A rapper who alluded to anti-Asian attacks during a rap battle has recently ignited backlash after a video clip of the battle surfaced online.
New York-based rapper Pristavia Duvert was battling Nunchi Chinks on Dec. 4 when she delivered this line: “You are a lame disgrace / Should have played it safe / Now I could get Chinks beaten in the street for no reason / Then hashtag stop Asian hate.”
While it is typical in a rap battle for two participants to exchange insults, Duvet’s line sparked criticism on social media. It is worth noting that her opponent, despite her rapper name, is not Asian.
When Twitter users started calling out Duvert over the controversial line, she brushed the criticism off and doubled down on her lyrics, saying she was referring to her opponent’s name.
“Ouch so much back lash [sic] from the Asian community after my Chinks battle. They think I’m racist. BR [battle rap] isn’t for everyone,” she wrote in a tweet.
In a later tweet, she then compared her experience to that of comedian Dave Chappelle’s, who set off a wave of controversy for his jokes about trans people in his most recent Netflix stand-up special.
“I flipped the derogatory name for Asians. Ehh, I get it but I don’t know anything NOT offensive about BR. That’s why I didn’t get into it sooner. They certainly took me wrong,” she wrote in one of her Twitter responses.
She also accused Asians of being racist by referring to alleged actions by the Chinese government: “After COVID, they wouldn’t let Africans into places in China. They were WILDLY OPENLY racist. You’re right! And that’s real life not BR.”
Meanwhile, Nunchi Chinks addressed her rapper name in a series of tweets after people called her out on Instagram.
“So some people from the Asian committee came on my Instagram and asked me why am I a black woman who named herself chinks,” she wrote. “Crazy part is my friends named me that over seven years ago and it’s been my fb name since… Then I never chose my name the fans in my community felt like my social media name was good enough so they ran with it.”
Featured Image via @Niggas_chips
