A rapper based in Connecticut, USA seems to have culturally appropriated all of Asia in a single music video.
Conscience Castillo released his music video “Rush Hour” and it got so much flak online that he supposedly received a number of death threats and harassment because of it.
The video in question was filled with problematic appropriations—African-American women in super skimpy traditional Chinese clothes, desecration of a Laotian Buddhist temple, and the use of yellow face among those performing in the video.
Castillo eventually took the video down, but not before it got the ire of people online. Los Angeles based model and actor Julia Kong posted a series of tweets about the video and called out Castillo.
for the billionth time: ASIAN CULTURE IS NOT YOUR AESTHETIC pic.twitter.com/ufrGCjiyeu
— JULIA KONG (@juliaakong) July 26, 2020
“For the billionth time: ASIAN CULTURE IS NOT YOUR AESTHETIC,” Kong says.
“Before you play ‘but if the roles were reversed’ card, let me tell you everyone’s been appropriating all minorities’ cultures from the beginning,” she adds. “Calling one out doesn’t invalidate the other. it’s all bad. we’re trying to educate and bring awareness. no use playing that card.”
Kong’s posts went viral, and she soon received a reply from Castillo himself.
I appreciate you joining the live and understanding.🙏🏽 I would like to keep the peace after admitting my wrongs and taking everything down and would also appreciate it if you took the post down to stop the death threats and harassment.
— Conscience (@Tha_Conscience) July 27, 2020
“I appreciate you joining the live and understanding. I would like to keep the peace after admitting my wrongs and taking everything down and would also appreciate it if you took the post down to stop the death threats and harassment,” Castillo replied.