Although the transnational exchange of bodies alone may not give birth to hybrid music, the transnational exchange of practices and ideas offers more promising opportunities.  Building on his discrediting of globalization as a process that catalyzes cultural hybridity through simple stylistic and linguistic appropriation, Hyunjoon Shin argues that hybridization in music is made possible through migrants who cross borders “both literally and figuratively” and create projects that are “at once global and local” (2009: 103).  

International collaborations are particularly conducive to hybridity, but only if they extend beyond the literal crossing of borders.  In 2014, CL (member of the K-pop girl group 2NE1) and Korean rapper G-Dragon provided vocals for “Dirty Vibe,” a track with shades of hip-hop and trap that was produced by Skrillex and Diplo, two of the most influential electronic music producers in the United States.

What resulted, however, was not a hybrid of American and Korean music, but rather a fusion of Skrillex’s and Diplo’s American production styles overlapped by vocals that just happened to be performed by Koreans.  Though the collaboration literally crossed national borders, it did nothing to cross the figurative borders of culture, standing as an exhibit of one face of globalization that sees Americanization subjugate other “weaker” cultures (Shim 2006). 

Hybridity thus rests on a combination of both literal and figurative crossings of national and cultural borders.  For example, Korean singer and guitarist Kang San-ae and Japanese musician Hachi were known for their respective songwriting and production capabilities, but even more so, they were renowned for their collaborations in the late 1990s, which sparked an exploration of “Asian rock” outside of genres that were marked by a distinct national flavor (Shin 2009). 

The video above is one example of their collaborative efforts.  The title track from their 1999 album Salmon, the song features a drum loop with tinges of 808 hip-hop production, accompanied by folk rock guitar riffs and a catchy, pop-like vocal hook that San-ae belts out like a mid-90s American alternative rock singer.  It is here, in this fusion of influences and ideas, that Shin’s notion of “transbordering” hybridity is realized, as artists join together to explore a new form of cultural expression that is not tied down by national borders (2009: 103).

Whereas previous musical flows were restricted to the artists physically crossing borders and merely adopting the most accessible style in their new location, collaboration allowed musicians of different cultures and countries to complement each other, for each to “fill in the blanks” of what the other person lacked and to create a more complete work that reflected the styles of both artists and their cultural identities.  It is in this collaboration that ideas and practices begin to transcend borders in ways that do not result from an artist being merely transplanted from one country to the next and immediately burdened with the task of mimicking an adopted culture. 

References

Shin, Hyunjoon. “Reconsidering Transnational Cultural Flows of Popular Music in East Asia: Transbordering Musicians in Japan and Korea Searching for ‘Asia.’” Korean Studies 33:1 (2009), pp. 101-123.

Shim, Doobo. “Hybridity and the Rise of Korean Popular Culture in Asia.” Media, Culture, and Society 28:1 (2006), pp. 25-44.