"For me, it's not that different." Hugo looked at Snoopy-Dogg in front of him and said with a smile, which made Snoopy lean back on the couch and look at him with a defiant look, but Hugo didn't care, and continued, "The West Coast incorporates a lot of funk and soul beats, which is a big breakthrough for rap, N." W。 A is still my most admired rap group, not one; But the East Coast's preservation of traditional style, with a more angular rhythm, continues the tradition and is very lovely. ”

Hugo noticed that Snoopy's face was getting worse and worse, and he seemed to be on the verge of exploding at any moment, and he shrugged his shoulders slightly, "Rap is for me, I'm just a listener, not a professional, so you don't need to look at me with that kind of hatred for the enemy." This sentence did not make Snoopy relax in the slightest, and still looked at Hugo with an enemy attitude, which made Hugo laugh dumbly, "At least I think that the statement that hip-hop originated in New York is not necessarily completely correct." ”

In fact, when hip-hop was born in New York, hip-hop had already appeared in the area centered on Los Angeles and San Francisco, and the hip-hop duel on the east and west sides of the strait was not only a regional confrontation, but also a historical confrontation and style confrontation, especially with the rise of "gang rap", the hatred between the two sides has risen to the level of firearms in the past two years.

Snoopy heard Hugo's words, and only then did a little smile appear on his face, "No wonder Dr." Dre said, you're a smart guy. ”

Hugo smiled back, not admitting it, but also not denying it, Roger, who was sitting next to him, interjected, "I didn't expect that there are still a lot of common topics between you, I have been trying to join the conversation, and I have tried several times to fail." This half-joking joke made Snoopy squint, "Isn't that what you brought him here today?" The thick mockery made Roger choke, and Hugo and Foquin laughed outright.

Today's meeting actually has nothing to do with Hugo, although Hugo is now influential in North America, but it is more limited to the field of rock and roll, and it is still limited in other music genres after all, especially hip-hop with complex compositions, Hugo is not a number at all, he can only be regarded as a nobody. But Roger's invitation to Hugo today is obviously his own calculation.

Snoop-Dogg is the representative of West Coast hip-hop, and Daddy Boast is the representative of East Coast hip-hop, which can be said to be a feud, especially when B happened last year. I。 After the incident in which G was shot, the smell of gunpowder on both sides could hardly be suppressed. But in fact, the wheel of history is already moving fast.

After the first breakthrough in West Coast hip-hop, it innovated in many ways - far before the rise of new metal rock; And now thanks to the emergence of the new metal rock, especially the emergence of a small branch in the new metal rock: rap rock, the sense of innovation has gradually begun to penetrate into all aspects of music, for example, the fusion of pop and rhythm and blues is a typical example, and for example, the traditional academic school and the high-investment and high-return risk school in the film industry are also on the opposite side, all of which implies that with the coming of the new century, innovation and challenges have inevitably entered all aspects of life. So, East Coast hip-hop has also started to innovate.

Take Daddy, Jay-Z, B. I。 G. A group of hip-hop singers led by the Wu-Tang faction fused the style of southern hip-hop and successfully substituted "gangster hip-hop" into the mainstream - before that, the lyrics of gang-hop always went against the police and the government, accusing the atrocities of law enforcers, and overwhelming negative publicity made it a banned song repeatedly, but now East Coast hip-hop has successfully pulled the media into their camp and achieved great success.

-- This can be seen in the 1997 year-end album sales chart.

In fact, quietly, hip-hop on the East Coast and the West Coast is gradually approaching and merging, although they still maintain their own characteristics, but the torrent of history has come unstoppably.

EMI Records has previously signed a braggart daddy to pull the East Coast hip-hop forces under their banner, and now they hope to bring the West Coast hip-hop forces under their banner. This is the key to a decisive breakthrough in the U.S. record market for "outsiders" EMI Records, and if they can grasp the two lifelines of rock and hip-hop, they will have the qualifications to compete head-on with Universal Music, Warner Records and others.

As the world's largest record company, EMI Records has a lot of appetite.

However, EMI Records is not in a hurry, and today they did not directly find Dr, the current person in power in West Coast hip-hop. Dre, instead found Snoopy Dogg, just hoping to test it. Roger chose the place of meeting in the "river", and found Hugo and Fokine to accompany him, everything was planned and purposeful.

Although Hugo and hip-hop have almost nothing to do with each other, the music industry is a very small circle, just like Shirley Lansing, Kevin Pence, Barry Meyer, and other big guys, even if they are not directly related to each other, but the intricacies of interests keep each other tightly connected. Hugo has almost no influence on hip-hop, but those bigwigs will more or less sell Hugo a face, because no one knows whether the interests of the two sides will intersect one day in the future.

