User:Sakataminae/sandbox

Diss Battles
A critical platform for rappers onstage, sometimes diss battles exceed performance and occur as real life conflicts between rappers. Two major incidents occurred in the recent history of Korean hip hop.

E-Sens vs. Gaeko
Gaeko and E-Sens’ dispute arose out of a diss battle movement instigated by the rapper Swings. Swings first released a song that was an homage to Kendrick Lamar’s Control incident by producing a musical tirade on the state of hip hop open for public response. However, his song and the several responses to the track did not garner much attention until E-Sens intervened and produced a song “You Can’t Control Me” to the Control beat. The lyrics criticize the fake façade and personality of Gaeko, the CEO and representative of the hip hop label, “Amoeba Culture.” From asking to change the date of E-Sens’ father’s funeral instead of asking the PD for a schedule change to making misleading monetary promises, Gaeko is described to be a fake TV personality who disregards basic courtesy to him. Gaeko responded with the song “I Can Control You,” which was retorted with “True Story” by E-Sens. Other rappers embroiled themselves in the conflict and commented on the issue, notably E-Sens’ past duo partner in “Supreme Team:” Simon D. The incident was never fully resolves but the hip hop community generally perceives it to be E-Sens’ victory with his showcase of rap ability and his retaining and increase of a steady fan base despite his drug use controversies.

Real Gangsters, Not Just Gangster Rap
One of the biggest receivers of spotlight regarding personal history was Hong-won Yang (Young B) whose bullying past was the subject of much controversy as he received much spotlight on the show “Highschool Rapper” in 2016. Personal accounts of the rapper began surfacing after his appearance on Show Me the Money 5 with his history as an infamous gangster, who stole money and inflicted violence on peers from as early as elementary school, in the Songpa District was revealed. Although netizens voiced their disapproval of his continued appearance on “Highschool Rapper,” he expressed his will to continue participating in the competition after an apology to his victims. He went on to win first place and also fared well in the 2017 Show Me the Money 6 competition despite persisting controversy regarding his character. Tiger JK notably was the only judge who gave him a fail in the second round of auditions, expressing his approval of Young B’s skills but his belief that one should take responsibility for his past actions even if one does not desire to do so. Young B responded positiviely to the comment and thanked him for the critique. He is currently under the label “Indigo Music” along with the rapper NO:EL, who also received controversy for his past during "Highschool Rapper."