Rappers attack scandal-hit Park on JTBC show
Park Gwang-sun (left) and MC Sniper from "Tribe of Hip Hop" on JTBC, Tuesday
By Ko Dong-hwan
It was definitely not like any other music competition show.
Swaggering rappers with attitude, live instrumental sessions, toe-tapping rhythm-and-groove and a passionate audience were all there at the JTBC studio in central Seoul as weekly TV show “Tribe of Hip Hop” was being filmed for Tuesday’s episode.
But unlike past shows, in which underground and celebrity rappers tried to beat each other with edgy rhymes and acerbic words, the musicians on that day did not compete against each other. Instead, they grabbed microphones in unison to attack the same target: President Park Geun-hye and her aides involved in a corruption scandal. The scandal has led to ongoing anti-president vigils nationwide that demanded her impeachment, and the arrest of Park’s alleged influence-peddler, Choi Soon-sil, and key accomplices.
Some artists leveraged their unique bravado with cheery, playful lyrics to make the audience raise the roof. Others took on the more serious topic of the Sewol ferry tragedy of 2014, touching the hearts of all in the studio. Park has been criticized for not responding quickly enough to the sinking that killed 304 people, mainly high school students.
Tuesday’s show was a big hit that generated tens of headlines the following day and brought together viewers and netizens in praise of it.
“So many things happened in Korea this year and we wanted listeners to send away all their sorrows with our beats,” said MC Sniper and Park Gwang-sun, who performed
“GOOD BYE.”
The pair had the studio jumping with the rock beat-based fast-tempo number, calling the Park’s administration “Mafia gangsters” and their method of running the country that of “Yakuza with swords in their hands.”
Regarding allegations the President received beauty treatments using the illegal drug propofol at Cheong Wa Dae two years ago when the maritime tragedy occurred, the artists quipped Park is “high on drugs,” which sounds similar to “self-resignation” in Korean.
(From left) Park Jun-myun, P-type and Yang Mi-ra from "Tribe of Hip Hop," Tuesday
P-type, who collaborated with musical actress Park Jun-myun and model Yang Mi-ra, remixed San E’s anti-Park rap number
“Bad Year,”
released in November.
The homage to American hip-hop musicians Bone Thugs-n-Harmony criticized the President, saying, “It’s all because of you, whatcha gonna do?” and “our lyrics took seven hours to complete,” referring to the mystery surrounding the hours on the day of the sinking that Park has not given a detailed account of.
The highlight of the event was
“Yellow Ocean,”
a commemorative song for the tragedy’s victims, by Cheetah and Jang Seong-hwan.
The duo’s emotional rap focused on the ferry that is still at the bottom of the sea in southwestern waters. Media reports have alleged that the government is delaying the ferry’s recovery to “hide the truth.”
The rappers spoke with a serious tone in the slow-tempo number: “Our light will prevail over the dark forces. We raise candles to bring truths under the light. The truth will not be scuttled. The truth is now slowly floating to the surface.”
Cheetah (left) and Jang Seong-hwan from "Tribe of Hip Hop," Tuesday
Cheetah, winner of Mnet’s female rap competition show “Unpretty Rapstar,” could not hold back tears as she performed in front of a sobbing audience ― parents of the accident’s victims.
“Before the performance, I, together with Jang, had visited Gwanghwamun Square to see the victims’ family members putting on a choir show at an anti-president demonstration,” Cheetah said on the program. “I told them about my song and they approved and thanked me for the efforts. The song is not about reminding of the pain from two years ago. It’s about not forgetting it.”
The show came after San E allegedly called President Park a “bitch” and expressed enmity toward her in “Bad Year” that topped online charts in late November. The first public denunciation of the incumbent President by a popular rapper in a number was received well by most citizens angry at the scandal-plagued administration.
The show has solidified JTBC’s reputation as Korea’s leading “anti-government” broadcaster, as the likes of Tuesday’s program ― which did not censor musicians openly rebuking the President ― are not seen on any other TV channels.
JTBC’s daily evening news program, “News Room,” has become Korea’s most-watched news show amid the scandal that erupted late October, denting Cheong Wa Dae’s image with exclusive reports about the scandal faster than other networks. But JTBC’s stories have drawn protests from Park’s supporters who have said program anchorman Sohn Seok-hee should be arrested for making false reports.