<p>Thanks guys! I am from Beijing, China.</p>
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<p>My interest in rap music has always surprised people here in China, but I didn’t expect the same reaction in America. During the Brown University Pre College Summer Program, an African-American classmate asked me, “You are from China, so why do you listen to a form of music that black people largely listen to? You do not even belong to that culture.” </p>
<p>I have been listening to rap music since 5th grade, and at that time I regarded rap more as a comfort to me than a tool to learn about American culture. My English was not good then, but the vibrancy of the beats and the flow of the lyrics blew my mind. The perfectly rhyming lyrics are so fascinating to me that I even compared them to poetry. I fell in love with rap music because it provided me with a kind of music that was different from the mundane Chinese pop love songs. I realized early on that I enjoyed rap because of the unique relationship between the beats and the lyrics, even though I did not understand any of the lyrics.</p>
<p>As my English improved, I became more aware of the rapper—Tayyib Ali—and his songs’ lyrics. I learned a great deal about his struggle growing up in a poor neighborhood in Philadelphia and how a lot of his childhood friends are now in jail. After listening to one of his songs, I found the song kept reverberating in my mind and I tried to empathize with him. What would I do if I were born in such a poor neighborhood? Would I have the willpower to stay away from bad influences around me and to remain hopeful and ambitious for my future? Then I realized that I can barely imagine such an environment full of crime and violence. Even thinking in such context made me nervous. Tayyib Ali must have felt isolated because no one really could understand or support his ambition to become a rapper. </p>
<p>I thought back to the question my classmate asked me. People shouldn’t stereotype that Chinese people cannot like rap just because we come from a different culture. In fact, this is precisely why I am drawn to rap music. As I have come to understand the messages within the music, I have found a gateway to unique elements of American culture. Tayyib Ali raps about his struggles growing up, but another rapper, Lecrae, raps about things I wouldn’t expect someone to rap about. He raps not about violence, fast cars, money or other stereotypical images of rap music, but rather about how God allowed him to escape the ghetto, earn a bachelor’s degree, make a living, and become a happy father. He also points out rappers who advocate peaceful protests but rap about violence and gangster lifestyles. </p>
<p>By becoming aware of these issues through American rap music, I have become more aware of the lack of discussion of these issues in China. Our songs do not address issues of religion, gangster lifestyles, or social hypocrisies. Being a foreigner to American rap culture, I recognize that there is a huge barrier preventing me from fully relating. I am not from a place of poverty, surrounded by drugs or broken homes, so I cannot fully comprehend the desperation Tayyib Ali feels; I do not believe in Christianity, so I cannot fully understand the piety that Lecrae has. Even though I can understand the words in the lyrics, I still cannot reach the soul of rap culture.</p>
<p>So why would I listen to this music rooted in such a different culture? Rap music is a filter that provides me, an interested outsider, a unique perspective to discover American culture, a filter that no other types of music could ever provide.</p>
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