It may not show up in the Controversy Index but… CONTROVERSY~!…
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[4.75]
Madeleine Lee: There’s an uneasy feeling that accompanies the spectacle of non-English rapping done by non-black, non-American people, a sense that it’s wrong and shouldn’t exist, which manifests itself in various ways: we ridicule the material for its surface freakishness; we get knee-jerk defensive, if we like it; we get angry about its appropriative nature, as OG Maco did about “It G Ma,” which in part sounds like his song “U Guessed It” with its blood drained out. When it comes to Korean hip-hop, I’m one of the apologists — while I believe that you have every right to ignore it, I also believe that good music can come out of it that shouldn’t be immediately discredited for existing. I also believe that the music can be garbage. It’s at least a step in the right direction that this song’s Vine utility stems more from its own smug garbage-ness than the external “lol Asians rapping” stuff, and I think the two Japanese rappers are technically interesting way beyond what the other three have to offer. Otherwise, this song feels like punishment for my K-hip-hop apologism. I guess I had it coming.
[3]
Anthony Easton: That string or percussion introduction is almost something from John Cage’s Sonatas and Interludes; that it continues, moving behind screams and cash registers, is piercingly minimal and genuinely ugly. Also, great use of “motherfucker.”
[8]
Ian Mathers: I have no real idea what’s going on here, and I’ve heard enough about dodgy appropriation/straight up racism in this kind of stuff that I’m open to hearing that this is more of the same, but for now this seems like high quality yelling (but, you know, rap yelling) paired with slow-rolling bass.
[6]
Micha Cavaseno: I hated this shit the first time, you think I’m going to enjoy it when it turns into goofy appropriation? This is a fan-fiction of a voyeuristic parody of some suburbanites’ gross misrepresentation of rap. OG Maco deserves to have this moment rubbed in his face forevermore. Look at those cups of codeine he never had! It’s almost as if you just provide lowest common denominator antics, it gets used against you in uncomfortable ways? GEE, HOW COULD WE HAVE AVOIDED THIS!?!?
[0]
Patrick St. Michel: 1. The most interesting element of “It G Ma” is how it brings together Korean and Japanese rappers to form one orca-centric mob. Considering how nationalistic Japanese rap, at least, has been in the past, this song (and its subsequent viral spreading) is a good development. 2. This obviously takes inspiration from OG Maco, and improves on his song in a lot of ways (nothing on “U Guessed It” touches the surrealism of the whole “underwater squad”) but also runs twice as long, burning itself out fast. 3. I’m rooting for this to somehow lead to… something, because I’m pretty sure everyone involved in “It G Ma” is capable of something even better (and I know KOHH certainly is, as long as Andy Milonakis stays the hell away).
[6]
Iain Mew: It’s not starker than “U Guessed It” exactly, but it seems like it in the heavy pauses between the piano-replacement bits. The sterile lift music in the background provides a strong and sinister contrast with Keith Ape’s growls. It’s just a shame that neither he or anyone else shows much idea where to take the track from there until KOHH’s commanding presence late on.
[5]
Alfred Soto: I like the idea of these guys as an Asian Rich Gang, complete with RZA beat and exclamatory grunts.
[6]
Brad Shoup: You can’t throw some dolphins on the thirty-eighth minute of your cut and expect the underwater vibe to carry backwards. The basement organ’s great, but everything else is way too dialed in, from the horrorcore scream to the dead-on impressions. I feel bad for Maco. Not as bad as I feel for his engineer, but still.
[4]