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：Peter D

審議：Emma.Z

推送：Lynn Liu

Beyoncé parlays her role in Disney’s?The Lion King?to put out a fine companion album that showcases today’s African stars.

Beyoncé很好地利用了她在迪士尼的《獅子王》中的角色，推出了一張很好的伴唱專輯，展示了今天的非洲明星的風采。

As?Beyoncé’s art has grown outwardly political and pro-black throughout the decade, she has increasingly called upon African-born artists to participate in and inform her work. She did this with Tofo Tofo, the Mozambican pantsula dancers who appeared in her 2011 “Run the World (Girls)” video. In her?self-titled?era, she sampled Nigerian feminist writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie on 2013’s “***Flawless,” and Griot vocalist Ismael Kouyaté on the Afro-inspired “Grown Woman.” The?Lemonade?film, which was threaded by excerpts of Somali-British poet Warsan Shire’s work, featured ritual Yoruba body makeup work by Nigerian-American artist Laolu Senbanjo. During her 2018 set at Global Citizen Fest South Africa, she recruited a local choir to add Zulu backing vocals to a performance of “Halo.” And later that year, her headlining Coachella performance interpolated Fela Kuti, which can be heard on the subsequent?Homecoming?film and album.

在過去的十年里，碧昂斯的藝術在政治和支持黑人方面都有了明顯的發(fā)展，她越來越多地呼吁非洲出生的藝術家們參與并為她的作品提供靈感。她曾與來自莫桑比克的pantsula（譯者注：一種起源于南非的舞蹈）舞者Tofo Tofo合作，后者出現(xiàn)在了她2011年的“Run the World (Girls)（女性統(tǒng)治世界）”的音樂錄影帶中。在碧昂絲主宰樂壇的時期，她2013年的歌曲“***Flawless（完美無瑕）”中采樣了尼日利亞女權作家Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie的演講，在非洲風的“Grown Woman（成熟女人）”中也采樣了西非吟游詩人聲樂家Ismael Kouyaté的片段。在用英籍索馬里詩人Warsan Shire的選段串聯(lián)而成的《Lemonade（檸檬水）》電影中，美籍尼日利亞藝術家Laolu Senbanjo的約魯巴人（Yoruba）儀式身體化妝也有著重要地位。在2018年的南非世界公民音樂節(jié)表演中，她召集了當?shù)氐囊恢Ш铣獔F來為“Halo（光環(huán)）”的表演配上祖魯（Zulu）和聲。同年早些時候，她領銜科切拉的演出中還插入了Fela Kuti的作品，這在后來的《Homecoming（歸家）》電影及專輯中都能聽到。

In her ongoing quest to both pay homage to a black cultural history and contextualize herself within it, she took advantage of her role as Nala in the super-CGI remake of?The Lion King?and hired a swath of African artists and producers for a new album inspired by the movie.?The Gift?is an extension of Beyoncé’s work and its themes of ancestry, self-love, spirituality, and family. But its main purpose is to showcase today’s African musical stars, putting their sound on an enormous platform using the commercial reach of one of the world’s biggest pop titans and Disney’s highest-grossing franchise.

在Beyoncé對黑人文化歷史的不斷探索，以及把自身帶入其中去領會的過程中，她利用自己在這部超級CGI（計算機生成影像）重制的《獅子王》中的Nala角色，并請了一大群非洲藝術家和制作人來完成一張由這部電影所啟發(fā)的全校專輯?！禩he Gift》是對Beyoncé的作品以及其祖先、自愛、靈性、家庭主題的延伸。但是這張專輯的主要目的在于展現(xiàn)當今非洲的音樂新星們，利用世界最大的流行巨星之一的商業(yè)影響力和迪士尼最賣座的版權，把他們的聲音推上一個巨大的平臺。

Similar to?Kendrick Lamar’s?Black Panther-inspired album and other recent globe-trotting works like?Drake’s?More Life?and?GoldLink’s?Diaspora,?The Gift?is thrilling because of the diasporic connections being made through collaboration. African artists from Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon, and South Africa all display a wide range of regional genres and merge them with American styles. This works best on tracks like “My Power,” where rap weirdo?Tierra Whack?and Top 40 songwriter Nija join forces with South African gqom badasses Busiswa and Moonchild Sanelley for a searing?DJ Lag-produced track about black girl determination and resilience. Meanwhile, “Don’t Jealous Me” features a survey of different artists that fall under the?oft-misused umbrella term of Afrobeat, as Nigerian stars Tekno, Yemi Alade, and Mr Eazi bring their own signature swagger to a sinister gqom-inflected banger. “Mood 4 Eva,” featuring A-listers Bey,?JAY-Z, and?Childish Gambino, flips a sample Malian artist?Oumou Sangaré’s 1989 Wassoulou song “Diaraby Nene” into a buoyant, hedonistic flex track.

