I’m going to be honest. I love CL. That’s my girl. A strong, fierce leader with a lovely stage presence. But I hated her debut song. It showcased none of her talents. And technically she’s not a fem-cee ‘cause she didn’t write that rap. It wasn’t even a rap, more like spoken word. She didn’t dance much, or sing, which we all know damn well she can do. I hated some of the portrayal in the video too. I’m totally disappointed. Still forever a blackjack though.
She did write it, idiot. She’s credited as the first writer, Teddy as a co-writer.
"I think it’s horrible how people are treating CL. Telling her she can’t express herself a certain way (hip-hop) because she’s not black is racist. Gospel, Jazz, Rock, Hip-hop all originated from African Americans yet other ethnic groups have been playing these genres too. Music is not about segregation. The way CL dresses is about the fashion she is not pretending to be or from the “ghetto” (please look up the word instead of misusing it) and there is no indication of that in her lyrics."
-Marianna Z (via potatopocket)Thank you!
In regards to CL’s The Baddest FemaleI really like the song but to tell you the truth I’m kinda disappointed on the fact that the video did not showcase the badass chicks of YG. If this song is meant to be an anthem to badass girls then at least bring in the bad ass girls that work with you … YG boys get enough media coverage as it is. In all I love the song but I think they lost a chance to really pay respect to the women in YG entertainment.
Submitted By: urvictorian
Which women? Gummy? Lee Hi? Yeah, they’re badass alright.
June 16, 2013, CL performance at SBS Ingkigayo.
This performance was been the reason why CL can’t come to G-Dragon: One of a Kind World Tour in Jakarta as a second special guest.
No, it’s not. This performace was prerecorded last week. She canceled for other reasons.
I feel like people keep asking where Minzy it but don’t want to say or think that maybe Minzy might not like CL having a solo. If Minzy stays out of the spotlight, she wouldn’t have to act fake with praising CL or acting happy about the whole matter when she isn’t. I never thought Minzy & CL were close and I definitely don’t think CL is a great leader either. As the leader and being older than Minzy, I expect CL to bring the girls closer together.
IDGI…. TOP can disappear for months on end during GD’s solo promotions and no one calls GD a bad leader or suggests that TOP might be against him
But Minzy does it… and….
CL is a terrible leader and Minzy is bitter?
… blackjacks are too fucking annoying
LOL hilarious.
Minzy has been going through some family stuff lately, so that’s why she’s been MIA the past few weeks.
magical gyaru belle stardust: a more articulate response to EYK and various Tumblr bloggers
the original post from EYK is as quoted:
Ok: we’re quite torn about this song and the imagery in the video. I could be totally wrong here, and might have an out of date perspective, so please let me know – in a civil manner – if I’m off here. Here goes:
When I think of rap videos, they…
Beautiful post. Amazing.
"CL: “I really didn’t know that GD’s “One Of A Kind” and “The Baddest Female” sound similar, each song is for different things. “One Of A Kind” means “I’m different from others” while “The Baddest Female” shows “CL, myself."
-(via iamthefantasticbaby)This is a terrible translation. Not what she really said, at all.
CL (from 2NE1)- The Baddest Female
Several of my followers have been telling me about this new music video by kpop star CL from 2NE1, so I decided to check it out. The Korean media has a long history of anti-blackness, so I came in expecting some amount of fuckery from this video, and sadly wasn’t disappointed.
Of course in the video for a song in which CL frames herself as being the “Baddest Female,” she casts herself as the caricature of a “gangster” African American woman. I mean who better to exploit and stereotype than African American women, who’s bodies have historically been stripped of agency and have had their identities and work constantly and violently appropriated from whily-nilly? This is a song about being a “bad female” and portraying yourself as a black woman for the greater part of 4 minutes is obviously the best way to drive that point home.
So how does one become a caricature of an African American woman, might you ask? Well let’s explore what CL’s take on it was.
(Image description: CL in a black belly shirt, with a black fitted cap adorned with the letters “GZB,” wearing a studed golden chain with a 3 pointed star in the middle [like a Mercedes logo], golden earrings, and 2 large rings with words that stretch across 4 fingers each. All set against a black background with bright lights in circles, surrounding a white insignia with the letter “G” in the middle)
Fitted- check. Black belly shirt- check. Chain with a Mercedes logo (?!)- check. Massive golden rings with words- check.
