BTS Controversies and Incidents: (1) Hip-Hop Concept Controversy
I. Mockeries and Criticisms
BTS had to face harsh criticisms from the beginning of their debut. This is because BTS presented themselves as a hip-hop concept idol group from the very beginning of their debut, by which they tried to set apart from traditional idol groups. (Of course, they don’t release only hip-hop concept songs anymore, though…) Moreover, when they claimed Big Bang as their role models at their debut, they faced not only mockery from Big Bang fans but also from the general public.
Just like any other country, in Korea too, when idol groups try to do hip-hop or rock, they face severe criticism -What kind of mishmash music are you even making?- from hip-hop and rock musicians and fandoms. At the same time, the general public often reacts with unfamiliarity when they hear such mixed genres, as it’s different from traditional idol music. And BTS was not an exception to this. They were accused of lacking authenticity simply because they incorporated hip-hop into idol music.
One prominent example is when RM and Suga, who appeared on the hip-hop talk show “Hip-Hop Invitation” hosted by the black music critic Kim Bong-hyun, were publicly subjected to aggressive questioning by B-Free. Deepflow and Don Mills, who were also present at the time, expressed their discomfort due to B-Free’s behavior. The incident caused quite a stir, to the extent that Bang Si-hyuk (the founder of Hybe) attempted to have a conversation with B-Free and even visited him personally during the height of the controversy.
II. Zico – My Team
ZICO, a solo artist and member of Block B, wrote and composed a song called ‘My Team‘. Controversy arose around this song in connection with BTS because its beat was similar to that of B-Free, who criticized BTS. This led to questions about whether ZICO was indirectly criticizing BTS, much like B-Free. However, in the lyrics of the song, there is a discomfort in trying to form a rivalry with ZICO, who had a different starting point from artists belonging to large entertainment companies, as he had risen from the beginning.
Looking at it from this perspective, it becomes evident that ZICO was not criticizing BTS, as during BTS’s debut, Big Hit was only a small to medium-sized company. Because of this, after the song was released, there was no significant reaction among ZICO’s fans and BTS fans. In fact, BTS and Block B have a good relationship. You can confirm this in the video below.