搬運自：微信公眾號【評論搬一堆】（在原文基礎上添加了英語原文與排版調整）

翻譯：Winnie-Hess

審譯：Lynn Liu

排版：Ryan-Chopin

When a new artist is coming off a massive Number One breakout hit, the burning question is always whether or not they can shake that multi-platinum devil off their back and prove they have something more to say that can keep our attention. With?Lil Nas X?that’s an especially big problem: of the hundreds of millions of people who’ve fallen in love with “Old Town Road,” virtually none of them had previously heard of the Atlanta-born memelord-turned-artist behind his borderline-gimmicky country-rap smash. For being an EP whipped together quickly in an effort to beat the one-hit wonder clock, Lil Nas X’s?7?is, above everything, a solid, promising start. Still it leaves more questions than answers about what and who Lil Nas X wants to be.

當一位新藝人的歌曲大賣且紅極一時的時候，他們面臨最迫切的問題就是自己的后續(xù)發(fā)展，他們能否擺脫這種只紅一陣的噩夢，以及證明自己有更多才華來持續(xù)吸引大眾的關注。

對Lil Nas X來說，他面臨著一個很大的問題——在他那充滿噱頭的鄉(xiāng)村饒舌大受歡迎的背后，在眾多喜歡“Old Town Road（老城小路）”的人之中，有沒有人聽說過這位出生在亞特蘭大、從網絡紅人轉型的藝術家呢？作為一張迅速制作的EP, Lil Nas X 的《7》是一個堅實且充滿希望的開始。然而，關于Lil Nas X想走什么樣的路線，仍然有很多問題。

With?7, instead of blurring the country and rap lines further, he takes the well-trod path to the rock and rap border. Like country-rap, rap-rock is a genre we’ve?endured for a long time, maybe too long. Lil Nas X’s version is much more nuanced, if a tad straight-laced. He interpolates Nirvana’s “In Bloom” on the anti-hater, pro-sandwich anthem “Panini,” calls up Travis Barker of Blink 182 for the punk-ish “F9mily” and enlists Ryan Tedder for the 2009 Coachella-core “Bring U Down.” Even the non-rock star co-signed tracks have a hint of guitar-and-drum driven heaviness, especially the twisted, brooding Mariachi tones of the Cardi B-assisted, surefire hit “Rodeo.” Above all, the mid-Aughts pop-rock sound of the EP feels reminiscent of early, Kid Cudi’s collaboration with MGMT in its carefully balanced earnestness and playfulness.

在《7》中，他不是進一步模糊鄉(xiāng)村音樂和說唱的界限，而是走了一條通往搖滾和說唱界的坦途。像鄉(xiāng)村說唱一樣，說唱搖滾是一種我們忍受了很長時間的音樂類型，或許我們忍太久了。Lil Nas X的版本更加微妙，卻可能還是有點生硬古板。他在反噴子頌歌“Panini”中插入了Nirvana樂隊的“In Bloom（盛開）”；讓Blink 182的Travis Barker參與裝作了這首朋克風格的“F9mily”；還讓曾在2009年寫出在Coachella音樂節(jié)上大火歌曲的Ryan Tedder參加制作了單曲“Bring U Down”。即使是與非搖滾明星共同演繹的歌曲中，也有吉他和鼓點的沉重感，尤其是與卡迪B合作的熱門單曲“Rodeo（牛仔競技）”中那扭曲、憂郁的墨西哥流浪樂隊(Mariachi)音調。最重要的是，這張EP中的流行搖滾音樂讓人想起了Kid Cudi早期與MGMT的合作。

The EP is of course bookended by the two main versions of “Old Town Road,” this year’s boundary-breaking behemoth. It cracked the code for the type of song that can make listeners question an entire industry’s systemic racism while also being incredibly joyful to listen to. Where would — and could — he go next in a culture that values and encourages the fast pace of its content? With his history of social media fam, Lil Nas X may know better than most what exactly is at stake.

這張EP當然是以“Old Town Road（老城小路）”兩個主要版本作為開篇和結局，要知道“Old Town Road（老城小路）”在今年可是打破邊界的一個巨作，它創(chuàng)造出一種新的音樂類型，這讓聽眾質疑整個音樂行業(yè)的流派歧視，同時這些曲子也讓人覺得聽起來很歡快。在一個重視并鼓勵內容快節(jié)奏的文化中，他將何去何從？憑借著Lil Nas X的社交經驗，他可能比大多數(shù)人都更清楚這些利害關系。