與Kendrick Lamar受《Black panther（黑豹）》啟發(fā)所創(chuàng)作的專輯，以及Drake的《More Life（更多生活）》和GoldLink《Diaspora（大逃散）》等近期全球化的作品類似，《The Gift》的令人激動之處在于它通過合作使分散的種族之間建立了聯(lián)系。來自尼日利亞、加納、喀麥隆以及南非的藝術家們表演著各式各樣的地方音樂，并用美國風格把它們融合在一起。這一點在“My Power（我的力量）”等單曲中取得了極好的效果， 在這首歌中說唱怪人Tierra Whack 和曾創(chuàng)作出Top 40熱單的Nija與來自南非的gqom（譯者注：一種源于南非德班市的電子舞曲種類）酷妞Busiswa和Moonchild Sanelley聯(lián)手，最終誕生出了這首由DJ Lag參與制作的火辣單曲，講述著黑人女孩的決心與韌性。同時，歌曲“Don't Jealous Me（別嫉妒我）”的特色是對不同藝術家的調查，這些藝術家都屬于經常被誤用的非洲音樂流派(Afrobeat)范疇。（譯者注：區(qū)別于Afrobeats）的藝人們的概覽，尼日利亞明星Tekno，Yemi Alade和Mr Eazi把他們特有的范兒帶進了這首受到gqom影響的冷酷而激情四射的舞曲中。由一線大牌Bey，JAY-Z和Childish Gambino合作的“Mood 4 Eva（永遠這個狀態(tài)）”歌曲把對馬里藝術家Oumou Sangaré的Wassoulou（譯者注：一種西非音樂流派）歌曲 “Diaraby Nene”的采樣片段變成了積極樂觀的炫耀式的音樂。

The album also nods to?Africa’s influence in Caribbean music?with “Already,” a track that draws out the rhythmic similarities between dancehall and Afropop by linking Ghanaian artist Shatta Wale with global riddim-fetishizers?Major Lazer. Meanwhile, the self-proclaimed “African giant”?Burna Boy?warns against blindly following the crowd on his solo track “Ja Ara E,” a track that channels?Fela Kuti?with a laidback dembow groove.

專輯還在單曲“Already（已經）”中肯定了非洲對于加勒比海地區(qū)音樂的影響，這支單曲通過連結加納藝人Shatta Wale和全球化的riddim（譯者注：雷鬼等音樂流派的節(jié)奏）信徒Major Lazer來描繪出dancehall（譯者注：音樂流派）和Afropop（譯者注：音樂流派）在節(jié)奏上的相似之處。同時，自封“非洲巨人”的Burna Boy在完全由他個人演唱的歌曲“Ja Ara E（開始懂得）”中警示了盲目從眾，還在歌曲中灌入了Fela Kuti那輕松的dembow（譯者注：一種源于牙買加的音樂節(jié)奏）節(jié)奏。

But, as?critics and artists?were quick to point out,?The Gift?doesn’t completely cover all the regions and styles that Africa has to offer. There are no featured East or North African artists, which is particularly odd considering?The Lion King’s setting is loosely based on Kenyan geographical features and the character’s names originate from the East African language of Swahili. Beyoncé does her best to rectify the lack of representation by including Swahili in the beginning of “Spirit,” the only?Gift?song that appears in the movie, and even sings in the language at the end of “Otherside,” a glowing?H.E.R.-style ballad about the afterlife. But ultimately,?The Gift’s emphasis on West African Afropop and South African house seems like a half-measure in an album that presents itself as extremely dedicated to some kind of authenticity, especially coming from the reliably meticulous Beyoncé.

但是就像評論家和藝術家們很快就指出來的那樣，《The Gift》沒能完全涵蓋非洲所有的地區(qū)和風格，其中并沒有來自非洲東部或是北部的藝術家參與到專輯中，考慮到《獅子王》的設定基本上是基于肯尼亞的地理特點，而角色名字則是源自東非的斯瓦西里語，這一點就顯得特別奇怪了。Beyoncé盡了最大的努力去矯正這份特性的缺失，在專輯中唯一出現(xiàn)在了電影中的歌曲“Spirit（生靈）”的開頭加入了斯瓦西里語，甚至還在講述死后世界的飽含情感且富有H.E.R.（譯者注：R&B歌手）風格的抒情歌曲“Otherside（另一邊）”結尾親自用這種語言唱了一段。但歸根結底，對于這樣一張致力于展現(xiàn)真實性的專輯，尤其是這樣一張來自可靠又細心謹慎的Beyoncé的專輯，對西非的Afropop和南非的house（譯者注：音樂流派）的強調看上去更像是一種權宜之計。

Beyoncé is still at her best when she goes off-book and gets personal. “Brown Skin Girl,” featuring Blue Ivy, Brooklyn rapper?SAINt JHN, and Nigerian pop star?WizKid, doesn’t seem to be tied to a particular?Lion King?plot point. And uncoincidentally, it’s one of the more touching songs on the album. After Blue Ivy sings the hook with growing assuredness, Bey sings directly to her and any other black girl who might be judged or dismissed based on her appearance: “I love everything about you, from your nappy curls/To every single curve, your body natural… I never trade you for anybody else,” she sings in a truly heartfelt case for self-acceptance. Beyoncé takes care to dole these pearls of wisdom in a way that’s specific, but also universal to those of African descent. “Bigger,” both directed towards her offspring and anyone else who is of the diaspora, is a rallying call to aspire to greatness, because your life is connected to a greater black legacy and history.

