fāngmiàn shì ∼. I'm a layman in this. M:ge/¹míng

[randall_flagg]

I did not mean to use the term "laowai" in any demeaning way and I think comparing it to the "n- word" is a bit over the top! More than just a bit, actually.

I said "laowai" and not "westerner" simply because I have no idea where this young fellow hails from. Where he comes from is, to be, a bit beside the point. The point is: he is not Chinese, i.e. his native language is not Chinese, but he is rapping in Chinese, and quite decently so! (Although I won't ever be listening to 隐藏 music quite the same way again.)

Merry Christams

EDIT: Just read your "The error of referring to Westerners as foreigners" and I must say I disagree with many statements you make. For one 老 may also mean something like "venerable, esteemed or honored". It certainly does not mean "perpetual" in this context. However, its Christmas and I've got a town full of relatives to visit. Will post more in three days time.

[fanglu]

Perhaps you'd prefer 白种 like they say in Malaysia?

Seriously, if you really think "[a]ny imagined instances on your part of discrimination against Asians in Australia are totally outweighed by Westerners routinely being referred to as [老外]" then you really need to get out more.

[雅各]

Fanglu, you disagree with this statement: "[a]ny imagined instances on your part of discrimination against Asians in Australia are totally outweighed by Westerners routinely being referred to as [老外]" and say that I need to get out more.

I can tell you that in couple of cities in China I've temporarily lived in, I've overheard "老外“ just about every day (usually when eating out). A justifiable context is totally missing. Maybe I've just visited the wrong cities in China. Please advise me where in China I should go to avoid being referred to as a 老外 (and I'm not asking here for various reasons why, in your opinion, it may not be 贬义词, I'm talking about situations in which one hear "老外“ shouted from across the road, or, more commonly, hush-hush voices all murmuring "老外“ when one enters a restaurant). In simple terms, where can I go and simply not be referred to, because I simply don't want to be? Yes, I need to get out more. Recommend a place I can go please.

Fanglu: I live in Australia, which is the place you seem to know a whole lot about and have recommended I get out more and see a little more of. Did you know that this morning I saw an Asian person in a restaurant reading an English newspaper and nobody took any notice of him or went up to him and asked him in Chinese where he learnt to read English? Can you imagine the reverse situation in China? No, you can't really, can you? You think it's perfectly reasonable to go up to a person with white skin reading a newspaper in Chinese and ask them in English exactly what makes them tick. That's normal to you, isn't it? Thinking about these things reminded me of my last trip to China and how I ended up yearning for such anonymity - which is afforded to the Chinese in Australia!

Since you disagree with my above comment, please quantify to me in precise terms how my going out more in and around Australia will prove to me that Asians in Australia are discriminated against more than Westerners in Australia.

Further, you ask whether I would prefer "白种， like they say in Malaysia", by saying this, do you actually mean that I should consider myself lucky that I'm not referred to as that? If that's your meaning, then your 外国朋友 friends on this forum would probably agree with you. They should, indeed, continue to be regarded as 外国人, just as they always are, in Western countries by the Chinese, and in China by the Chinese, as they have conditioned themselves to happily accept. They really want to be your 同胞.

Edited December 24, 2008 at 02:11 PM by 雅各
I have more to say

[renzhe]

The Chinese make a fuss about you because you're unusual. It's more common in parts of the country where there are few (if any) foreigners, but even in Beijing and Shanghai, foreigners are not so common and not as well integrated as Australians of Asian descent are.

There is nothing strange about a Chinese in Australia, because the Chinese have been a part of Australia for quite a while.

[Meng Lelan]

雅各if you want to yak on and on about the usage of 老外 then start a thread somewhere else. This is a thread about a 老外who can rap in Chinese as randallflagg intended. Note that this thread is posted under the topic of Music and your issue cannot be classified as Music. And let me tell you something, lots of folks here in the Chinese communities of Texas call me 老外 which makes me happy because it makes me feel like I am back in my beloved Beijing.

[dalaowai]

Thanks for sharing. That's awesome! the music in that clip was great. I'm looking forward to listening to more of their music.

[carlo]

Most new styles in pop music come from the English speaking world. Same with hip hop. In the 60s, in places like Italy, an American songwriter could become famous overnight by singing a rock song in exotic-accented Italian. It's not just that people didn't mind the accent: local singers would actually go and learn to mimic his delivery perfectly. That's right, 支持本地的hiphop....

I bet China is full of opportunities for talented musicians on the move, just think of how many Western instrumentalists play on Chinese productions....

[randall_flagg]

Thanks for sharing. That's awesome! the music in that clip was great. I'm looking forward to listening to more of their music.

I actually bought two of their albums and they are great. I always try to avoid reading/hearing anything about musicians' personal life, appearances, religion, political affiliation etc. I feel that it takes away a lot from listening experience if you know too much about a person. In fact, for a few artists that I love, I actively try not hear any gossip about their private lives. I just don't care and I can go on endless reveries without any "baggage" .... without having to incorporate some slimy Republican jerk into my thoughts.

And this 隐藏 business just proves me right again: I wish I had never known this, I will never be able to listen to their tracks as innocently as I used too. Its a sad world, and I seem to be full of prejudices.

[Meng Lelan]

wow great music randallflagg - is rap in Chinese becoming popular these days? I don't think it existed when I was a student in Beijing back in 1993.

[msittig]

And this 隐藏 business just proves me right again: I wish I had never known this, I will never be able to listen to their tracks as innocently as I used too. Its a sad world, and I seem to be full of prejudices.

I am very similar. I never listen to music in languages that I can speak because I feel like understanding the lyrics takes away from the musical experience.

[roddy]

I reckon listening to lyrics in a language you can only just understand increases the poetic impact of the words. This is why I'm often moved to tears by dodgy Chinese pop songs.

[randall_flagg]

Meng Lelan, your approach is very interesting, but yet different from mine. I don't listen to music that I don't understand (or where I have no reasonable chance of looking up the lyrics). Lyrics are important, but the musicians private life isn't.

Roddy, way back in the day, Wang Fei used to do that to me, too. Not quite, but almost.

[msittig]

I was being sarcastic. Almost all of the songs in my music collection have a story behind them, and I find that it enriches the listening experience rather than detracting from it. Music that is quarantined and separate from an artist's real, "private" life is fake and often a lie. The best music has a story behind it, and is connected to real events and human feelings. Finding out that one of the members of 隐藏 is an American is great because it tells us that the group is a breeding grounds for cross-cultural communication and gives us lowly Chinese learners hope that someday we too can become hip-hop superstars, if our dreams trend in that direction.

That's my two cents (and nothing more ).

[Meng Lelan]

What other hip hop bands are popular in China? 隐藏 is the only one right now?

[randall_flagg]

I love 天王星 aka 呆宝静 , 嘻哈公园 are pretty awesome as well.

[ABCinChina]

Pretty cool!