Letters | Lil Pump rightly rapped for Chinese slur, but much of rap is gangsta and not PC
- Rap has a very rich and fluid lexicography, not all of which is politically correct
- The use of rap in China is an awkward fit sometimes, but Chinese rappers are global as well, and deserve more attention
“CD Rev”? A hip-hop group that works with/for the Communist Youth League? That would be like American rappers singing for the GOP Young Conservatives. However, you ignored the “Chinese” American rappers at the other end of the diss. The rapper who rapped the stupid lines and signs is American, and Americans have called him out for it. Might be an interesting idea to look into China Mac, as a person who lived a very particular Asian/Chinese-American experience. His father was in the Flying Dragons, a violent Chinese-American gang heavily active in the ’80s for murders, kidnapping and drug trafficking.
Ironically, Lil Pump seems to have unintentionally performed a kind of old-fashioned racist musical image of Chinese culture. His gesture is certainly racist, or at least based on racist images. However, the image is not only his own. The association with “Asian” or “Chinese” eyes is about the look of a person when they are intoxicated. Rap has a very rich and fluid lexicography. Not all of it is politically correct, that’s for sure.
