原文鏈接：https://web.archive.org/web/20060321162741/http://www.playlouder.com/review/+queen-of-hip-pop/

作者：Daniel Robson

翻譯：Nomanlandever

發(fā)布時(shí)間：2005.12.16

Christmas: a time for bemoaning the dearth of album releases while record labels grow fat on hashed-together packages of '80s pop hits or the best of Jimmy Nail. One advantage, mind, is that we get to mention some personal faves that slipped under the radar over the past few months. Import-only 'Queen Of Hip-Pop' is one such gem.

圣誕節(jié)：一個(gè)新專輯上市少的時(shí)節(jié)，廠牌會(huì)在彼時(shí)濫發(fā)80年代熱單合集或Jimmy Nail的精選專輯。但好處是，我們可以借機(jī)提及一些私心最愛卻在過去幾個(gè)月鮮有關(guān)注的遺珠專輯。只有進(jìn)口版本的《Queen Of Hip-Pop》便是這樣的寶藏佳作。

Hip hop and R&B; are massive in Japan, which, if you find girls with ridiculous orange tans and fellas who stick “Word” into their vocabulary as amusing as we do, can only be a good thing. We'd especially like to thank Namie Amuro for two things: introducing the trend of having one's black bra poking out of one's top, and making this super-fine collection of poptastic grooves.

Hip-pop和R&B曲風(fēng)在日本大受歡迎，在那里，如果你發(fā)現(xiàn)染著夸張橘黑發(fā)色的女孩和男孩們像我們一樣滑稽地在日常談話中引用歌詞，這只有利無(wú)弊。我們應(yīng)該特別感謝安室奈美惠兩件事：一是開創(chuàng)了黑色bra肩帶露出上衣的時(shí)尚潮流，二是做出這張無(wú)與倫比的流行舞曲專輯。

I've always found Destiny's Child agonisingly awful - one minute they're asking you to pay their bills, the next they bleat about independent women. Well, Namie's like Destiny's child with fewer warbling arpeggios and mostly unintelligible lyrics, which is all good.

我發(fā)現(xiàn)Destiny's Child（真命天女組合）總是惹人憎惡——前一分鐘還讓你支付賬單（“Bills，Bills，Bills”），下一分鐘又叫嚷著做獨(dú)立女性（“Independent Women”Pt.1）。好吧，安室奈美惠是用更少顫音花招，唱著不知所云的歌詞的“真命天女”，這很棒。

Over dramatic string-laden beats, Namie proclaims herself the queen of hip-pop, her voice smooth, breathy, sometimes cracked and characterful. In case you're thick, hip-pop is Namie's brand of infectious urban grit, and it's no wonder she tops the charts in Japan - she's taken the best of 'black music' (as they call it over there) and pulled it apart like Lego, putting it back together in new and exciting ways that weren't in the instructions.

在夸張的弦樂節(jié)奏下，安室奈美惠宣告自己是嘻哈女王，她的嗓音平滑，有空氣感，時(shí)沙啞又個(gè)性。如果你有點(diǎn)后知后覺，Hip-pop煥發(fā)著安室奈美惠Urban勇毅的人格魅力，也難怪她在日本榜單中名列前茅——她汲取“黑人音樂”的精髓（那里的人是這樣稱呼的），像樂高積木一樣解構(gòu)音樂，再以空前絕后令人眼前一亮的方式糅合起來(lái)。

'Want Me, Want Me' is pure sex, its bhangra strings recapturing the vibe of 'Get Ur Freak On' and throwing in lines like “I can do you/You can do me/Up and down, in and out” - unabashed filth that fits perfectly with the grinding bass and stabbing beats. The fact that half the rapid-fire lyrics are in foreign only heightens the raunch factor.

“Want Me, Want Me”是純碎的“Sex歌曲”，歌曲的邦格拉弦樂器重拾（Missy Elliot歌曲）“Get Ur Freak On”的特質(zhì)，再加入歌詞“I can do you/You can do me/Up and down, in and out”，不加掩飾的污言穢語(yǔ) 與刺耳bass和犀利節(jié)奏完美契合。實(shí)際上，歌曲一半的歌詞都是日文的，更增添了下流的氣息。

'WoWa' is the other instant classic. It's a call to arms, a popping, bumping stomper of a track with military snares and whistles to get your pom-poms shaking. 'I Wanna Show You My Love' is a minimal synth'n'vocal mash that other artists would pay Pharrell a few ingots for; 'Girl Talk' is straight, smooth R&B;, while 'Free' belches with squelching synth bass and dissonant vocal harmonies.

“Wowa”也是一首經(jīng)典歌曲，是戰(zhàn)斗的號(hào)令，歌曲的碰撞節(jié)拍伴隨著軍隊(duì)響弦和哨聲令你欲罷不能?！?#39;I Wanna Show You My Love”是一首極簡(jiǎn)的合成器人聲歌曲，一首其他歌手都想找Pharrel Williams做出來(lái)的歌曲?！癎irl Talk”是干爽絲滑的R&B歌曲，而“Free”充斥著壓抑的合成器低音和不協(xié)調(diào)的和聲。

Even ballad-tastic 'Ups And Downs' is good: tender, warm and sweet, with rich, luxurious harmonies 'twixt Namie and Nao'ymt, a chap who warbles a bit like Craig David. Mind you, we could live without the crushingly dull?'All For You', which drags cheesy ballads to brand new lows.

就連民謠風(fēng)的“Ups And Downs”也不錯(cuò)：溫情、暖心、甜蜜，伴隨著安室奈美惠和Nao’ymt層層疊加的和聲，Nao’ymt的顫音有點(diǎn)像Craig David（英國(guó)R&B男歌手）。需注意的是，專輯完全可以刪掉沉悶至極的“All For You”，它把俗氣的民謠拉到新的低點(diǎn)。

Oh, but then there are bouncy beats, apocalyptic dance-me-ups and crazy stop-starts sprinkled all over the record, as well as a few Engrish lyrics to laugh at. And who could ever ask for more?

哦，不過還有迸發(fā)活力的節(jié)奏、末世舞曲和瘋狂的停頓，以及一些讓人發(fā)笑的英文歌詞。誰(shuí)還能要求什么呢?

So, now you've heard of Namie Amuro, and you really have no excuse not have a whisper in Santa's ear. Surely it's got to beat the nostalgic 3CD Stock, Aitken and Waterman collection...

所以，現(xiàn)在你已經(jīng)聽聞過安室奈美惠，你真的毫無(wú)理由不對(duì)圣誕老人耳語(yǔ)袒露心扉。當(dāng)然，它必須打敗懷舊的3CD存貨、艾特肯和沃特曼系列……