Oh wait… you can’t forget the (vampire) grills, though!!!
(Image description: close up of CL’s face with eyes covered by cap and just mouth and nose shown on her face. Mouth is opened in a grimace and she is wearing golden grills over her teeth)
Oh, and the crew! Don’t forget the crew!
(Image description: CL on left in a red and black plaid shirt with a black and white patterned bandana around her head. She has tattoos in shapes similar to water droplets down her arm. She is flanked by 3 men to her right, all in black and white. Man closest to her is in a full black and white pattenered outfit with matching bandana tied in his hair. Man second from right is wearing a black leather jacket and hoodie, and the black and white bandana is covering his mouth. He has a fitted cap on his head and his hoodie is up over the cap. Man farthest right is in a black shirt with a silver chain over his stomach and a black and white jacket patterned with chains. He also has a black and white patterned bandana over his mouth along with another one tied around his hair. All figures are standing in front of a maroon car with flames decorating the doors)
Wait…. let’s hold on the crew for another minute
(Image description: CL in the middle in red and black plaid shirt with a black and white patterned bandana tied around her head while looking at the camera. She has four dancers behind her, all in black and white plaid and wearing black ski masks with the letters GZB across the top completely over their heads (masks which only show eyes and mouth))
And what crew in the hood is complete without the pimp carrying his pimp cane?
(Image description: Man in foreground wearing a black shirt with light red embroidery on the chest and with 2 large golden chains with an eagle and the letter A enclosed in a circle on each one. He is wearing a black wig with long straight hair with bright red tips and a top hat. He is posturing for the camera looking “cool” with his pimp cane outstretched toward the camera and off the screen. He is in front of a maroon car, on top of which on the left side of the image is one man is sitting in brown sunglasses and in all black and white clothing and a predominantly white bandana with a black pattern covering his neck. Another man is standing next to him in all black and white patterned clothing with a black and white bandana over his mouth and one tied around his head as well)
She’s so hood ain’t she?
(Image description: foreground has CL facking backwards with her hands in the air, in a black jersey with the words “BAD” across the top and the number 91 underneath. Background has stripes of 3 different colors and a large emblem with feathers and the letter L enclosed by a C in the middle)
And I didn’t even bother to take a picture of her sitting in her studded gilded bicycle…
After chillin with the crew, though, she was tired and wanted some “her” time, so she obviously decided to head to the jungle with her girls to get her hair done
(Image description: CL in a white top with a brightly colored and patterned jacket sitting in a chair while a hair dresser, in a black and white square patterned jacket and teased hair, toys with CL’s hair)
And I mean, if you’re gonna be black, might as well go all the way and have one of your friends dancing as a leopard in front of a shack in said jungle.
(Image description: a dancer in a leopard costume dancing in front of a shack with a crowd of people, including CL, clapping and cheering them on)
This video is offensive in the ways in which it stereotypes and caricaturizes African American women, gangs and the ghetto. It’s offensive because, even though this is intra-POC, it is disrespectful (I mean, her crew, honestly?) of those identities. Why was the choice made to portray CL as a parody of African American women from the ghetto, appropriating aspects of the identity for commercial gain in order to seem “cool,” even as an African American woman would likely get shamed for presenting herself in the same way. She’s making a mockery of black culture in the ghetto and the realities of gang culture as well. She’s even mocking the harsh realities of the sex trade in these communities as well, by including a fake “pimp” in the video.
And all for a laugh. All just to portray yourself as the “baddest” of all—a black woman from the hood.
It’s sad that videos like this are produced which so trivialize a people and aspects of a culture and exploit them for commercial gain. And it’s even more sad that this is something that happens so often to the black community, and black women in particular. Parading yourself in blackface just short of putting on makeup is wrong, point blank, and I can only hope that the world of Kpop changes over time to the point that appropriative and anti-black videos like this are a thing of the past.
Until then… one last one of the crew for posterity before ending
Yeaaaahh, bruh!
