I'm Petty Rapstar: Volume 2
Because TransRacial Lives Matter Ya'll~
No that’s not a typo, that’s genuinely what I think the MNET show, Unpretty Rapstar: Volume 2 should be renamed, as that’s all I’ve witnessed so far. And this time, I’m here for all of it.
After
the runaway success of the first season, one thing was made very
clear: pettiness sells and gets people talking. So this season, all
the focus is on petty one-upmanship, poor attempts at throwing shade
and of course, our favorite type of appropriation: cultural
appropriation.
I
initially refused to watch Unpretty Rapstar, because I loathe the
Korean variety/competition show editing technique where they instant
replay before the event has even happened, which kills the momentum
entirely. I used to find myself shouting at the screen in frustration
over wanting just to experience the complete scene uninterrupted by
other people’s reactions, (Jackson of GOT7 reuniting with his
parents on Roommates is a great example of this terrible editing
technique). Seriously Korea, stop it. Just let the scene speak for
itself.
I’m
also not a fan of runner-up Jessi. As a long time BoA fan, I wasn’t
too impressed with the remarks she made about BoA’s alleged
sexuality (it was a while ago, but still), plus I don’t like the
delusion she has about being a skilled MC, when all she does is throw
in random Korean words amongst mostly mangled English. However when I
was introduced to the Goddess that is Cheetah, I changed my mind
about this particular show.
So
when I found out that Yubin, of the newly reformed Wonder Girls was
scheduled to be on the show, it was a done deal.
I
decided to watch it solely for Yubin (and maybe Hyorin, even though
I’m still confused as to why she’s on the show).
A
majority of the girls are very talented, mostly the older heads like
Yubin, Gilme and Kittib. There’s even a wildcard in Yezi, but we
all know that the standout talent is Truedy.
This
young cat, entered the arena, decked out in old-skool hip-hop attire
and threw so many English phrases around within the first 20 seconds
of everyone meeting her, that they immediately questioned her
nationality. When faced with the dreaded question that most
mixed-Koreans face, she looked genuinely shocked and proclaimed that,
she was a person from Eunpyeong-Gu (a region in Seoul). At no point
did she mention the fact that she was mixed, either on the show or in
any of the TV-spots before hand.