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Lil Pump: Rapper Labelled 'Racist' Over Song

By BBC News
General News Lil Pump: Rapper Labelled 'Racist' Over Song
DEC 18, 2018 LISTEN

US-Colombian rapper Lil Pump has been accused of racism after he teased a new song which uses a derogatory term.

In the song's lyrics, Pump says "they call me [Chinese basketball player] Yao Ming because my eyes real low" before adding the phrase "ching chong".

In a video posted to his 17.4 million Instagram followers teasing the song, Pump pulls back his eyes as he mimes to the lyrics.

Lil Pump rose to international prominence in 2017 with his song Gucci Gang, which has been viewed over 847 million times on YouTube.

The rapper has faced a backlash on social media, with Chinese users flooding his Instagram posts with comments calling him "racist" and "disgusting".

Meanwhile on Chinese social media site Sina Weibo, thousands of users have added their voices to the criticism, with many posting screengrabs to prove they have reported Pump for inappropriate content on Twitter and Instagram.

Others have said that Pump "needs teaching some respect", with some posting memes criticising anyone who says they like the song.

Hip hop hits back
The reaction in China has not merely been confined to the written word, with some taking things a step further and bringing their anger into the recording booth.

This has led to the creation of several "diss tracks" criticising Pump.

In one of the most popular of these songs, singer J. Cole says: "I don't care about Lil Pump doing squinty eyes, I'm just worried that you... have closed eyes."

"That insult doesn't hurt," he raps, "but it influences his business. I don't want to be angry with the next generation, I hope you can understand he's just an idiot."

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