The Unspoken Impact of Hip-Hop Hit “It G Ma”
When Japanese rapper KOHH opened his verse on the viral South Korean and Japanese hip-hop song It G Ma with the lines “never, never forget”, we were bound to do exactly that: the song itself isn’t spoken about much today, but its impact echoes infinitely.
The dissonant intro got listeners worldwide hooked on it in 2015 and the music video amassed millions of views. The song was by the SoundCloud rapper Keith Ape, famous for his love for Bathing Ape, featuring JayAllDay and Okasian, two South-Korean rappers, as well as Loota and KOHH who provided the Japanese punch. It was produced by Junior Chef.
Though the lyricism isn’t particularly meaningful, it is extremely representative of the pride most South-Korean, Japanese, and otherwise Eastern Asian rappers have about their culture. In the world of hip-hop, the Anglosphere dominates, especially the Afro-American community as they are rightfully the pioneers of this genre, so artists that don’t tick these boxes often feel like outsiders. Arguably, it’s only recently that rappers with no Anglophone or Black lineage have been popular outside of their circles, and It G Ma is important in this way because it introduced Eastern Asian hip-hop to the world in a way that didn’t denigrate it.
There was a lot of controversy surrounding it. American rapper OG Maco tweeted about Keith Ape’s cultural appropriation as well as the similarity with his song and music video “U Guessed It”. Post feud, this was a debut for the conversation about the ethics between Western and Eastern rap, notably when it comes to plagiarism and racism. There was also a remix that featured A$AP Ferg, Father, Dumbfoundead, and Waka Flocka Flame.
On the other hand, KOHH’s verse was replayed extensively, and his famous “Arigato!” is partly responsible for his current success. Arigato, or “thank you” in Japanese, was easy to grasp for non-Japanese speakers and added to the catchiness of It G Ma even more.
About the Author:
Mizuki Khoury
Born in Montreal, based in Tokyo. Sabukaru’s senior writer and works as an artist under Exit Number Five.