當Beyoncé自由發(fā)揮并專注內心時，她仍舊能表現(xiàn)得極為出色。和女兒Blue Ivy、布魯克林說唱藝人SAINt JHN以及尼日利亞流行歌星WizKid合作的“Brown Skin Girl（棕皮膚女孩）”看上去和《獅子王》中的任何一幕都扯不上關系。絕非碰巧的是，它也是專輯中那些更能打動人的歌曲之一。在Blue Ivy帶著逐漸增長的自信唱完副歌之后，Bey開始直接對著她以及其他可能因外表而遭受評判或忽視的黑人女孩們唱到：“I love everything about you, from your nappy curls/To every single curve, your body natural… I never trade you for anybody else（我愛著你的一切，從你每根鬈發(fā)/到你身體的每一條曲線……給我什么我都不換），”她真摯地為著自我接受這個主題而歌唱。Beyoncé在謹慎地動用這份智慧時通常盡量具體，但是面對非洲祖先時也會顯得十分廣闊。寫給她自己的孩子以及其他美洲大陸上的黑人同胞的“Bigger（更大）”是一份成就偉大的召集宣言，因為他們的生命與更偉大的黑人遺產和歷史緊密相連。

But not every track on the album shakes off the precious Disney vibes. The most lackluster songs don’t have a strong conceptual core, meeting the prompt of being “inspired by”?The Lion King?and not doing much else. On “Water,” Cameroonian singer Salatiel sings about meeting your love interest “by the river,” conjuring up images of Simba and Nala. But confusingly,?Pharrell?just chants lines about water wings: “Yes, we can make it far/Don't need inflatables.” “Spirit,” the gospel-bop ballad, makes a lot of sense in the movie when it soundtracks two incredibly realistic animated lions bounding through the desert, but it doesn’t fit well with the other, more loose and ambitious tracks.

但并非專輯中的每一首曲目都能擺脫那“珍貴”的迪士尼氛圍。那些最黯淡的歌曲都缺乏足夠強大的理念內核，僅僅迎合了“靈感來自于《獅子王》”這一目標而沒有繼續(xù)深入。歌曲“Water（水）”中，喀麥隆歌手Salatiel唱著“在河邊”與傾慕對象相遇，在人們腦海中喚起Simba和Nala的身影。最讓人迷惑的是。Pharrell居然就唱了幾句關于救生衣（water wings）的乏味歌詞：“Yes, we can make it far/Don't need inflatables（是呀，我們可以遠走高飛/連皮劃艇都不需要）.”“Spirit”這首gospel-bop（譯者注：音樂流派）抒情曲在電影中配著兩只栩栩如生的特效獅子一同穿越沙漠，煽動了無數(shù)人的情感，但不得不說它和其他無拘無束又野心勃勃的歌曲完全不搭。

Even though Bey has referred to?The Gift?as “sonic cinema,” the album stands in the shadow of a movie that stands in the shadow of the 1994 original. Though not fully comprehensive or?that?musically far-reaching (due to its prioritization of African genres that have already experienced crossover success), the album still succeeds in introducing a whole new musical universe to the average American listener. And for fans already familiar with genres on?The Gift, it arrives as a crucial, all-too-rare example in which African music and culture are actually being presented in the American mainstream by the artists who make it. It’s an honorable feat for Beyoncé, who has repeatedly put time, money, and energy into recruiting African talents, broadening the scope of what pop can look and sound like. Only this time, it’s a soundtrack for a Disney movie about cats.

即使Bey表示《The Gift》是一部“用聲音表現(xiàn)的電影”，這張專輯始終籠罩在《獅子王》電影的陰影下，而電影更是被1994年的原版的光芒所掩蓋。雖說這張專輯沒能完全包涵非洲音樂，音樂性上也沒什么足夠深遠的影響（因為它本身選擇的非洲音樂流派已經經歷了成功的跨界），它仍然十分成功地把一個全新的音樂世界帶給了美國普通聽眾。而對于已經很熟悉《The Gift》中的不同流派的粉絲，這又是一個非洲音樂與文化居然被藝人呈現(xiàn)在美國主流舞臺上的重要又難能可貴的例子。這是Beyoncé令人欽佩的功績，她不斷地投入時間、金錢和精力召集來自非洲的才華橫溢的藝術家，不斷地拓寬流行音樂視與聽的邊界。只不過這一次，這是一部迪士尼有關大貓的電影的原聲帶。