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Abstract

Hip-hop culture and rap music originated from the African-American community that emerged around the 1970s in New York City. Hip-hop started to enter PRC in the 1990s and continues to grow among the younger generation. A hip-hop talent search show titled The Rap of China, released in 2017, became very popular, bringing hip-hop music and culture to the fore. Unfortunately, it must eventually face PRC government’s intervention in its development. This article discusses the influence of Chinese government's censorship policies on the development of hip-hop music and culture in China. This case study was conducted using the historical approach, with the primary data source being the recordings of The Rap of China from seasons 1 to 4. One of our most important findings is that hip-hop music and culture can survive and thrive amid the strict censorship of the PRC government.

Bahasa Abstract

Budaya hip-hop dan musik rap berasal dari komunitas Afrika-Amerika yang muncul sekitar tahun 70-an di Kota New York. Hip-hop mulai masuk ke Tiongkok di tahun 1990-an dan terus berkembang di kalangan generasi muda. Sebuah ajang pencarian bakat bertajuk The Rap of China yang dirilis pada tahun 2017 menjadi sangat populer, membawa musik dan budaya hip-hop naik ke permukaan. Hip-hop yang semakin populer di kalangan generasi muda dalam perkembangannya harus berhadapan dengan intervensi dari pemerintah Tiongkok. Artikel ini membahas mengenai pengaruh kebijakan sensor pemerintah Tiongkok terhadap perkembangan musik dan budaya hip-hop di Tiongkok. Kajian dilakukan menggunakan pendekatan historis, dengan sumber data primer adalah rekaman The Rap of China—sebuah program pencarian bakat hip-hop terpopuler di Tiongkok dari season 1 hingga season 4 sebagai studi kasus. Hasil kajian di antaranya menunjukkan bahwa musik dan budaya hip-hop mampu bertahan dan berkembang di tengah ketatnya sensor pemerintah RRT.

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