Jay Park is trending, so you know it's a mess

[benihime99.livejournal.com]

In recent MV for DNA remix, Jay park and friends rap about the pride of carrying the “Korean DNA”, and being korean.
Without context that seems pretty great...  if it were not for the styling (check the MV for yourself).
In true Jay Park fashion, instead of listening to fair criticism from his fans and casual listeners (Mukkbang [Remix] déjà vu anyone?), he decided to write a youtube thesis... and it's not cute.
PR training needed

The Black and Latino people created Hip Hop. We understand that and think it is amazing and are grateful that you’ve shared it with the world. Hip Hop make us feel liberated and empowered. It gives us an out let to have our voice be heard and to express ourselves in a way society might not deem fit. We didnt get the best grades or go to college and we are not a doctor or a lawyer so it gives us a sense of belonging and value. Gives us hope and motivation that we can switch up our situation if we put our hearts and minds to it and can make something from nothing. A lot of our heroes are Black rappers and not just the aesthetic but their mindset on overcoming the odds and being goal oriented without caring what other ppl think and who might doubt you. So its only natural that we want to be like them to a certain extent. Having a certain hairstyle or look gives us confidence and inspiration and makes us feel like rockstars and its because its what we see and hear it feels natural to us. Also Its because we think so highly of Hip hop and the figures in hip hop that we are influenced so much by them and some of us grew up in a black neighborhood or black group of friends abroad so being inspired and influenced is a natural occurrence. hip Hop is now a global genre it is now received with much love worldwide and spread everywhere so now each country has their own unique scene and sound whether it be Korea, Japan, China, Malaysia, Thailand, Russia, Brazil ect… Do we support and appreciate Hip Hop and black culture? Yes a majority of the hip hop artists here have spoke up and made donations about BLM issues and have had the conversations with our parents. We are the ones who listen to the music and go to the concerts when ppl cross over and we are the one who make sure the rappers who come from the states no matter how big or small feel at home and show them what hospitality really is. We dont see color. We feel like we’re brothers and sisters in Hip hop which i feel like is a universal language which goes beyond race color and religion.
Do we want to be black? No. Although we friends of color and are influenced by black culture and love and support it heavily we are proud to be Korean and wouldnt trade it for the world
Can we relate to the black struggle? No but there are certain elements that we can relate and identify with. Every country every culture every person has some type of pain or struggle in their life. There is no other genre that portrays that so honestly other than hip hop
Do i think its Ok for Korean rappers to have dreads? I might not necessarily agree with it but who am i to say dont do that. Just because i dont agree with something their doing does not mean i cant appreciate them as ppl
And artists. We are not the majority picking on the minority and we are not trying to steal culture. If anything we are allies and probably have the most understanding over here and can set things straight with ppl who make assumptions about hip hop or black culture based on shallow headlines. You guys made the blue print which we are greatly appreciative of because hip hop gave me everything i have today. with the internet and hip hop being sucha global mainstream genre each country has their own hip hop scene unique to their own culture now based on your guys blueprint.
If you break it down we probably have more things in common than not and just because you know Korea from kpop
And k dramas does not mean that everything is all just dandy and soft over here. I Wont get into detail but The Korean ppl have had to deal with ALOT of inhumane things in our history and have had to hustle our ASSES off to get this much recognition because not to long ago most ppl didnt even know where Korea was. And when i was younger they didnt even know what Korea was. No matter what i know there will be ppl fighting in the comments because that just internet culture now a days but i just look at it as we all live in this world and influence each other and as long as the intent was pure we shouldn’t bash each other even if we don’t see eye to eye on everything. If the migos want to wear chinese attire in a song called stirfry Kunfu themed and thats what made them feel good at the time, all good! If Nicki wanted to look oriental on a song called chun-li and thats what made her feel sexy,…why not? If lil uzi vert wanted to be a anime character in p&qs , man more power to him. Theres always gonna be ppl
Who nit pick but yall gotta realize theres more evil ppl then young korean rappers with dreads trying to make something of themselves through hip hop. We are not the ones trying to downplay black culture and the black agenda. We are out here to spread love and uplift the ppl around us with what black culture has created. HIP HOP and we are thankful. If yall can fangirl
Over young korean dudes with dyed hair i dont see why we cant fanboy over rappers with face tats and dreads. Everybodies into what they into. Lets just love one another and be kind whether on the internet or in person. Also shout out to our PR Julie who told us not to post this video. Shes the best. But i didnt wanna hide the Korean hip hop culture. This is what Hip hop kids look like in Korea and I wanted to showcase it and address it to the best of my ability to let the world know where we coming from. Ive been all over the world and hung out with everyone from criminals to billionaires and realized everyone has different perspectives and we can learn to disagree. The world would be so boring if we didnt share each others foods cultures and experiences. Dont have to support but hope yall can at least let us live our lives and give us room to grow and progress before making assumptions and bashing
Peace and Love 🙏❤️

