張睿銓：快沒時間愛，哪有時間恨？

CD Review: Chang Jui-chuan – Exodus: Retrospective and Prospective 1999-2009
By Alan Young, Lucid Culture, November 13, 2009

Global hip-hop doesn't get much better than this. Rapper/college professor Chang Jui-chuan is a bonafide star of the hip-hop underground in his native Taiwan, and this collection – largely culled from a 2006 release – has him poised to cross over to an English-speaking audience. A gifted, frequently ferocious bilingual lyricist in his native language, Hokkien and also English, he delivers his English raps in a menacing, slurred Taiwanese-accented drawl. This is conscious hip-hop raised to a power: people have been executed for tackling the topics he addresses. He has little use for globalization:

You say free trade gets us out of poverty and hunger
Free trade saves my family from pistol triggers
Free trade assures good drugs for my son's cancer
Then tell me why we're dying faster than ever…
Exploitation disguised as freedom and democracy
Global corporations feed Third World Dictators
Paying less than one dollar per month for child workers…

He fearlessly takes the stand for dissidents who risk their lives around the globe, especially those who dare stand up to the mainland Chinese regime:

…when I'm placing an order on this free-speech website
It’s taken over by the interface in Chinese Simplified
Propaganda's never simplified, can only be vandalized
I orchestrate lyrical drive-bys

The most potent lyric here is in Hokkien, titled "Hey Kid," a scathing account of Chang Kai-shek's invasion of Taiwan, the February 27, 1947 massacre of Taiwanese nationalist freedom fighters, and the subsequent terror that lasted decades and left tens of thousands of innocent civilians dead. He also addresses spiritual concerns without coming across as doctrinaire (he's a Christian) and the need to preserve indigenous cultures in the face of western cultural imperialism. The backing tracks here deserve mention too because they're excellent, ranging from spacy psychedelic funk, to roots reggae (Chang sings respectably well), to ominous, chromatically-charged funk-metal played by a live band rather than sampled. Fans of the best conscious American hip-hop acts: Immortal Technique, the Coup and Dead Prez are in for a treat here. Or maybe this guy can hook up with the Hsu-nami and we can get a real Taiwanese-American crossover.

http://0rz.tw/VvvJA

首支音樂錄影帶：FREEDOM ZEN (空禪) Directed by MoShang

歌詞：
http://blog.roodo.com/changjuichuan/archives/7358817.html

NEW! 音地台灣網路電台專訪整理，十年張睿銓一次全部收聽：
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0tmx7BgD1nw

近期活動 RECENT EVENTS
10/28 6:30PM 成功大學光復校區國際會議廳  台灣文學系系學會學術組和街頭詩人饒舌社  李承機助理教授與張睿銓之音樂座談
10/10 3:00 - 3:30PM 敗遣時代遊行 + 鐵馬影展 張睿銓和拷秋勤
http://dispatched-worker.blogspot.com/2009/09/1010.html
http://www.thusbook.com.tw/?p=765
http://www.coolloud.org.tw/node/46978
10/2 8:00PM 拷秋勤合輯《無名英雄》巡迴 台北市誠品書店敦南店美食街B1
9/27 Featuring DJ Point 台南大支88賑災慈善義演 4:50 - 5:10PM http://tinyurl.com/n9mh9b
9/18 8:00PM 拷秋勤合輯《無名英雄》巡迴 台北市誠品書店信義店
8/30 7:30PM 誠品第三屆黑膠文藝復興運動 http://blog.yam.com/emtc/article/23382711
8/22 3PM 誠品豐原店
8/21 7PM 台中迴響  莫尚  張睿銓  拷秋勤 http://blog.roodo.com/kou/archives/9698251.html
8/16 3PM 自由廣場  88賑災募款義演 http://indietaiwan.pixnet.net/blog/post/25671023
8/12 11PM 中天 大學生了沒？ 雙面教師 (感謝牯嶺街小劇場！你們最棒了！)
節目錄影片段：
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zyzp-RvlKc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NrTcxqDtDg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41_lPTsYVzc
8/9 3PM 誠品台東店 (因颱風取消)
8/8 4PM 誠品台南店戶外 (因颱風取消)
8/1 5:20PM 臺灣原創流行音樂大獎 河洛語組 http://0rz.tw/EHkYO (來幫我加油吧！)
8/1 2PM 好事聯播網 娛樂飛行船 主持 http://0rz.tw/O9Qag
7/26 《拷秋勤 Present：無名英雄》專輯首賣會 http://blog.roodo.com/kou/archives/9296069.html
7/25 3PM 誠品西門店生活風格書區(3F，峨嵋街)
7/18 有料音樂祭 台北 http://blog.roodo.com/uloud (新專輯現場只賣$200)
7/11 西藏自由音樂會 台北 http://www.freetibet.tw/
7/4 有料音樂祭 高雄 http://blog.roodo.com/uloud (新專輯現場只賣$200)
7/2 7PM 陳文成基金會 http://www.cwcmf.org.tw/joomla/
6/28 音樂台東，核廢不要 台北 http://tw.myblog.yahoo.com/hunter-motion (活動因遭政治迫害取消)
6/13 3PM 玫瑰西門店
6/10 5PM 大眾許昌店

