http://www.asiaone.com/entertainment/chinese-rappers-hit-back-lil-pumps-racial-slurs-amid-backlash
Chinese rappers hit back at Lil Pump's racial slurs amid backlash
PHOTO: Instagram/lilpump
Phoebe Zhang
South China Morning Post
Dec 19, 2018
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Chinese hip-hop artists have fired back at American rapper Lil Pump, releasing "diss tracks" in response to a song preview he posted on Instagram that included racial epithets and a gesture that is offensive to Asians.
Lil Pump's 40-second preview clip for his new single Butterfly Doors includes the lyrics, "Smokin' on dope, they call me Yao Ming 'cause my eyes real low! (Ching chong!)".
As he raps, the 18-year-old pulls the corners of his eyes. Both "ching chong" and the slant-eye gesture are racist caricatures of Asians.
Lil Pump, whose real name is Gazzy Garcia, is a Colombian-American rapper best known for his 2017 hit Gucci Gang.
His latest offering has been met with anger in China since it was posted on Sunday, with internet users flooding the rapper's Instagram account calling him out for racism and demanding an apology.
BUTTERFLY DOORS COMMENT IF I SHOULD DIS
It has also prompted Chinese rappers, including Sichuan group CD Rev, or Chengdu Revolution, to hit back with songs of their own in response, posting them on Weibo and music streaming sites. Diss tracks, where artists verbally attack each other, are a key part of hip-hop culture.
CD Rev released their message in English with a song titled F*** Lil Pump. Written by the group's Li Yijie, or "Pissy", it attacks Lil Pump for his racism, invoking the history of the United States and its treatment both of black people and native Americans.
"The fact is you and white racists the same / Respect yourself, you've suffered the pain / You don't know anything 'bout the history / Cuz you a nation of immigrants, and if you really won't take it serious, check it out on those Indians," he raps.
Seven Chinese hip-hop acts who've leapt the Great Firewall to make China look cool
Other Chinese rappers have also posted songs online in response to Lil Pump.
Chengdu hip-hop group Higher Brothers, who are touring in the US, posted on Lil Pump's Instagram page, "I will remix this song to diss you".
Li from CD Rev said he wrote the song as soon as he saw Lil Pump's video on Monday.
Rapper Li Yijie said his “first reaction was anger” when he saw Lil Pump’s video. Photo: Reuters
"My first reaction was anger," he said. "Not only were the lyrics insulting, he made the face gesture, the whole package. It means that he understood what it meant - understood that it is discriminatory language. It's quite irresponsible."
It is not the first time CD Rev has released a song in response to a controversial issue. It has taken to task governments and their leaders including Sweden, following an incident between Chinese tourists and Swedish hotel staff and police in September.
In 2016, their song The Force of Red took aim at Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen for "dreaming of Taiwan independence".
China's hip-hop culture ban: authorities send mixed messages
But the rappers - who work with the Communist Youth League but say they do not receive money from the Chinese government - deny they are nationalists, saying they just like writing those type of songs.
Read also
Chinese rapper Vava discards trophy amid uproar at awards ceremony
And Li said this time it is different - the feud is between the musicians. "In the past, our songs have been critical of certain international events or phenomenon, but this time it's a clash between rappers," he said.
Independent Chinese rapper Jae said the songs were a way to express their views on discrimination. Jae posted his own response to Lil Pump on music streaming site NetEase. He suggests in the song that the American rapper should "get to know Yang Yongxin" - the notorious Chinese clinical psychiatrist who used electroconvulsive therapy to treat teenagers with internet addiction.
"As a rapper, I think it is our responsibility to step up and strike back," Jae said, adding that he had experienced racism himself when he was studying abroad.
Lil Pump has not responded to the Chinese rappers or made any comment on the criticism on social media.
This article was first published in South China Morning Post.
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/new...s-china-with-racially-offensive-song-11046904
Lil Pump angers China with racially offensive song
Chinese rapper Geng Tao, also known as Tommy Sire, said Lil Pump's song could make China's rappers more united against a 'common enemy'. (Photo: AFP/KELLY WANG)
19 Dec 2018 09:25PM
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SHANGHAI: US rapper Lil Pump has triggered an uproar in China after posting a video of a song containing racially offensive lyrics and a squinty-eye gesture, inspiring Chinese rap artists to fire back with "diss tracks".
The 18-year-old Colombian-American rapper, whose real name is Gazzy Garcia, posted the song on his Instagram account on Monday (Dec 17), drawing more than four million views and a slew of angry comments, many written in Chinese.