Had to drop BLM somewhere to make it legit...

source: H1GHR MUSIC

Comments

[scribblyness-x.livejournal.com]

it's not often i agree with yt comments but most of the english comments i see are all clowning on him lmao



(that being said, youngji's verse sounds so good ngl)

[benihime99.livejournal.com]

It's such a missed opportunity honestly

with all the new designers taking a modern take on traditional korean fashion, they could have expressed their pride of "korean DNA" by infusing some korean aspect to it

[fadeintoyou.livejournal.com]

Should’ve listened to your PR person Julie. She should have also read your statement before you put it out there. That’s why you pay her! I’m all for you doing you but in the process of doing it, be respectful to other cultures especially when you take so much from it and your livelihood is where it’s at basically because of said culture.

Also, his grammar and spelling is atrocious. I got a bit distracted from what he was trying to say because I got caught up in that atrocity. This is also why you pay your PR person!

[pikapika217.livejournal.com]

MAN - I saw this randomly on my timeline last night from a non kpop person and before the video fully loaded I just KNEW Jay Park was somehow involved

In any case, thiz reminds me of the 'Bad Movies and a Beat' video that Kennie JD did about 'Hype Nation 3D' months ago. I fast forwarded to her addressing the racism of it (and Jason Lee's & Jay Park's) directly but the whole video was interesting -

[juhli.livejournal.com]

Also that was his response on twitter when someone criticised him. He deleted the tweet shortly afterwards.

jvais m’évanouir pic.twitter.com/0NOtMdKZo3 (https://t.co/0NOtMdKZo3)

— RED VELVET IS BACK (@dyedweasley) June 16, 2021 (https://twitter.com/dyedweasley/status/1405076903183138816?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)

And idr if we had a post for it, but its not been long since his lyrics controversy and he still doesnt have enough.

[benihime99.livejournal.com]

we didn't get a post about it
He's on a roll

[myungung.livejournal.com]

he's embarrassing. like it's a topic to be discussed, but he's kinda deflecting the issue people have with him

[921227.livejournal.com]

He really fixed his mouth (his fingers) to say that. Wow

[ohmylol.livejournal.com]

i can't believe this is real

[ashdevilrun23.livejournal.com]

Real clown shit

[honeebs.livejournal.com]

😫😖Jay nooo.
A ✂️ I was not expecting.

Yikes he's grateful that they are hardheaded by not listening to Julie.
I wonder if anyone will sit him down, Julie is going to need a bonus.
This reads like a man who really needs a break, he's in his feels and is tired, mad, upset he's not being "respected" in his/the HH community, hurting for his Asian-Americans and all Asian countries, communities. This pandemic and the hate that came with it, we aren't done most haven't even processed wtf just happened.

I wish he listened to Juile. made a company documentary about your place IN IN hiphop and what it means to each of his his artist. 😒 do you need permission to fanboy jay?! IN pure i don't know what I'm doing, can't we all just get a long peace and love we are all the same we don't see color brothers and sisters.

