ARTS / MUSIC
Famous Chinese rapper Gai accused of drug use, faces netizen online criticism
Published: Feb 07, 2021 03:48 PM

Chinese rapper Gai (right) and his wife Wang Siran (left) shows at CLUB WOO event in Shanghai. Photo:IC

Hot Chinese rapper Gai has become the center of controversy after TY, another Chinese rapper, accused him of taking methamphetamines. The accusation has stunned Chinese netizens and ignited heated discussions on China's Twitter-like social media platform Sina Weibo. 

In a recent livestream session, TY turns to look straight into the camera and says that Gai has used crystal meth as well as has dissociative identity disorder. 

Chinese netizens reacted quickly to TY's accusation with some saying they were not surprised as they claim there is strong evidence showing Gai was once a drug user and that he led a chaotic gangster life before he became famous.   

"I screenshotted this since I knew that sooner or later this scandal of Gai's would be exposed," posted one netizen on Sina Weibo with what they claim is a screenshot of an old post from Gai's Sina Weibo account in which Gai says to rapper Danke: "You are just not happy in that when I said we took drugs together, you puked before I did."  

"Does anyone not know he uses drugs?" said another netizen in a post that received several replies criticizing the user for assuming rappers are entitled to take drugs.

"Gai's rap music has always been that kind of gangsta rap, about crime, money, drugs, and being extremely violent. I'm not surprised that someone accused him of taking drugs, even though TY's gang and Gai's have been hating on each other for a long time," Jackie, a Chinese hip-hop music writer, told the Global Times on Sunday. 

"Rap music has its own oomph, for keeping it in music; rappers and I myself too will add some lines such as taking drugs, making money and having girls around to the lyrics. Those are always done in first-person perspective, like I did something," Tanky, a Chinese rapper, told the Global Times on Sunday.

"But such things are just for expression, for persona, not all rappers would do what they do in music in real life. Even though we mention harmful things such as taking drugs, we can still be home-loving dads outside of music." 

While some like Tanky know the word "drug" is merely for a rapper's persona, a large number of netizens have urged Gai to reply to the accusation or wondered about how it would affect his young fans if the accusation turned out to be true. 

"My son likes Gai, which I don't mind. Young people have their ways of understanding the world. But, I'm praying here for my son not to learn those terrible things about this culture," said a netizen on Sina Weibo.