‘Fragile’ was released by Malaysian rapper Namewee last month.
Taipei:
A rapper who composed a viral Mandarin pop song aimed at making fun of Chinese nationalists said on Monday he has no regrets about being blacklisted by Beijing. when his song hit more than 30 million views on YouTube.
Released last month, Malaysian rapper Namewee’s ‘Fragile’, featuring Australian singer Kimberley Chen, has become a viral craze across Asia and beyond despite being censored in China. green.
The song disguises itself as a sweet love song, but it delves deeply into “a little pink” – a term for China’s army of online nationalist commentators – as well as Beijing’s authoritarian government. .
“I never limit myself or impose self-censorship,” Namewee told reporters in Taipei as he and Chen sipped champagne to raise the track’s 30 million-view milestone.
“For me, good creations have to come from the heart, they have to be sincere,” he added.
Mandarin-speaking singers, movie stars and celebrities rarely cause controversy when it comes to China due to Beijing’s long track record of punishing those deemed critical of its rules.
One wrong word can quickly lead to an artist being frozen out of the world’s largest Mandarin-speaking market and a career in ruins.
But Namewee and Chen’s willingness to take on taboo topics has created a clash as China becomes increasingly assertive on the world stage under President Xi Jinping.
“The lyrics are clever because they sound like a love song (which has gone awry), but in every line there is a reference to the fragile ’emotions’ of the Chinese government or mockery of the Chinese government. tune of the Chinese Communist Party”, DJ Hatfield, professor. Department of Music at National Taiwan University, told AFP.
‘I don’t feel banned’
Over the past four weeks, Fragile has become the top trending video on YouTube in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Malaysia, as well as making smaller waves among overseas Chinese fans in places like Australia, Canada, and the United States. Ky.
Within days of the song’s release, Namewee and Chen’s Chinese social media accounts were taken down and their music censored while state media accused the pair of insulting the country. water.
China regularly removes allegedly inaccurate songs from music streaming services in the country.
In August, China’s Ministry of Culture said it would establish a blacklist of banned songs with “illegal content”, such as endangering national security.
Namwee and Chen currently live in democratic Taiwan and have escaped their blacklist.
“When you say I’m banned, I don’t feel the same way,” Namewee said Monday. “I feel that people who can’t listen to this song are being banned.”
The 38-year-old rapper has repeatedly become the focus of controversy in the Muslim majority Malaysia.
In 2016, he was detained for several days for allegedly insulting Islam through a video partially filmed inside a mosque.
He was re-arrested two years later for allegedly insulting Islam with a Lunar New Year video that featured dancers wearing dog masks and performing provocative movements.
Chen, 27, grew up in Australia but moved to Taiwan in 2009 to pursue a pop career.
After her Chinese social media accounts were withdrawn, she responded by singing altered lyrics from Fragile’s chorus to celebrate that she still had access to Facebook. and Instagram, like YouTube – is banned in China.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and was automatically generated from the feed provided.)