[rosiemotleymind.livejournal.com]

That whole little dissertation would have made me feel more sympathetic if he wasn’t an asshole 99% of the time. It’s also not good. You have a very full and rich culture Jay Park. Use it. We have this conversation every year with this man and I’m over it. Like a previous comment said I will ALWAYS dislike cultural appropriation but I have a definite dislike over it in SK when they are so anti-black.

If Jay Park has so much to say about black culture and our people why didn’t he fix his mouth to say anything when Sam was pretty much blacklisted? Idk he is just SO annoying every time he opens his mouth.

[broadcities.livejournal.com]

he definitely should've listened to julie — but that's his whole problem, he does not listen, reflect and educate himself about anti-black racism and cultural appropriation in his own community. reading this D- essay i sometimes feel like he's on his way to make a good point but then misses it completely.

[vanilla-09.livejournal.com]

He literally could have just highlighted korean culture through imagery, costume, scenery, cameos from other khip hop artist, etc and it would have been fine. Like...something so simple had to be so complicated that's how I know he's pressedt and dumb as rocks. IDK what Julie is like but you need a new job girl.

[921227.livejournal.com]

Im not reading all of that but IA with other commenters

SK has such a unique and rich culture that the fact that contemporary artists don't make more use of it is sad. Esp when they're constantly going on about their pride for their country and roots.

You have ppl begging the youth to keep traditions alive, you have designers reforming hanbok, you have classical musicians offering their knowledge and the most we can get is appropriation of black music and culture. Ok It's the lack off creativity and awareness.

[burnbook31.livejournal.com]

yikes, why is he so messy

that video would've been better if they actually incorporated sk culture. they just look so dumb in that studio appropriating culture and doing the fuck u finger sign. it's so cringe tbh

i tried reading his post but i gave up halfway. this man will never really learn, no?

[em-cavey.livejournal.com]

As much I can’t stand him, I can’t help but feel a sliver of empathy for him. I was born and raised Korean in America a few years after Jay, and I think his hometown was probably a lot less diverse than mine to boot. I get a LOT of self-loathing Asian-American vibes from him and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t know what that feels like. I get what it’s like to never feel at home with your own roots and have literally everyone but your own either condescend to or ignore your culture and race. Things are incrementally better now but when we were young in America there were next to no representations in media or larger societal spaces for us and the very few that were available just pushed us backwards into stereotypes or affirmed that we didn’t really belong. There's a reason a lot of Asian-American kids latch onto black culture, even if it’s not a very good one. I never went that way but I do know what it’s like to want to be something else bc you feel so thoroughly alienated from what you are.

That said, he’s had a long time to explore and unpack these issues and just seems to not want to. And as fellow repatriate, lord the DISCOURSE of him keeping up this tryhard energy while he’s been living and working in Korea for over a decade is incredibly ugly and a large part of the reason why I don’t ever bother with him. He’s been messy in a lot of ways for a long time but outright misusing one culture to “represent” another society that has very little to do with it is an insult to both. I don’t disagree with everything he says and I can imagine what kind of baggage he’s carrying from his upbringing but come on man it’s beyond time to let it go and grow up.

[kenziekinz09.livejournal.com]

“ There's a reason a lot of Asian-American kids latch onto black culture, even if it’s not a very good one. I never went that way but I do know what it’s like to want to be something else bc you feel so thoroughly alienated from what you are. ”
The irony in all of this is that most black people would embrace him if he didn’t constantly put his foot in his mouth. Once you start changing for ~aesthetic~ purposes you’re in hot water.

ETA just in my own study of Korean culture there are a lot of commonalities with black American culture that are really dope. You don’t even have to appropriate to fit in! He’s so lazy whyyyyy

[em-cavey.livejournal.com]

Lazy is a great way to describe it. He really doesn’t seem to want to do the work to learn anything real about black OR Korean culture and is happy to stay shallow and dumb by skimming off the top from both

[gathyou.livejournal.com]

I'm baffled that they made a song about South Korean pride and instead of showing the very culture they celebrated, they instead went for clichés about Black culture and hip hop. How are you really proud of your culture if you appropriate another at the first opportunity and push your own culture aside?

