星星之火

繼 2018 年金音獎入圍的《炮打司令部》後，中文嘻哈界絕無僅有的共產主義饒舌歌手鍾翔宇與英國製作人 Ransom-Notes 馬不停蹄地聯手炮製出六首歌的新專輯《星星之火》，相較於上張專輯還有如〈保力達B〉、〈偶像的手冊〉等比較詼諧幽默的歌曲，這張專輯顯得更加嚴肅而深入的闡述自己的意識形態。 即使如此，這張專輯並沒有流於自我重複的說教，而是透過自己在美國成長過程親眼目睹的（台灣媒體跟好萊塢電影不告訴你的）具體事實，鍾翔宇戳破所謂的「美國夢」，一層一層爬梳嘻哈音樂如何失去最初的反抗精神、分析爭取勞動權益的困境甚至環保議題。很難想像這麼龐大的知識量被鍾翔宇精巧的放在一張不到 20 分鐘的專輯當中，這樣大膽的嘗試絕對值得你靜下心搭配歌詞細細玩味。搭配 Ransom-Notes 充滿黃金年代風格的編曲，讓嚴肅的歌詞不再難以下嚥。而鍾翔宇精心設計的多韻和不時的好笑 punchline，也展現他想讓歌曲直面普羅大眾的誠意。 批判美國的霸權和當今的社會經濟制度等於動搖了非常多人的基本信念，鍾翔宇也深知這一點。然而看到不公不義的事實而站出來發聲，這是讓鍾翔宇之所以愛上嘻哈的浪漫初衷。《星星之火》這張專輯就如同他的偶像，英國嘻哈詩人 Lowkey 的 “Soundtrack to the Struggle” 一樣，是貨真價實的革命之聲，所有真心想衝破世界當今所面對的困境的人，肯定能從鍾翔宇的音樂中得到啟發。 Shortly after his 2018 album "Bombard the Headquarters" was nominated best hip hop album by the Golden Indie Music Awards, Xiangyu, one of the few openly communist rappers in the Sinosphere, together with his comrade Ransom-Notes from the UK, began working on "a Single Spark." In comparison to his previous album, which contains comedic songs like "Paolyta B" and "the Idol's Handbook," "a Single Spark" takes on a more serious tone and delves deeper into Xiangyu's ideology. Despite the comparatively somber tone, this new album avoids repetitive preaching. Through sharing his personal experiences and the things he saw growing up in the United States, Xiangyu debunks the so-called "American Dream." Using materialist dialectics, he tells us how hip hop has lost its rebellious essence, and also analyzes power dynamics and touches on topics such as the environment. It is difficult to imagine how Xiangyu and Ransom-Notes were able to condense such a vast expanse of knowledge into an album less than 20 minutes in length. You will not be disappointed should you decide to sit down and listen to such a bold album while studying the lyrics. Reminiscent of hip hop's golden age, Ransom-Notes' beatmaking provides the listener with the sugar that makes the pill easier to swallow. Xiangyu's carefully constructed rhymes and the occasional humorous punch line demonstrate his sincere attempt to make his agitprop more accessible to the layperson. Criticizing US hegemony and the socioeconomic order of today is tantamount to shattering the fundamental beliefs of many, and Xiangyu is acutely aware of this. The fact that hip hop can serve as a platform for pointing out injustices is what attracted Xiangyu to the genre in the first place. "A Single Spark" is similar to "Soundtrack to the Struggle" by Lowkey, one of Xiangyu's influences, in the sense that it is truly revolutionary in content. Those who truly seek to transform the predicaments plaguing our world today will certainly find inspiration in Xiangyu's music.