Therefore, the braggart dad sold Hugo a face, and Snoopy also sold Hugo a face, which made today's meeting happen. This is also a profile of Hugo's rise to the top of the pyramid today, and his influence has gradually transcended the boundaries of music, and even surpassed large record companies such as EMI Records, as an actor and a singer, moving between artists and companies with ease.

Hugo's greatest advantage is that he is first and foremost an entertainer, able to be recognized by his peers, rather than those businessmen who smell of money rancid; Secondly, he has the ability to influence the decision-making of large companies, and even become one of the decision-makers, which allows him to have more room for activity, not only DreamWorks, but also EMI Records, and Hugo's position is quietly changing little by little.

However, after the meeting, there was nothing to do with Hugo, he was a façade, a buffer, and more important work was taken care of by Roger.

Surprisingly, Hugo relied on his understanding of the development curve of hip-hop in the next two decades, and there were many topics between him and Snoopy, which made the atmosphere much softer; And Fukin, who has been rock underground in Los Angeles for many years, has a detailed understanding of the historical context of West Coast hip-hop, which surprised Snoopy. Roger didn't really talk about business in a hurry, and after three rounds of drinking, he actually started to play wine boxing, Fujin is a master of wine boxing, and after winning five consecutive Snoopys, it inspired Snoopy's sense of victory and defeat, and he played it thoroughly.

Hugo, who was overwhelmed by alcohol, was obviously despised by Snoopy, looking at Snoopy and Forkine who were on the rise, Hugo smiled, and then stood up and prepared to go to the bathroom to solve his physiological needs.

Walking around the dance floor, one accidentally bumped into a shoulder in front of him, Hugo raised his right hand and showed an apologetic smile, taking the lead in expressing his politeness, "Sorry, I didn't pay attention." ”

"I should have said sorry to ......" The other party was actually very polite, which is not common in a club like "River". Then the other person paused, and a surprised voice said, "Oh God, Hugo? Hugo Lancaster? ”

Hugo turned his head to look over, and then he saw a completely unfamiliar face, "Hehe, it's nice to see you here." Hugo obviously regarded the other party as an ordinary fan or movie fan, or else as an enthusiastic ordinary audience.

Michael only felt a bitterness on the tip of his tongue at this time, he had seen Hugo several times before and after, but Hugo had no impression of him at all. Of course, Michael had heard of Hugo's face blindness and knew that Hugo was not good at remembering names, but Michael didn't think Hugo knew anything about him, and now Hugo was obviously taking Joe in such a gesture. But even if this is the case, Michael can't help it, he is the one who needs to put on a low posture - this makes Michael a little aggrieved, he finally sat in the head of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, not to put a low profile!

"Hugo, I'm Michael Russell......" he had to introduce himself, but Hugo still had a blank expression, looming in the dim lights of the club, but it became more and more sarcastic, and Michael even had to take a deep breath to calm his emotions," said the president of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. ”

Hugo suddenly realized, he finally understood who was in front of him, but in fact, Hugo still didn't realize why Michael would find him - he had been busy in the "Truman's World" crew all this time, and Rick didn't mention the Golden Globe to him at all, he just thought it was an accidental encounter, "Hey, Michael, sorry, I was really rude." Please forgive me for being rude. ”

In fact, even if Hugo knew about the Golden Globes, he wouldn't take it too seriously, just like Michael found him personally at the Berlin Film Festival last year. Hugo doesn't quite understand the intertwined interests behind an awards ceremony, he just feels that the lack of an actor will not have much impact on large-scale awards ceremonies such as the Golden Globes and Oscars, Marlon Brando, Woody Allen have been absent from the Oscars many times, and they haven't seen anything wrong with the Oscars, right?

Hugo's apology made the smile on the corner of Michael's mouth stiffen, obviously it was an apology, and he should feel relieved, but Michael felt a little blocked in his heart, but Michael hid his emotions well, "It's okay, it's completely fine." Michael chuckled, "So, you're here tonight too?" I thought you should be filming in Florida right now. ”

Hugo waved his hand and replied with a smile, "I just finished work not long ago, and I came here today to relax." Hugo didn't tell the truth, but only politely responded.

Hugo's polite attitude was a provocation in Michael's eyes, because he felt that Hugo couldn't have known about the Golden Globes, which made Michael feel tricky, and couldn't help but exhale lightly, and his smile was almost untenable.