I'm baffled that Jay Park is clever enough to hire a PR person (and who seemed to have competent insight as she adivsed against this video) but then don't listen to her? And then be surprised that he's criticized over the same video he was warned against? Like... isn't it the reason behind hiring a PR person in the first place???

Reading his comment is giving me a headache. There are moment where he seems to be going in an interesting way except... not. It's a rambling of thoughts rather than a thoughtful display of the reasons he made these choices regarding the video. I would have still disagree with him but he's definitively not helping himself, and of course people won't be considerate/will clown him after this.
Honestly he sounds tired, he needs a break.

[gathyou.livejournal.com]

Also I hope Julie is well paid. At least she has job stability, Jay is going to need her for a while lol.

[rosiemotleymind.livejournal.com]

Julie must be STRESSED constantly

[lightframes.livejournal.com]

Julie needs to update her CV and get hired by someone who appreciates her!

[kenziekinz09.livejournal.com]

People are really defending him even though he hasn’t had a decent “hit” in years. Like he could be a decently respected player in the hip hop community if he stayed in his lane and kept his mouth shut every once in a while like damn

[frequency.livejournal.com]

shout out to our PR Julie who told us not to post this video

man if someone is telling you to not post it, you should listen!!! i hope she's getting paid a lot of money since he's definitely created a PR nightmare for her.

i don't understand why anyone still bothers trying to teach this clown anything; he's just willfully ignorant at this point.

[aimajo.livejournal.com]

*sighs* Julie put your two week notice in. Just do it. He's going to gaslight you soon. Just do it. I listen to Jay Park music, but first off this song is just not good. I'm just going to stop there. Also how in the *beep* has Korean culture not influence Korean Hip Hop. Like how come we haven't gotten over this hump. Like I don't get it. Like Latin Hip Hop has shown to blend the cultures together....but Korea still can't do it. The clownery. Just bunch of clowns. I can't.

[lightframes.livejournal.com]

we are influenced so much by them and some of us grew up in a black neighborhood or black group of friends

"I have a black friend" is now worldwide

If the migos want to wear chinese attire in a song called stirfry Kunfu themed and thats what made them feel good at the time, all good! If Nicki wanted to look oriental on a song called chun-li and thats what made her feel sexy,…why not? If lil uzi vert wanted to be a anime character in p&qs

"Y'all did it first" he is burning through so many of the standard excuses so quickly

If yall can fangirl Over young korean dudes with dyed hair i dont see why we cant fanboy over rappers with face tats and dreads.

Sir, "being a fan of" and "dressing up as" are two different things...

And k dramas does not mean that everything is all just dandy and soft over here. I Wont get into detail but The Korean ppl have had to deal with ALOT of inhumane things in our history and have had to hustle our ASSES off to get this much recognition because not to long ago most ppl didnt even know where Korea was.

See I'm irritated because this is a really good point and it's buried in all the nonsense.

[1100003.livejournal.com]

[skidadler.livejournal.com]

Wanted to echo the sentiment that Julie needs to GTFO, save herself, and find a client who will actually respect her.

[daynr.livejournal.com]

He is really just not that smart and he seems determine to not try to improve his knowledge. There are legitimate elements but he is showing either a lack of ability or lack of will to understand nuances and more.

Also is basically saying: "agree with me or I will disregard you" no matter how he wraps it up in 'I love and respect everyone' and 'we can learn to disagree'.

[chikage-chan.livejournal.com]

He just doesn’t get it, huh… He didn’t get it when he was a teenager making stupid posts online, and it seems he refuses to get it even after 10+ years.

[jazzygyu.livejournal.com]

The irony of him doing a remix of Kendrick Lamar DNA lol I guess he missed this line “My DNA not for imitation”. I feel like when Jay was doing albums like “new breed” he was at his best you can clearly see he loves r&b and hip hop but was doing his own thing, I dunno why now he doesn’t understand how to do that anymore.

[modestgoddess79.livejournal.com]

Which one of y’all wrote this https://92q.com/playlist/jay-park-dna-kendrick-lamar/