They say, “you are what you eat”, well have you ever heard anyone say, “you are what you listen to?”
Anyone and everyone has a personal connection to the music they listen to. What we choose to listen to like the clothes we choose to wear in public, is in someway representative of our individuality, and affects the way we live our lives and see ourselves.
Musical trends are reflexive and representative of the current state of society. New songs are released everyday, and no matter one’s opinion of the virtue of the ever increasing popularity of club and festival type electronic music or the current state of hip hop, it is a fact that these trends are thriving right now, somehow making a connection to their listeners. This I think is clearly representative in the current generation, as many of them embody a party going, raving, thug-life lifestyle.
These trends have further expanded from American youth to an international audience, as we find more foreign artists, such as up and coming London based duo Krept & Konan and established South Korean groups Big Bang and 2NE1, emulating these styles in their music.
The British Hip-Hop scene, which for most of its development has been underground and small scale, has recently been putting itself in more of a spotlight. One of the latest examples, Krept & Konan’s single Don’t Waste My Time, which was released last month, has had good reception. Their music video features the duo and their crew rapping whilst involved in urban shenanigans. The single has already since been followed up by a remix featuring artists: Chip, French Montana, Wretch 32, Chinx Drugz, and Fekky.
Furthermore, South Korean K-pop artists have been incorporating American style electric dance music into their repertoire. K-pop idols G-Dragon and CL both contributed vocal samples in dubstep artist Skillex’s Recess album’s song Dirty Vibe, along with fellow producer Diplo contributing to the track. The two artist rap in both English and Korean, as the K-pop scene makes moves to increase its popularity further to an American audience.
So what can be gathered from other countries following American music trends? As these styles gain more global appeal and affect the mindset of young people worldwide, we are observing an instance of Americanization of other cultures. Though countries like London and South Korea, can be said to already have American-like metropolitan societies, the impact of these trends emerging in these countries do not stop there.
CL, also features a trap-like instrumental in the song 멘붕(MTBD). You can watch a live performance on youtube from 2NE1’s current All Or Nothing (AON) tour promoting their new album Crush.