Abstrakt
This paper will begin by introducing the genre of Tibetan Hip-Hop as a useful means of better understanding the Tibetan youths and their current situation. Facing various struggles determined by their difficult position within the global diaspora, the youths have found a way to express their cultural heritage, religious traditions, social issues, and identity by adopting a foreign music genre and shaping it for their needs.
After the "Rock'n'Roll" era (Diehl 2002), Tibetans are now also actively contributing to this appealing trend which just recently became vibrant across Asia too (e.g. the talent show "Rap of China" etc.). Although at first of U.S. origin, Hip-Hop has been commonly and successfully localized all over the world.
The distinctive aspects of the Tibetan Hip-Hop will be illustrated here on selected examples. Cheap production requirements allow the rappers to be more independent (in comparison with the first generations of Tibetan popular singers relying on well-educated monks who provided the lyrics for their songs), thus the language they use and topics they address are now more accessible and understandable to the common people.
This further leads to more open and direct approach even towards certain sensitive issues or taboos. Such progressive cultural manifestations sometimes cause a social polarization by breaking the social norms, therefore deepening the differences between "young" and "old", "modern" and "tradition", consequently forming the Hip-Hop subculture.
Furthermore, role models, such as rappers in this case, could also fulfill the purpose of "universal national consolidators" - something Tibetans are lacking due to the enormous cultural diversity. As a result, one cannot be surprised when a Tibetan artist from Kham collaborates on a track with a Chinese rapper from Chengdu, inspiring fans living in New York.
All these aspects will be discussed in more detail in the second part of this paper.