教學經驗分享
6/27 NATPA對話論壇 台北 洽台灣教授協會 http://www.taup.org.tw/

 


試聽單曲：
無聲 (VOICELESS)
http://tw.streetvoice.com/music/user-song.asp?au=78262

FREEDOM ZEN (空禪)
http://tw.streetvoice.com/music/user-song.asp?au=44741

FREEDOM ZEN (空禪) Tibetan Mix
http://www.myspace.com/juichuanchang

從自資獨立發行的首張專輯《創世記》，到獲新聞局補助、同樣獨立發行的《創世記》國際版《重生》，我比很多人幸運，有這樣一個珍貴的過程，向很多專業的音樂人學習。感謝上帝，我甚麼都沒做，但卻讓這麼多好人願意來幫我。

終於，代理甜梅號、滅火器、橙草、光景消逝、閃靈、Silver Bus的有料唱片給我這個機會，整理以前的作品，去蕪存菁，加入新的作品，推出《出走：回顧與展望1999-2009》，為我過去這十年的音樂成長做一個美麗與樂觀的總結。我還給｢攏不知｣它十年前我還在重金屬樂團｢XL｣時的生猛原貌，褪去｢無聲｣和｢My Language｣的憤世嫉俗而找回光明與希望，拷秋勤和DJ Point強勢演出的重拍版｢官逼民反｣，還有充滿fusion jazz味、聲援Tibet的全球第一首正式發行單曲｢Freedom Zen｣（空禪）。

所以，出走，是開始，還是結束？也許就像這張自選輯中林強大哥為我編的結尾曲，解構也重組了一切，聽完後，你會告訴我你的答案。

六月三日天安門二十週年紀念日前夕有料唱片正式發行，全國唱片行皆有販售。

特別歡迎藝文、社運、台語文團體接洽演出，鬥陣打拼！



Photo by Siegfy. http://www.flickr.com/photos/siegfy/3770126974/in/set-72157621883046364/


TAIPEI TIMES CD REVIEWS: TAIWAN
By David Chen
Wednesday, June 24, 2009, Page 14

This compilation from socially conscious rapper Chang Jui-chuan (張睿銓) offers some relief from the R'n'B and hip-hop wannabes that litter the Mando-pop landscape in Taiwan.

Even if the title seems a little grandiose—much of the album contains remixes from Chang's 2006 debut, Genesis (創世記)—the songs remain fresh and worth a listen.

Chang's anti-globalization diatribe, "My Language" (我的語言), gets two treatments: The "Universal Grammar Mix" is a straight-up version full of feel-good R'n'B riffs and Chinese pop hooks; the second version is an artful mash-up done in collaboration with popstar-turned-electronica artist Lim Giong (林強).

Chang, who raps in both English and Hokkien (commonly known as Taiwanese), sometimes trips over his own eloquence at the expense of the groove. But his delivery impresses on rhymes like "I speak your language don't mean I'm your slave/I speak your language cause I'm about to invade/Your music, your culture, your beliefs and your fate/With kung fu, Confucius, Tao, and my name."

He can carry a tune, too. On the "Dub Mix" version of "Hope is Here" (希望的所在), recorded with Red-I and the Riddim Outlawz, he croons about his wish for all Taiwanese to "unite." The song's reggae instrumentation works well with Chang's Hokkien lyrics and best of all, it sounds natural and authentic.

And for those worried about Taiwanese youth losing sight of their history, Chang comes to the rescue. "Hey Kid," a catchy retelling of the 228 Incident and bits of the White Terror period, is a nice example of folk music storytelling incorporated into hip-hop.

Other notable collaborators include South African MoShang, who leaves his signature mix of Asian music grooves on the "Disquiet Mix" of "Hey Kid" and the "Freedom Mix" of "Hope Is Here." Hakka hip-hop crew Kou Chou Ching (拷秋勤) appears on "Civil Revolt Chapter 1."