Peoples perceptions of various cultures usually comes from some form of media, with the main avenues being music and movies. Thus people can have the wrong impression of a region or country because of their limited exposure to the actual cultural origins. What do people know of China other than what's delivered through the media and entertainment. China is a nominal communist nation based on authoritarian rule by a single party, they see repression in Tibet and the Uygar regions of western China, censorship of the internet and the media on a massive scale, human rights violations, corruption and a myriad of other problems. One must question why the Chinese government has decided that the best way to promote the real China was to release a gangsta rap video by a group that is know for being homophobic and glorifying sexual violence?
CD Rev, whose four members are from the south-western city of Chengdu – home to anascent hip-hop scene, released their first state-sponsored track this week in association with the party’s youth wing, the Communist Youth League.
The four-minute English-language track, called This is China, takes aim at what it claims are western lies about the country.
“I wanna restore the impression you have on my country, China, which have been exactly fabricated by media for such a long time,” the lyrics say.
Wang Zixin, one of the rappers, told the Guardian his group had opted to rap in English to communicate directly with a western audience.
This is China – which has been shared more than 40,000 times on social media since being released on Tuesday – shows more affection for law enforcement than is customary for gangsta rappers.
“We can trust public security cuz the policemen are kind to citizens but crucial to our enemies,” the MCs rap, adding: “We have tight gun control laws and we don’t fear gun slaughtering.”
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