While pulling the corner of his eyes, Lil Pump mentioned China's retired NBA legend Yao Ming and used a racial slur that mocks the way Chinese people talk: "They call me Yao Ming 'cause my eyes real low (Ching Chong)".
The song, "Butterfly Doors", prompted Chinese rapper Li Yijie - whose stage name is Pissy - to hit back with a diss track titled "Fxxx Lil Pump".
Pissy, of Sichuan hip-hop group CD Rev - or Chengdu Revolution - told AFP he had "to take action if he humiliated me, a Chinese citizen, in a rapper's way that we both understand".
His lyrics go: "The fact is you and white racists the same / Respect yourself, you've suffered the pain / You don't know anything bout the history / Cuz you a nation of immigrants, and if you really won't take it serious. Check it out on those Indians."
The hashtag "CD Rev's official fightback" was one of the hottest topics on China's Twitter-alike Weibo and was viewed more than 440,000 times.
Pissy's original video was taken down on Weibo, and he acknowledged that it was probably due to him cursing in the song. He re-uploaded the track on his own music streaming site on NetEase.
Pissy's group CD Rev is famous for its close connection with the government and for singing patriotic rap.
"(The Chinese) hip-hop scene wants to give a voice to the public on international news. Rap is our weapon to protect ourselves or to fight," Pissy told AFP.
PG One, co-winner of a hit TV show "The Rap of China", also posted a new diss track titled "Repeater" on Weibo, mocking the repetition in Lil Pump's best-known song "Gucci Gang".
The response comes as rap has faced some restrictions in China, with a leaked government directive indicating this year that television programmes should ban guests from "hip-hop culture", "with tattoos" and "decadence culture", though "The Rap of China" was not affected.
Rapper PG One posted a new diss track titled 'Repeater', mocking the repetition in Lil Pump's best-known song 'Gucci Gang'. (Photo: AFP/-)
Tommy Sire, a 29-year-old rapper living in Shanghai, said he thinks Lil Pump rapped such words due to "ignorance" but the counterattacks from Chinese artists could play a positive role in China's hip-hop circle.
"I think it's a good thing for a Chinese rapper to come out and diss back in the hip-hop culture, because this can allow American hip-hop enthusiasts to know that China has such a culture," Sire, whose real name is Geng Tao, told AFP.
"Although it may not be a positive exchange, it's a form of exchange to some extent," Sire said.
"This may also cause the Chinese rap circle to be more united because they found a common enemy."
Source: AFP/nh
Chinese rappers hit back at Lil Pump's racial slurs amid backlash
PHOTO: Instagram/lilpump
Phoebe Zhang
South China Morning Post
Dec 19, 2018
Facebook Twitter Google+
Chinese hip-hop artists have fired back at American rapper Lil Pump, releasing "diss tracks" in response to a song preview he posted on Instagram that included racial epithets and a gesture that is offensive to Asians.
Lil Pump's 40-second preview clip for his new single Butterfly Doors includes the lyrics, "Smokin' on dope, they call me Yao Ming 'cause my eyes real low! (Ching chong!)".
As he raps, the 18-year-old pulls the corners of his eyes. Both "ching chong" and the slant-eye gesture are racist caricatures of Asians.
Lil Pump, whose real name is Gazzy Garcia, is a Colombian-American rapper best known for his 2017 hit Gucci Gang.
His latest offering has been met with anger in China since it was posted on Sunday, with internet users flooding the rapper's Instagram account calling him out for racism and demanding an apology.
BUTTERFLY DOORS COMMENT IF I SHOULD DIS
It has also prompted Chinese rappers, including Sichuan group CD Rev, or Chengdu Revolution, to hit back with songs of their own in response, posting them on Weibo and music streaming sites. Diss tracks, where artists verbally attack each other, are a key part of hip-hop culture.
CD Rev released their message in English with a song titled F*** Lil Pump. Written by the group's Li Yijie, or "Pissy", it attacks Lil Pump for his racism, invoking the history of the United States and its treatment both of black people and native Americans.
"The fact is you and white racists the same / Respect yourself, you've suffered the pain / You don't know anything 'bout the history / Cuz you a nation of immigrants, and if you really won't take it serious, check it out on those Indians," he raps.
Seven Chinese hip-hop acts who've leapt the Great Firewall to make China look cool
Other Chinese rappers have also posted songs online in response to Lil Pump.
Chengdu hip-hop group Higher Brothers, who are touring in the US, posted on Lil Pump's Instagram page, "I will remix this song to diss you".
Li from CD Rev said he wrote the song as soon as he saw Lil Pump's video on Monday.
