翻譯：Nomanlandever

A fact that will make you feel ancient:?Ciara’s “Goodies” came out almost 15 years ago. That’s a testament to just how improbably resilient Ciara’s career has been. Though she’s never quite regained that initial “princess of crunk-n-B” level of mainstream stardom, she has sustained a cult fanbase and delivered a remarkably consistent run of songs to back it up. Ciara has spent the last decade in a whirlwind of genres, but is at her best when her work is physical—from two-step anthems like “1, 2 Step” to her futuristic dance music in the early 2010s to the more sensual meanings of “physicality” on career standout “Body Party.”

一個讓你感到古老的事實：Ciara出道作《Goodies》已發(fā)行近15年。這充分證實了Ciara事業(yè)非同尋常的堅韌性。盡管她之后從未恢復到出道時被冠以“Crunk-n-B公主”炙手可熱的級別，但她一直積攢了很多死忠粉，Ciara也不間斷地持續(xù)發(fā)布一系列歌曲來穩(wěn)固粉絲群體。過去十年里，Ciara輾轉(zhuǎn)于不同的音樂流派——但她最好的作品從來都是涉及“身體”的——從兩步舞曲“1, 2 Step”到2010年代初期的未來主義舞曲，再到進一步展現(xiàn)出Ciara性感魅力的職業(yè)生涯高光曲?“Body Party”。

Her first single since 2015’s?Jackie, “Level Up” is custom-engineered for virality. The track’s named for a?micro-feud?she started over an Instagram hashtag on a post with her new husband Russell Wilson, and it’s built on the turbo-shaking bones of DJ Telly Tellz’ “fuck It Up” a Jersey club workout to which?hundreds of people?heeded the spoken intro: “No matter where you at, no matter where you from, no matter what dance you’re doing, just make sure you fuck it up to this song right here.” Ciara does, reproducing the countdown intro and hook (“fuck it up” becomes “l(fā)evel up”); it’s as instantly effective a sample as “My Boo” in “Body Party,” and producer J. R. Rotem mostly stays out of its way besides inserting a couple of plush bridges for a break.

自2015年專輯《Jackie》后的首支回歸單曲“Level Up”力圖引起病毒式傳播效應(yīng)。歌名源于她和她的新婚丈夫Russell Wilson在Instagram上發(fā)布的一個話題標簽而引發(fā)的一場小爭議，歌曲在DJ Telly Tellz激情澎湃的歌曲《fuck it Up》的基礎(chǔ)上再創(chuàng)作，在澤西俱樂部的一場健身活動中，數(shù)百人留意到了《fuck it Up》的開場歌詞：“No matter where you at, no matter where you from, no matter what dance you’re doing, just make sure you fuck it up to this song right here.”。Ciara也留意到了，重新制作了原曲《fuck it Up》的倒計時開頭，將原曲hook(“fuck it up” 替換為“l(fā)evel up”)，如同在“Body Party”里采樣?“My Boo”，此次采樣效果也立竿見影，制作人J. R. Rotem除了在歌曲中添加了幾段間歇的bridge，也把歌曲《Level Up》提升了一個高度。

Not that Ciara needs a break, judging by how she near-effortlessly keeps up with the track’s frenetic pace and with Parris Goebel and her ReQuest Dance Crew’s relentless choreography in the video. It’s also a defiant statement along the lines of “I’m Out,” with nonchalant delivery and a not-super-subtle dig at the somewhat generic, Dr. Luke-led production on?Jackie: “Thank God I never settle/This beat is so much better.” Hard to argue with that.

倒不是說Ciara該歇會兒了，從她在MV視頻里的表現(xiàn)便可看出，她不費吹灰之力地跟上了這首歌狂熱的節(jié)奏，和舞者Parris Goebel和她的舞蹈團隊(ReQuest Dance Crew)超強度的編舞。如同“I’m Out”里的歌詞，《Level Up》也是一種挑釁性的表態(tài)，高傲冷漠，對由Dr. Luke主導的前作《Jackie》進行了不太深入有些普通的挖苦?！癟hank God I never settle/This beat is so much better.”這一點很難反駁。