Jimmy's Ethiopia and Life Adventure

下個禮拜就是聖誕節，這也意味著2015年即將邁向尾聲，就讓我們來看看由國外網站Green Label所寫的 The Rap Power Rankings。

1. Kendrick Lamar 

Change From Last Month: + 3 spots
Total Points This Year: 80
Overall Rank This Year: #2

Don’t call it a comeback. For the last few months Kendrick has slowly but surely fallen behind Drake for the number one spot in the Rankings, but this month he came back strong while Drizzy fell back. First, rumors circulated that Kendrick would retire from performing his TPAB album soon because “We did that album for people who can’t even afford to go to shows,” further driving home the point that Kendrick and TPAB were simply on another level. And then, at the end of the month, K. Dot teamed up with J. Coe for a Black Friday release where he rapped circles around the game. Watch out Drake, Kendrick might just grab the year’s Most Powerful crown after all.

千萬別說KL是強勢回歸。最近幾個月裡K.Dot的排名確實緩慢的跌落在Drake之後並讓出了第一名的座位，但在這個月裡K.Dot確實是實實在在的強力歸來，當Drizzy的排名開始往後下降時。

K.Dot再次出現在排名裡主要有幾個重點：

第ㄧ，有謠言不斷的謠傳K.Dot即將會在完成他的最新專輯“TPAB”之後退休。K.Dot說道了為甚麼要製作“TPAB”（註：To Pimp a Butterfly）這張專輯，主要的初衷是：想要做一張專輯給那些無法負擔演唱會票價金額的歌迷們。回到正題上面，不論如何，相信當我們之後談論到K.Dot和TPAB這張專輯的時候，很淺而易見地，這K.Dot和他的新專輯絕對又是另一個更高層次的新境界。

然後在black friday的時候，K.Dot和J.Cole兩人又在同天之內釋出了兩首Black Friday單曲，在單曲中，兩人互相Cover對方作品的曲子，頗有幾分八卦的味道。

Drake小心了，在這一連串重爆之後，K.Dot無疑的有很大的可能會奪回年度排行榜的王座。

2. Future 

Change From Last Month: +4
Total Points This Year: 43
Overall Rank This Year: #4

After a slow start to year, the second half of 2015 has been month after month of Future’s lighting up headlines and blowing up headphones. He whetted fans’ appetites by saying he has more than 10 new projects ready to go (including Monster 2), and he already released four new songs featuring his auto-tuned croon, most notably “One Helluva Night” and a collab with Jeremih and Big Sean, “Royalty.” When the year comes to a close Future Hendrix might not be on the top of the top, but there’s no doubting who deserves 2015’s Most Improved award.

Future年初可說是牛步前行，進度十分的緩慢，但到了年中的半場之後，Future在各方面開始有了十足的表現。為何這樣說呢？因為Future不斷的在各方面刺激和試圖給與歌迷們更多的期待和養大他們的胃口，透過不斷地散播他還有將近10個以上的計劃即將展開（包括了Monstor 2），並且即將釋出4首全新單曲，搭配著他的Auto-Tune。當中最特別歌曲是和Jeremih合作的"One Helluva Night"，還有跟來自底特律的Big Sean所合作的"Royalty"。也許今年結束的時候，Future不會登頂年度王座，不過毋庸置疑的是，從他的各方面表現看來，“年度最佳進步奬”絕對會是屬於他的。

3. Rick Ross 

Change From Last Month:  +4
Total Points This Year: 14
Overall Rank This Year: #9

After a nearly silent start to 2015, the four quarter has found the Bawse putting up some serious points on the board. With an upcoming album to promote, he’s been making the media rounds, pumping out memorable interview after memorable interview, and releasing new music like his Renzel Remixes mixtape and the lush album single “Crocodile Python.” It’s too little too late to really make his mark on the entire year, but don’t sleep on Ross—if his Black Market album really hits, he could easily end up owning the end of this year.

年初Rick Ross可以說是完全的銷聲匿跡，但在今年的九局下半之後他的Bawse確實是為他加分了許多，然後在推銷他即將發行的新專輯方面，他也是下足了許多功夫，做了一連串的媒體活動，同時也搞了個令人難忘的專訪，在專訪過後，他也釋出了些音樂作品，像是：“Renzel Remixes Mixtape”和一首內容算是豐富的專輯單曲“Crocodile Python‘。

老實說，真的很難幫他在本年度做一個定位或註記，畢竟這一切似乎來得有點遲，但也千萬不要就此把Rick Ross給放掉了和對他有所失望，如果他的“Black Market”這張專輯在之後獲得了不錯的回響，那他在本年度也算是能輕而易舉地取得某種程度上的成就。