"My first reaction was anger," he said. "Not only were the lyrics insulting, he made the face gesture, the whole package. It means that he understood what it meant - understood that it is discriminatory language. It's quite irresponsible."
It is not the first time CD Rev has released a song in response to a controversial issue. It has taken to task governments and their leaders including Sweden, following an incident between Chinese tourists and Swedish hotel staff and police in September.
In 2016, their song The Force of Red took aim at Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen for "dreaming of Taiwan independence".
China's hip-hop culture ban: authorities send mixed messages
But the rappers - who work with the Communist Youth League but say they do not receive money from the Chinese government - deny they are nationalists, saying they just like writing those type of songs.
Read also
Chinese rapper Vava discards trophy amid uproar at awards ceremony
And Li said this time it is different - the feud is between the musicians. "In the past, our songs have been critical of certain international events or phenomenon, but this time it's a clash between rappers," he said.
Independent Chinese rapper Jae said the songs were a way to express their views on discrimination. Jae posted his own response to Lil Pump on music streaming site NetEase. He suggests in the song that the American rapper should "get to know Yang Yongxin" - the notorious Chinese clinical psychiatrist who used electroconvulsive therapy to treat teenagers with internet addiction.
"As a rapper, I think it is our responsibility to step up and strike back," Jae said, adding that he had experienced racism himself when he was studying abroad.
Lil Pump has not responded to the Chinese rappers or made any comment on the criticism on social media.
This article was first published in South China Morning Post.
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/new...s-china-with-racially-offensive-song-11046904
Lil Pump angers China with racially offensive song
Chinese rapper Geng Tao, also known as Tommy Sire, said Lil Pump's song could make China's rappers more united against a 'common enemy'. (Photo: AFP/KELLY WANG)
19 Dec 2018 09:25PM
Share this content
Bookmark
SHANGHAI: US rapper Lil Pump has triggered an uproar in China after posting a video of a song containing racially offensive lyrics and a squinty-eye gesture, inspiring Chinese rap artists to fire back with "diss tracks".
The 18-year-old Colombian-American rapper, whose real name is Gazzy Garcia, posted the song on his Instagram account on Monday (Dec 17), drawing more than four million views and a slew of angry comments, many written in Chinese.
While pulling the corner of his eyes, Lil Pump mentioned China's retired NBA legend Yao Ming and used a racial slur that mocks the way Chinese people talk: "They call me Yao Ming 'cause my eyes real low (Ching Chong)".
The song, "Butterfly Doors", prompted Chinese rapper Li Yijie - whose stage name is Pissy - to hit back with a diss track titled "Fxxx Lil Pump".
Pissy, of Sichuan hip-hop group CD Rev - or Chengdu Revolution - told AFP he had "to take action if he humiliated me, a Chinese citizen, in a rapper's way that we both understand".
His lyrics go: "The fact is you and white racists the same / Respect yourself, you've suffered the pain / You don't know anything bout the history / Cuz you a nation of immigrants, and if you really won't take it serious. Check it out on those Indians."
The hashtag "CD Rev's official fightback" was one of the hottest topics on China's Twitter-alike Weibo and was viewed more than 440,000 times.
Pissy's original video was taken down on Weibo, and he acknowledged that it was probably due to him cursing in the song. He re-uploaded the track on his own music streaming site on NetEase.
Pissy's group CD Rev is famous for its close connection with the government and for singing patriotic rap.
"(The Chinese) hip-hop scene wants to give a voice to the public on international news. Rap is our weapon to protect ourselves or to fight," Pissy told AFP.
PG One, co-winner of a hit TV show "The Rap of China", also posted a new diss track titled "Repeater" on Weibo, mocking the repetition in Lil Pump's best-known song "Gucci Gang".
The response comes as rap has faced some restrictions in China, with a leaked government directive indicating this year that television programmes should ban guests from "hip-hop culture", "with tattoos" and "decadence culture", though "The Rap of China" was not affected.
Tommy Sire, a 29-year-old rapper living in Shanghai, said he thinks Lil Pump rapped such words due to "ignorance" but the counterattacks from Chinese artists could play a positive role in China's hip-hop circle.
"I think it's a good thing for a Chinese rapper to come out and diss back in the hip-hop culture, because this can allow American hip-hop enthusiasts to know that China has such a culture," Sire, whose real name is Geng Tao, told AFP.
"Although it may not be a positive exchange, it's a form of exchange to some extent," Sire said.
"This may also cause the Chinese rap circle to be more united because they found a common enemy."
Source: AFP/nh
