*Cantonese version below* [中文版喺下面]
[English version]
Looking at the title of this article, you may wonder: Is Africa actually present in Cantonese pop songs? Beyond’s Amani and The Glorious Years, Kenny Bee's One-Day Photo Taking Tour of the African Black Forest, Rubberband's Small Street Cup, and R.O.O.T.'s 60 Seconds in Africa, may be some of the Cantopop songs you have in mind. These five songs have an in-depth focus on Africa or Africans.
However, other than these songs, it seems that Africa is seldom represented in Cantopop song lyrics. That’s why I conducted my master's thesis on the topic. Through lyrical analysis, I investigated the usage of Africa and its elements in Cantopop songs, as well as ones in the Mandopop genre, to analyse and compare the representations of the continent in Sinosphere music.
Now imagine, when you hear the word "Africa", or Africa-related features in a Cantopop song, what comes to mind? Drums? Wilderness? The scorching heat? A faraway place?
What I found is interesting, firstly, in terms of the large number of songs that actually depict "Africa", or include other geographical mentions. The same goes for Mandopop, which sees even more diverse topics on Africa. The two genres demonstrate similar characteristics in depicting Africa, yet Cantopop seems to be more influenced by Western ideas of white saviorism, as some lyrics portray the characters (Hongkongese) to be superior, saving the inferior Africans from suffering. Another obvious weakness of Cantopop when compared to Mandopop, is that the latter demonstrates a much higher degree of cultural specificity. Elements like myths and architecture of the ancient Egyptian civilization, and also geographical usages of the Nile River and the Sahara Desert, are depicted in a more detailed fashion, which is seldom seen in cantopop.
Other than the aforementioned Cantopop pieces in the introduction, most of the African mentions in Cantopop songs are superficial. It is a common storytelling norm in Cantopop, that Africa is being used as a singular entity. Africa is not portrayed as a continent of rich diversity in terms of cultures, traditions, religions and countries, but it simply becomes a metaphor for certain mindsets. Common metaphorical usages include:
exoticism,
romanticized distance,
escapism,
chaos and disorder
These representations lack cultural specificity. Certain songs also depict primitivism, racism, which should not be accepted under the current social norms. The metaphorical usages do not deepen the audiences' understanding of Africa, but reinforce stereotypes, which are often negative. It is frequently portrayed that Africa is undeveloped, war-torn, and undesirable.
This isn't about blaming artists. It's about becoming more aware of the images we repeat. In fact, in other pop media in Hong Kong, representations of Africa are also consistent with the pattern found in this study: inaccurate and oversimplified. Under this context, the findings here should serve as a note to all stakeholders in the circle of Hong Kong pop culture, who play a role in creating, distributing, interpreting, or consuming cultural content. Cultural institutions, producers of different media forms, artists and audiences, should reflect on the information they deliver or receive from pop media. Cantopop, being one of the most powerful tools we have for connection, the more honest and respectful the connection, the richer the audiences gain, and the more prosperous the musical sphere can achieve. In the 1980s to 1990s, Beyond's success is closely related to its diverse thematic focus, including songs depicting Africa. It shows the importance of music acknowledging issues happening around the world.
I invite you to give songs a closer listen. You might just hear Africa in unexpected places. Next time you hear "Africa” in a pop song, ask yourself and maybe reflect on:
How is the usage relevant to Africa?
How accurate, or meaningful is the mention?
If you are curious, feel free to drop a comment and discuss more about the topic.
