A Study on the Sustainable Development of Hip Hop Music Culture in China’s Localization in the New Media Era: Based on the Long Tail Theory

Abstract

Hip-hop music originated in Brooklyn in the United States, and was introduced to Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan in the 1980s. Subsequently, with the development of the Internet and China’s acceptance of foreign culture, hip-hop music culture gradually spread to the mainland. In this paper, the sustainable development of hip-hop culture in China was studied by using the perspective of the long tail theory. It is pointed out that the 21st century is the fastest time for the spread of rap in China, but at the same time, a series of problems have also been generated. The young age of hip-hop listeners brings challenges to its development space, and Chinese hip-hop music has not formed a unique local cultural characteristic, which leads to the success of localization of hip-hop music culture in China. The following policy suggestions are put forward: to introduce more typical representatives of rappers in the corresponding age group, so as to improve the understanding, awareness and participation of different age groups of listeners in hip-hop music culture. Reduce the imitation of foreign rap, add Chinese cultural elements, innovate the lyric content, and endow hiphop music with Chinese localization characteristics.