*T/W: The following article contains content about suicide. Reader discretion is advised.
In a song titled, ‘K-pop Stans Diss Track’, YouTubers Keemstar and Void have crossed a line with their release, with the track incurring the wrath of fans alike when the tracks accompanying video was found to have included a disrespectful reference to the passing of late SHINee member, Jong-hyun.
KPOP STANS DISSTRACK ft. KEEMSTAR (Official Music Video) https://t.co/mDh0JfvUwU via @YouTube
— KEEM ? (@KEEMSTAR) March 24, 2021
The almost 4-minute track and video attacks K-pop stans (a slang term that combines “stalker” and “fan”, derived from Eminem’s 2000 song ‘Stan’) as well as the idols themselves. Keemstar starts off by lumping fans and stans together with the hook, “all stans are the same, they rotting my brain” before going on to describe how K-pop related content is often what trends on social media. Despite this, Keemstar spits that he isn’t afraid to say what he wants to say. Void, on the other hand, raps about how “corporations” and the “industry got [idols] locked in the cuffs”, criticising the rules that many idols have had to live by (i.e. dieting, no dating, etc). Now, at the 3:05 mark, Void raps, “I wonder why lately they all be committing suicide,” as images from Jong-hyun’s funeral as well as a singular image of him holding a microphone appear on the screen. When the video was first released, the images in the video showed the faces of the artists, however, at the time of writing, these faces have been blurred out.
And while many may think that fans are unhappy with the fact that they are being attacked in the track, that is not the case. After seeing the video, fans have called out the use of Jong-hyun’s image as well as the context that it was used in, citing that as the primary reason that they are calling for the video to be taken down. SHINEE (who debuted in 2008 with the track ‘Replay’), a five-member group consisting of Key, Onew, Mino, Tae-min and Jong-hyun, lost Jonghyun in 2017. The groups lead vocalist was a well-respected singer-songwriter, record producer, radio host, and author; after a long battle with depression, at age 27, Jong-hyun passed away after taking his own life.
you putting mentioning someone’s suicide and including pictures of their funeral in something that literally has nothing to do with them is in HORRIBLE taste at all i hope you get what’s coming to you lmfao
— olivia ✰ (@izayantis) March 24, 2021
Exactly 🙂 I have no problem with the Kpop community being dissed as a whole, we’re all wack, but using an idol’s death for mockery is not okay.
— ⒶⒿ | ?? *고양이* (@KittyMinhos) March 25, 2021
like okay whatever if you don’t like kpop… & it would be a different story if they just dissed the industry/stans. all that other shit + bringing up jonghyun was soooo uncalled for smh
— bri ⁷ (@yo0ng1sgf) March 25, 2021
It’s pretty deranged that these people see someone’s pain and tragedy as content if you think about it.
— Hyunsu Yim 임현수 (@hyunsuinseoul) March 25, 2021
Following the backlash, Keemstar (real name: Daniel Keem) has taken to his Twitter account to post multiple videos and tweets in response. Stating that he had not seen the finished video or song, he asserts that he had no idea of who Jong-hyun was, of the fact that he is no longer with us or that he was even included in the song. He went on to ask that fans provide proof that he had any involvement, while also sarcastically responding to the threats levelled his way.
Void, on his part, backs up Keemstar’s claims of innocence while also standing his ground. Point the finger back at K-Pop fans, Void says:
“A lot of ya’ll stans right, when he committed suicide, a lot of ya’ll stans were blaming the overcompetitiveness and the pressure of the K-Pop industry [for] his death. And what I was doing in that bar right there, I’m clearly stating that the pressure, the anxiety induced by these corporations that run these K-Pop and idol groups is the reason for why they’re committing suicide and I’m saying it’s wrong – I’m calling them out and that’s why I’m making a diss track on them.”
He went on to state:
“In no way, shape or form am I mocking anybody’s suicide, that is completely ludicrous.”
Before saying that he will not be removing the video.
The track also includes lyrics like:”f*** Jimin” (while simultaneously flashing an image of Jong-kook) and comparisons of idols to robots. This is not the first time the duo has faced backlash over their content, with Void having released several other diss tracks (not limited to talking about Jake Paul, Tana Mongeau and H3H3) while Keemstar has regularly courted controversy for racist and insensitive remarks on his popular show, ‘DramaAlert’.
*Cover image credit: @keemstar
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