4. Kanye West

Change From Last Month: -2
Total Points This Year: 60
Overall Rank This Year: #3

Kanye West released precisely no new music this month and was still one of the most talked-about rappers alive. For the anniversary of his classic MBDTF album, the internet gave itself over to revisiting the work, which means Kanye had one of the month’s most listened-to and talked-about albums, even though it was years old. Plus, in his “Black Friday” song, Kendrick repeatedly shouted out Kanye and endorsed his quasi-presidency. Now just imagine what would happen if he actually released that album we’ve been waiting all year for…

嚴格來說，肯爺在這個月是完全毫無任何作品卻仍然被大眾所熱烈討論的唯一一位歌手。原因在於剛好最近是他的經典專輯“MBDTF”（註：My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy）的紀念日，整個社群網路也給了他一個登上版面的機會，這也意味著Kanye即便不需要有動作，也能有一張單月最熱門排行專輯，也使他成為熱門話題人物，即便這張專輯已經是多年以前的作品。再者，K.Dot不斷在Black Friday裡Shout out肯爺和認同他參選美國總統這項舉動。

光是這樣子，肯爺就已經搏得了各大媒體版面的光環，誰還能想象，如果他今年又是出了一張專輯的話，天知道肯爺的名字會在媒體版面停留多久...

5. J.Cole

Change From Last Month:  Not ranked last month
Total Points This Year: 27
Overall Rank This Year: #5

In January, he was still riding the wave of success from his 2014 Forest Hills Drive album, but as 2015 progressed he became quieter.

Until this month. First, he was one of the few producers to be officially chosen to remix a Tribe Called Quest’s "Can I Kick It," a huge honor for any hip-hop producer. Second, he traded beats with Kendrick for their aforementioned “Black Friday” releases, once again ensuring that his name belongs in any conversation about the Best Rappers Alive This Year. The fact that Cole’s still so high in these rankings while having released such little music is proof that he’s mastered the balance of quality over quantity.

一月份的時候，J.Cole依然因為去年度的熱銷專輯“Forest Hills Drive”，而持續地享受鎂光燈的焦點，但之後便逐漸地沈寂了下來。

直到了Black Friday這天。首先，J.Cole是在數個製作人裡面，被欽點去Remixe"Can I Kick It"的人，這對任何一位Hip-Hop製作人來說都是莫大的榮耀。 第二，他用了K.Dot的曲唱了"Black Friday"，並且將其釋出。這也使得他的名字再次出現在各個角落和地方，同時也保證它絕對會持續出現在人們談論當今最佳饒舌歌手這個話題當中。

事實上，J.Cole可以持續的維持如此火燙程度並且高居不下的原因在於，不論是各種大小類型的音樂作品，只要是經由他手的，都已經成為絕佳的品質保障。

6. Drake

Change From Last Month:  -5
Total Points This Year: 89
Overall Rank This Year: #1

For most rappers a number six spot in the Rankings would be a huge accomplishment, but for Drake it represents a downfall. For nearly every month this year he’s been in the top three, and most often holding down the number one spot.

But November was an unusually quiet month for Drizzy. No new music, no new music videos—the biggest headline he was involved in was when CNN falsely reported that he had died in a car accident. Still, if this year’s taught us anything, it’s that Drake’s capable of going from 0-100 in a matter of minutes. All it takes is one song, one Instagram post, one remix with Adele, and he’s right back on top. Your move, Aubrey Graham.

對許多饒舌歌手來說，能榮登第六名的位置絕對是一項莫大的成就，但對Drake來說，這絕對是退步的表現。在今年度的各個月份統計當中，Drake可以說是，將近每個月都是排行榜上的前三名位置人選，並且幾乎都是在第一名的位置上。

但11月份對Drake來說絕對是一個沈寂的月份。沒有任何的單曲作品和MV的是出，唯一最大的新聞則是CNN誤報Drake死於車禍事故。但如果說今年Drake教了我們甚麼事？絕對是Drake的討論度能因為某首歌，使得自身討論度從0立刻爆衝到100...（提示很明顯了吧...）

7.Eminem

Change From Last Month:  Not ranked last month.
Total Points This Year: 16
Overall Rank This Year: #9

This month, Em announced that he’s investing in lyric-annotating site Genius, an announcement that came paired with a promise that he’d be personally breaking down his lyrics. Fans pored over those breakdowns like they were long lost religious texts, a fan base that apparently includes Aziz Ansari, who made some Eminem lyrics the centerpiece of an episode of his new hit show, Master of None. When you create work as complex as Slim Shady, you flex your power even years after you first created that work.

