Rapper apologizes for lewd lyrics as media seeks to ‘guide’ hip-hop

China’s main stream media is trying to figure out how to ‘guide’ hip-hop culture after a Chinese rapper’s lewd lyrics were widely censured by netizens.

“It is more important to think about how hiphop culture should be guided than to criticize individual singers,” the People’s Daily said in a post on its official Sina Weibo account on Saturday.

One of China’s iconic rappers, PG One, was subject to harsh public criticism as people complained his lyrics denigrated women and promoted drug use. The rapper, who in 2017 won a nationally televised talent show, was also the subject of a recent sex scandal.

PG One’s lyrics include lines such as “pure white powder in a line,” “coward stand aside, we are gonna take a taste” and “a shameless bitch, with restless hands.” The ‘B’ word is sung in English.

Several main stream media and government institutions condemned the singer in posts on Weibo. They accused him of encouraging teenagers to take drugs and insulting women. They said PG One “doesn’t deserve the stage,” and “should be forced out.”

The People’s Daily’s comment acknowledged that rap music is about real life but urged rappers not to be “real vulgar.”

“The part of Hip-hop music that really attracts young people is its rebellious spirit,” Gao Liao, an independent writer in Beijing told Global Times on Sunday, “But some content runs counter to our long-cherished values.”

Gao suggested singers find a feasible way to express what people like without delivering messages that are unhealthy or negative. “There surely is an intersection where artists can do their creative work and make positive impact on society.”

Chinese Central Television also noted in an editorial that it is a good phenomenon that different artistic forms emerge and develop, but respecting different artistic forms does not mean there is no bottom line.

“Singers and song writers should keep their integrity,” said the editorial, “bad artistic products should be uprooted so that real artists can have stronger vitality.”

PG One, who early raised the ire of netizens after it was discovered he was having an affair with the wife of his friend, made what some call a bigoted apology on Thursday saying he made a mistake because of the “deep influence of black music” and misunderstood the core values of hiphop culture. Only a few netizens complained that his apology smacked of racism.