[中文版]
一聽到「非洲」你會諗起咩？原來佢喺廣東歌入面一直有出現
望一望篇文章個題目，你可能會問：「廣東歌真係有講非洲咩？」你可能即刻諗起 Beyond 嘅《Amani》同《光輝歲月》、鍾鎮濤嘅《非洲黑森林寫真集一日遊》、Rubberband 嘅《細街盃》，定係 R.O.O.T. 嘅《60秒遇上非洲》？
呢幾首歌，的確係少數真正以非洲或非洲人為主題、作深入描寫嘅廣東歌。
但除咗呢幾首之外，其實喺大部分廣東歌入面，非洲幾乎唔見影。所以我就以呢個題目做咗我嘅碩士論文：透過歌詞分析，研究「非洲」呢個意象喺廣東歌入面點樣出現，同時亦比較普通話流行曲入面對非洲嘅使用，去分析整個華語音樂圈點樣描寫呢個大陸。
而家想像下，當你喺一首廣東歌入面聽到「非洲」或者有關非洲嘅元素，你第一時間會聯想到咩？非洲鼓？荒野？極端酷熱嘅天氣？一個好遙遠嘅地方？
我發現嘅第一點其實幾有趣，原來真係唔少歌會提到「非洲」或者其他地理名詞。普通話歌入面提及非洲嘅情況仲多元。雖然兩種音樂風格有啲相似，但我發現廣東歌更加明顯受到西方「白人救世主主義（white saviorism）」嘅影響。例如有啲歌詞會描寫香港人角色「拯救」受苦嘅非洲人，隱含住一種優越感。相比之下，普通話歌一個明顯嘅優勢就係佢哋喺文化細節上做得多啲，例如講到古埃及文明神話、建築，甚至地理上具體提到尼羅河同撒哈拉沙漠，描寫得比廣東歌更深入、具體。
除咗開頭提過嘅幾首歌，其實大部分廣東歌入面提及非洲都好表面。好多時，非洲就只係一個象徵，唔會被當作一個真實、有多元文化同歷史嘅大陸嚟描寫。
喺廣東歌嘅敘事模式入面，「非洲」通常唔係講緊一個地方，而係被用作一種比喻。佢唔係一個有幾十個國家、宗教、語言同文化嘅多元地方，而係被簡化成一啲概念，例如：
異國風情（exoticism）
浪漫但遙遠（romanticized distance）
逃避現實（escapism）
混亂、失序（chaos and disorder）
原始主義（primitivism）
種族歧視（racism）
呢啲比喻都缺乏文化細節，反而加強咗對非洲嘅刻板印象，而且往往都係負面，例如「非洲好落後」、「長期打仗」、「無人想去」等等。
但我要強調，我唔係指責創作人。而係我哋要更加意識到，我哋一再重複以同一方式描繪非洲所造成嘅問題。
其實喺香港其他流行文化入面（如電視、廣告、網絡內容），非洲嘅呈現都同樣係唔準確、過度簡化。喺咁嘅文化背景下，我希望我嘅研究可以畀到香港流行文化圈入面每個持份者一個反思。無論你係創作、發佈、評論、定係欣賞音樂嘅人，都應該思考下你所傳遞或者吸收嘅文化訊息。
廣東歌係香港其中一樣最有影響力嘅文化工具。如果我哋可以做到更真誠、更尊重嘅文化連結，觀眾自然會得到更豐富嘅收穫，而整個廣東歌圈子都會更有生命力。喺1980至1990年代，Beyond 嘅成功同佢哋主題多元嘅創作有密切關係，其中包括描寫非洲嘅作品。呢種創作態度突顯出音樂唔止係娛樂，仲可以關心全球議題，提升公眾對世界事件嘅關注。
下次你聽到廣東歌入面講「非洲」，不如試下問下自己：
呢個「非洲」係咪真係講緊非洲？
呢個描寫準確咩？有冇意義？
定只係用「非洲」做一個符號？
如果你有興趣探討多啲，歡迎留言，一齊討論下廣東歌入面嘅「非洲」。
[English version]
Looking at the title of this article, you may wonder: Is Africa actually present in Cantonese pop songs? Beyond’s Amani and The Glorious Years, Kenny Bee's One-Day Photo Taking Tour of the African Black Forest, Rubberband's Small Street Cup, and R.O.O.T.'s 60 Seconds in Africa, may be some of the Cantopop songs you have in mind. These five songs have an in-depth focus on Africa or Africans.
However, other than these songs, it seems that Africa is seldom represented in Cantopop song lyrics. That’s why I conducted my master's thesis on the topic. Through lyrical analysis, I investigated the usage of Africa and its elements in Cantopop songs, as well as ones in the Mandopop genre, to analyse and compare the representations of the continent in Sinosphere music.
Now imagine, when you hear the word "Africa", or Africa-related features in a Cantopop song, what comes to mind? Drums? Wilderness? The scorching heat? A faraway place?
What I found is interesting, firstly, in terms of the large number of songs that actually depict "Africa", or include other geographical mentions. The same goes for Mandopop, which sees even more diverse topics on Africa. The two genres demonstrate similar characteristics in depicting Africa, yet Cantopop seems to be more influenced by Western ideas of white saviorism, as some lyrics portray the characters (Hongkongese) to be superior, saving the inferior Africans from suffering. Another obvious weakness of Cantopop when compared to Mandopop, is that the latter demonstrates a much higher degree of cultural specificity. Elements like myths and architecture of the ancient Egyptian civilization, and also geographical usages of the Nile River and the Sahara Desert, are depicted in a more detailed fashion, which is seldom seen in cantopop.
Other than the aforementioned Cantopop pieces in the introduction, most of the African mentions in Cantopop songs are superficial. It is a common storytelling norm in Cantopop, that Africa is being used as a singular entity. Africa is not portrayed as a continent of rich diversity in terms of cultures, traditions, religions and countries, but it simply becomes a metaphor for certain mindsets. Common metaphorical usages include:
exoticism,
romanticized distance,
escapism,
chaos and disorder
These representations lack cultural specificity. Certain songs also depict primitivism, racism, which should not be accepted under the current social norms. The metaphorical usages do not deepen the audiences' understanding of Africa, but reinforce stereotypes, which are often negative. It is frequently portrayed that Africa is undeveloped, war-torn, and undesirable.