” CL in a black belly shirt, with a black fitted cap adorned with the letters “GZB,” wearing a studed golden chain with a 3 pointed star in the middle [like a Mercedes logo], golden earrings, and 2 large rings with words that stretch across 4 fingers each. All set against a black background with bright lights in circles, surrounding a white insignia with the letter “G” in the middle)”
-Yes because all black women (African American in this case), dress this way, way to stereotype all women of your own race. First thing’s first though, the top she’s wearing (crop top shirt and jacket) did not originate from African or African American women. It originated in the Middle East or “West Asian” performers if you’d have it (belly-dancers). It was later modified and made popular by a white woman you might know her by the name of Madonna.
-Second, a fitted cap was invented and made popular by baseball players in the 20s and 30s and later on a new design was introduced in the 50s called the 59Fifty . In the late 90s African American hip hop artist started using it as an accessory. You can’t either claim hoop earrings as a trademark of black women because hoop earrings represent one of the oldest forms body modification as some of the first tribes of humans used it. In some cultures hoop earrings were worn even by men. Rings also could be traced back all the way to Egyptian and Roman empires if not even earlier. That is not the letter G behind her but her initials and the name she uses as an artist, which is CL.
-I can give you grillz because they were definitely made popular by hip hop artists (mostly African American) but hell even grillz can be traced back to the Mayans so your argument even there is on shaky ground.
-Plaid shirts can be traced back to the 17th century Scotland, and they were made extremely popular by the Beach Boys in the 60’s and Nirvana in the 90’s. All white if I’m not mistaken.
-Likewise, the origin of bandanas doesn’t come from black people but from Indian people. The bandana spread across Europe because of the colonization of India by the British, it then crossed over to America and was used by cowboys and workers, and it was made popular by cowboys. It became connected to African American and Hispanic gangs in the early 70’s.
-Tattoos actually draw their origin from Asia. And she doesn’t have tear shaped tattoos but her own symbols which are also on the flag seen later on into the MV and are her single’s cover art. Symbols of Queen Bee symbol of strength and femininity and Ram because that’s her Chinese zodiac sign. Crown and Lion representing power and loyalty.
-That is not a white top but a white one piece swimsuit.
“And I mean, if you’re gonna be black, might as well go all the way and have one of your friends dancing as a leopard in front of a shack in said jungle.” - How does someone being dresses in a leopard print tracksuit = them trying to be black please enlighten me. Because it’s mighty ballsy of you to claim animal print as something that belongs to black people exclusively. And what are black people the only ones allowed to dance now? I cannot with the stupidity you’re pouring here.
-Dude the only one who made a mockery of black women (African American women) is you. You basically portrayed all black women as a cliche 90’s hip hop video. You took things that are connected to black people to a certain degree and basically portrayed all black women through those things. Black women are not MV caricatures and tho some of them may dress like this, not all black women do. You’re so far off that I can’t eve. She’s in no way shape or form disrespecting black women with this because a particular way of dressing doesn’t represent an entire race. Does your mother dress like that? Your sister or girlfriend. You’re stretching so much. Stop looking for something that is not there. Stop stereotyping all Black or African American women when 99% of them don’t even dress like that. Wearing a fitted doesn’t mean you’re trying to be black or thinking you’re a professional baseball player, wearing a bandana doesn’t mean you’re trying to be a gang member. Wearing a crop top doesn’t mean you’re trying to be a belly dancer or Madonna.
Anyone who uses CLs “fake persona” as a reason to hate her are idiots. I guess they haven’t noticed that the other 3 girls also put on an act while performing. I’m surprised blackjacks haven’t started hating Minzy for not acting like the “ero maknae” 24/7
Untitled: K-pop rant #1
Am I the only one waiting for the day minzy has a solo album? I mean don’t get me wrong I love 2ne1 as a group but, I would love minzy to get her chance to shine. Instead of being in CL’s shadow all the time, I would love to see what she could do by herself. I love CL I do but, sometimes she is…
It’s hilarious when people say “CL should let the others shine”….is she taping their mouths with duck tape and kicking them off the stage or something?
