“Do you have freestyle？”

Thats the buzz word on the Internet in 2017. The catchphrase came from “The Rap of China”， the countrys first talent show that centers on hip hop artists， many of them previously underground.

With hundreds of millions of views since its launch， the show has quickly put these artists， as well as the music genre， into the limelight.

PG One， just 23 years old， is one of the contestants that quickly rose to stardom after the show went on air.

The former underground battle MC had already had a modest following before， but after he rapped about Chinese hip hop and his own flow in his segment， his life changed.

PG One told CGTN， “Before， when my relatives asked what I do， ‘hip-hop only made them puzzled. Now， they say Im cool. And we are recognized everywhere.”

He also said， “Weve been doing hip hop for quite a while now， but its all underground. Standing on this stage， we get to show Chinese hip hop. That its just as good. I feel the door has opened for us.”

His fellow hip hop artist BrAnT B， just 19， echos： “Clubs are playing our music now... And its good to see everyone， including foreigners， swaying to our beats.”

PG One， BrAnT B and the rap group they both belong to have now landed a record deal.

Their rise of fame may be sudden， but many in the industry also say that less than two decades since hip hops introduction— via artists from Taiwan—its only a matter of time before the music hits it big.

And the show “The Rap of China” says that time is now.

For the musicians， they say theyre sticking to this genre because the music born on the American streets is also close to their hearts.

Chen Wei， senior vice president of iQIYI and chief producer of “The Rap of China”， told CGTN， “We think it is on the threshold of becoming really big and mainstream. So we think we can give it a bit of a push and let Asia， and the world， know that weve got great， rising Chinese hip hop. And we did just that.”

Chen says he had a rough idea of the shows success when he realized that everything hip is also everything hip hop.

He said， “In China today， hip hop culture is synonymous with fashion， and its synonymous with the whole ‘It culture. Thats one special thing about Chinas hip hop.”

“你有freestyle嗎？”

Freestyle是2017年的網(wǎng)絡(luò)熱詞。這個(gè)梗來源于中國首檔嘻哈歌手選秀節(jié)目《中國有嘻哈》。在節(jié)目中，不少選手都曾是地下說唱歌手。

自開播以來，該節(jié)目播放量已達(dá)數(shù)億，很快就令這些參賽藝人以及這一音樂流派嶄露頭角。

年僅23歲的萬磁王是節(jié)目開播不久后，迅速走紅的選手之一。

先前他在地下喊麥時(shí)就有了自己的粉絲團(tuán)，但自從他在節(jié)目中展現(xiàn)了中國嘻哈以及自己的說唱風(fēng)格之后，他的生活發(fā)生了改變。

萬磁王在接受中國國際電視臺(tái)采訪時(shí)表示：“以前我的親戚問我做什么工作時(shí)，回答‘嘻哈只會(huì)令他們摸不著頭腦。而現(xiàn)在，他們都說我很酷。我們走到哪都有人認(rèn)識(shí)我們?！?/p>

他還表示：“我們做嘻哈音樂已經(jīng)有一段時(shí)間了，但都是在地下發(fā)展。站在這個(gè)舞臺(tái)上，我們能夠展示中國嘻哈。那樣也很不錯(cuò)。我感覺嘻哈世界的大門已經(jīng)向我們敞開?！?/p>

他的隊(duì)友、年僅19歲的嘻哈歌手小白也有同感：“俱樂部現(xiàn)在都在放我們的音樂。很高興看到每個(gè)人，包括外國人，都在隨著我們的節(jié)奏搖擺?！?/p>

萬磁王、小白以及他們所在的說唱組合現(xiàn)在已經(jīng)獲得唱片簽約。

他們的成名或許很突然，但業(yè)內(nèi)許多人士也表示，中國臺(tái)灣音樂人將嘻哈引入中國大陸不到20年，這種音樂大獲成功只是時(shí)間問題。

而《中國有嘻哈》這一節(jié)目認(rèn)為，現(xiàn)在正是時(shí)候。

對(duì)于音樂人而言，他們表示，自己堅(jiān)持做這一流派，是因?yàn)檎Q生在美國街頭的這種音樂也和他們的內(nèi)心緊密相連。

愛奇藝高級(jí)副總裁、《中國有嘻哈》總制片人陳偉在接受中國國際電視臺(tái)采訪時(shí)表示：“我們認(rèn)為，嘻哈正變得日益重要，成為主流。所以我們覺得可以給它點(diǎn)助力，讓亞洲以及全世界知道，正在興起的中國嘻哈很棒。我們做到了。”

陳偉表示，當(dāng)他意識(shí)到一切新潮事物也都是嘻哈的時(shí)候，他大致預(yù)想到了這個(gè)節(jié)目的成功。

他說道：“在如今的中國，嘻哈文化就是時(shí)尚的代名詞，也是整個(gè)潮流文化的代名詞。這是中國嘻哈的一大特別之處?！?h3>Word Study

modest /'m?d?st/ adj. 些許的；不太大的

He charged a relatively modest fee.

puzzled /'p?z?d/ adj. 困惑的；迷惑不解的

He looked puzzled so I repeated the question.

fame /fe?m/ n. 聲譽(yù)；名氣

She went to Hollywood in search of fame and fortune.

mainstream /'me?nstri?m/ n. 主流的；主要的

Deaf children can often be included in mainstream education.