This isn't about blaming artists. It's about becoming more aware of the images we repeat. In fact, in other pop media in Hong Kong, representations of Africa are also consistent with the pattern found in this study: inaccurate and oversimplified. Under this context, the findings here should serve as a note to all stakeholders in the circle of Hong Kong pop culture, who play a role in creating, distributing, interpreting, or consuming cultural content. Cultural institutions, producers of different media forms, artists and audiences, should reflect on the information they deliver or receive from pop media. Cantopop, being one of the most powerful tools we have for connection, the more honest and respectful the connection, the richer the audiences gain, and the more prosperous the musical sphere can achieve. In the 1980s to 1990s, Beyond's success is closely related to its diverse thematic focus, including songs depicting Africa. It shows the importance of music acknowledging issues happening around the world.
I invite you to give songs a closer listen. You might just hear Africa in unexpected places. Next time you hear "Africa” in a pop song, ask yourself and maybe reflect on:
How is the usage relevant to Africa?
How accurate, or meaningful is the mention?
If you are curious, feel free to drop a comment and discuss more about the topic.
[中文版]
一聽到「非洲」你會諗起咩？原來佢喺廣東歌入面一直有出現
望一望篇文章個題目，你可能會問：「廣東歌真係有講非洲咩？」你可能即刻諗起 Beyond 嘅《Amani》同《光輝歲月》、鍾鎮濤嘅《非洲黑森林寫真集一日遊》、Rubberband 嘅《細街盃》，定係 R.O.O.T. 嘅《60秒遇上非洲》？
呢幾首歌，的確係少數真正以非洲或非洲人為主題、作深入描寫嘅廣東歌。
但除咗呢幾首之外，其實喺大部分廣東歌入面，非洲幾乎唔見影。所以我就以呢個題目做咗我嘅碩士論文：透過歌詞分析，研究「非洲」呢個意象喺廣東歌入面點樣出現，同時亦比較普通話流行曲入面對非洲嘅使用，去分析整個華語音樂圈點樣描寫呢個大陸。
而家想像下，當你喺一首廣東歌入面聽到「非洲」或者有關非洲嘅元素，你第一時間會聯想到咩？非洲鼓？荒野？極端酷熱嘅天氣？一個好遙遠嘅地方？
我發現嘅第一點其實幾有趣，原來真係唔少歌會提到「非洲」或者其他地理名詞。普通話歌入面提及非洲嘅情況仲多元。雖然兩種音樂風格有啲相似，但我發現廣東歌更加明顯受到西方「白人救世主主義（white saviorism）」嘅影響。例如有啲歌詞會描寫香港人角色「拯救」受苦嘅非洲人，隱含住一種優越感。相比之下，普通話歌一個明顯嘅優勢就係佢哋喺文化細節上做得多啲，例如講到古埃及文明神話、建築，甚至地理上具體提到尼羅河同撒哈拉沙漠，描寫得比廣東歌更深入、具體。
除咗開頭提過嘅幾首歌，其實大部分廣東歌入面提及非洲都好表面。好多時，非洲就只係一個象徵，唔會被當作一個真實、有多元文化同歷史嘅大陸嚟描寫。
喺廣東歌嘅敘事模式入面，「非洲」通常唔係講緊一個地方，而係被用作一種比喻。佢唔係一個有幾十個國家、宗教、語言同文化嘅多元地方，而係被簡化成一啲概念，例如：
異國風情（exoticism）
浪漫但遙遠（romanticized distance）
逃避現實（escapism）
混亂、失序（chaos and disorder）
原始主義（primitivism）
種族歧視（racism）
呢啲比喻都缺乏文化細節，反而加強咗對非洲嘅刻板印象，而且往往都係負面，例如「非洲好落後」、「長期打仗」、「無人想去」等等。
但我要強調，我唔係指責創作人。而係我哋要更加意識到，我哋一再重複以同一方式描繪非洲所造成嘅問題。
其實喺香港其他流行文化入面（如電視、廣告、網絡內容），非洲嘅呈現都同樣係唔準確、過度簡化。喺咁嘅文化背景下，我希望我嘅研究可以畀到香港流行文化圈入面每個持份者一個反思。無論你係創作、發佈、評論、定係欣賞音樂嘅人，都應該思考下你所傳遞或者吸收嘅文化訊息。
廣東歌係香港其中一樣最有影響力嘅文化工具。如果我哋可以做到更真誠、更尊重嘅文化連結，觀眾自然會得到更豐富嘅收穫，而整個廣東歌圈子都會更有生命力。喺1980至1990年代，Beyond 嘅成功同佢哋主題多元嘅創作有密切關係，其中包括描寫非洲嘅作品。呢種創作態度突顯出音樂唔止係娛樂，仲可以關心全球議題，提升公眾對世界事件嘅關注。
下次你聽到廣東歌入面講「非洲」，不如試下問下自己：
呢個「非洲」係咪真係講緊非洲？
呢個描寫準確咩？有冇意義？
定只係用「非洲」做一個符號？
如果你有興趣探討多啲，歡迎留言，一齊討論下廣東歌入面嘅「非洲」。
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