這個月，Rap God宣佈他即將投資專門提供歌詞給大眾的網站”Genius“，這大概就是本月最大新聞了吧，接下來我也不想翻譯了，大家就自己看看吧，EM能因此登上版面，沒有其他原因，主要是因為他的知名度，還有在音樂圈當中的份量和地位。

8. Tech N9ne

Change From Last Month:  Not ranked last month.
Total Points This Year: 12
Overall Rank This Year: #12

This month Tech continued his nearly inhuman grind by releasing his Strangeulation Vol. II album, a project that both added to his personal discography and showcased the artists on his Strange Music label. Strange may get treated by much of the mainstream as an “underground” label, but the simple truth is they’re outselling most major labels, and doing it by simply releasing better music than most major labels. You simply can’t talk about hip-hop in 2015 without talking about Tech N9ne, and you can’t talk about November without talking about Tech N9ne. He won’t be underestimated for long.

Tech N9ne持續的進行他那慘無人道式的工作模式，他是出了最新專輯“Strangeulation Vol. II”，在這個計劃當中，他加入了他個人獨特的音樂分類模式和展現了各個在他廠牌中的歌手和藝術家們。Strange Music Inc.或許在各大主流音樂人口中會被稱之為是個地下音樂廠牌，但事實上，他們的專輯銷售量甚至勝過許多大家口中的主流音樂廠牌。當我們談論到Hip-Hop的時候，絕對不能少談到Tech N9ne，而他本人也絕不會允許這狀況持續太久。

9. Meek Mill

Change From Last Month: Not ranked last month.
Total Points This Year: 12
Overall Rank This Year: #10

A lot of people were quick to bury Meek Mill’s career after Drake inarguably beat him during their “beef,” but someone forgot to tell Meek that he should stop rapping. This month, he dropped his new video to “Lord Knows” and it turns out that when people just focus on his music, they really like that music. The nearly two million people who have watched “Lord Knows” are certainly still interested in what Meek has to say, and so maybe Drake didn’t do as much damage as we assumed. Lord only knows how big he could have been this year without that beef, but right here, right now, Meek’s career is far from over. In some ways, it feels like it’s just getting started.

許多的人認為，Meek Mill在他和Drake的那場八卦戰之後，已經被Drake打敗，並逐漸地淡出舞台之際，某個人似乎忘了告訴Meek Mill他應該停止再唱下去。因為在這個月裡，Meek Mill丟出了他的最新MV-"Lord Knows"，結果證明人們依舊關注他的音樂，並且也非常的喜歡他的音樂，而且將近有200萬人次的點閱率在這支MV上面，這很明顯地表示出，人們依舊想看看Meek Mill想要說些什麼和傳遞些什麼，或許Drake並沒有像我們想象中的假設那樣受到太大的傷害和波及。

Meek Mill的職業生涯似乎已經遠離之前的喧囂，在某些程度上來說，或許才正要重新開始。

10. Vince Staples 

Change From Last Month:  Not ranked last month.
Total Points This Year: 8
Overall Rank This Year: #14

Vince Staples’ Summertime ’06 album is the reason he’ll go down in 2015’s history books, but the reasons he’s emerged as a rap power to be reckoned with this year extend far past just his music. Staples has routinely shown himself to be one of the most thought-provoking and quotable rappers around, traits that made him both the centerpiece of debate after he said that he wasn’t particularly enamored with ’90s hip-hop and showed more people that his is a voice worth listening to. And don’t get it twisted: he’s not silent on the music front, either, as he’s currently in the midst of opening for A$AP Rocky’s national tour.  Whether he’s in front of a studio mic or an interview mic, Staples just can’t be ignored these days. Now that’s power.

Summertime'06這張專輯是Vince Staples能被記錄在2015年的主要原因，但他被列為是當今饒舌歌手中的翹楚的主要原因還是在於他的音樂作品，Staples也照往例的模式展現了他自己，向大家證明它是當今最能被討論和燙手的歌手之一。他目前也是大家茶餘飯後的話題，當他在一連串關於他不是特別的迷戀90's Hip-Hop的辯論和向更多人展現他那迷人的聲音後。

不要因此曲解了他這個人，他絕對沒有在音樂上有所沈默，同樣的，他最近在A$AP Rocky的巡迴演出中擔任了表演嘉賓的角色。不管他究竟是在工作室裡面，又或者是在專訪當中，他絕對會是近期內甚至是幾年內一股無法被忽視的力量。

Written by DJ Booth

不專業翻譯員 by Jimmer Hsu

原文：http://greenlabel.com/sound/rap-power-rankings-nov...

祝各位即將到來的聖誕快樂