5+ Controversial K-Pop Songs That Misuse AAVE

They didn’t quite understand the assignment.
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AAVE, or African-American Vernacular English, is an English dialect spoken by the Black community in the United States. Yet, it’s often mislabeled as Gen-Z or TikTok slang. It’s frequently appropriated by non-Americans attempting to sound “American” or “hip.” The misusage of AAVE can be considered offensive (usage, in general, can be regarded as cultural appropriation), as the language, like others, is a part of the culture and has its own rules that must be followed.

AAVE has often been appropriated in K-Pop songs, too. Since those who write and/or sing the song are often not Black or have ties to the community, they misunderstand AAVE. Here are 5+ of the biggest AAVE fails in K-Pop…

1. BLACKPINK’s “As If It’s Your Last”

This is an iconic song from BLACKPINK. Yet Lisa’s rap contains the phrase “you gon’ finna catch me,” which is just not the correct usage of “finna.”

2. BTS Jungkook’s “My Time”

Fans agree that “My Time” is technically a good song. Even its Black American producer confirmed Beyoncé is a fan, but most think the lyrics, “Someday I’ll finna find my time,” are straight-up awkward and incorrect.

 

3. BTS Jimin’s “Set Me Free Pt.2”

Jungkook’s not the only BTS member. Jimin’s solo hit “Set Me Free Pt.2” contained the lyrics, “I never stop, f*ck all your opps.” This one is more controversial. “Opps” means oppositions, so one’s enemies or haters, essentially. Typically, one would say, “f*ck all my opps,” but since Jimin’s album FACE is representative of two versions of himself, it’s technically correct, but it sounds strange, especially out of context.

4. GIRLKIND’s “Fanci”

“All my bad unnies, all my hood unnies” doesn’t need any explanation. It went down in history as infamous and “cringe” lyrics.

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5. BADVILLAIN’s “BADVILLAIN”

Similarly, the lyrics “I’m killin’ it (Brr) Shout out no … Mobbin’ with the bad girls, you ain’t even gang” is without a question a strange choice for a K-Pop group.

6. Rocking Doll’s “Rocking Doll”

The K-Pop group sings, “I’m from the ghetto,” and we know they are far from it. They also sing about dropping guns and pulling triggers. Isn’t that illegal in Korea?

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7. (G)I-DLE Yuqi’s “On Clap (feat. Lexie Liu)”

The lines “this beat on slap” and “bad boogie babies on tap” left netizens flabbergasted, as they don’t follow the rules of AAVE. “The beat on clap” also seems to combine two commonly used phrases. It seems to use clap instead of slap, which is usually used to describe something as “good,” i.e., “This song slaps.” Yet, “on something” is generally used with an adjective to describe the first word. For example, “Waist on skinny” translates to a thin waist.

Read more about the misuse of AAVE in K-Pop below.

K-Pop Idols Using AAVE — Is It A Problem?

Source: Korea Herald
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