Reconfiguring “Heritage hip-hop” From the scenes: Rightful youth rebellion and localised authenticity in the Huxiang Flow

Abstract

This study builds upon the established frameworks of popular music heritage, scene theory, and Chinese hip-hop politics and authenticity, highlighting the intricate relationship between cultural heritage and hip-hop. Focusing on the localised genre the “Huxiang Flow” from Hunan province, it conducts critical discourse analysis of 98 song lyrics, music videos, and performances, alongside interviews with 20 local hip-hop audiences and practitioners. The research reconfigures “heritage hip-hop,” suggesting that artists leverage their cultural heritage as a strategic resource in their creative processes, thereby achieving nuanced self and local identities, articulating ideological expressions, and fostering emotional dialogues with audiences. Operating on the fringes of legitimate cultural channels, Huxiang flow artists employ elements like revolutionary historical figures and significant sites to enact legitimate resistance. They also utilise everyday environments to critique internal social divisions, shaping forms of everyday resistance through hip-hop, which resonates with local audiences and fosters collective consciousness. This study demonstrates heritage as dynamic to construct legitimate resistance in hip-hop music under Chinese cultural politics. Hip-hop artists are not merely representatives of marginalised groups but are influenced by localised cultural education, which underpins their creative work and informs their use of sophisticated rhetorical strategies to achieve legitimate resistance and promote social cohesion.