Korean-American Rapper Jay Park Apologises To Muslim Fans For Comparing Himself To "Allah" In Lyrics
Feature Image Credit: Cropped screenshot from Tommy Jeans Campaign
Korean-American rapper Jay Park has issued a second apology to Muslim fans following criticisms on social media for his controversial “Allah” lyric in his “Mukkbang! - Remix”.
Released in December 2020, “Mukbang! - Remix” is a rework of Lil Cherry and GOLDBUUDA’s 2020 joint single. One of Park’s verses includes the lyrics, “Worship me like Allah / Get it done like wallah”.
On May 27, 2021, twitter user @hwangover highlighted the controversial lyrics, which compared Park to Allah, in a tweet. The tweet has since attracted over 1,000 retweets and over 1,200 likes.
sorry non skz but just found out about jay parks SUPER offensive lyrics about comparing himself (astaghfirullah) to Allah and even terribly trying to rhyme it with wallah and it’s just .. sorry but if u genuinely support this man plssss block me bc i’m super weirded out by him pic.twitter.com/IQsJ8GqBBo
— aya (@hwangover) May 26, 2021
https://twitter.com/hwangover/status/1397619118749196289
First Apology Drew Even More Flak, Eventually Deleted
In response to that, the 34-year-old made his first apology on twitter on the very same day (May 27), explaining that his lyrics “were never meant to be offensive or disrespectful”.
The Korean-American rapper also maintained a defensive stance, calling out those “outta pocket” racism accusations a “bulls**t false narrative”.
This drew the ire amongst those of the Muslim community. In response to Park’s initial apology tweet, some slammed Park for being “disrespectful” or “Islamophobic” while others expressed disappointment.
Another said, “Jay park doing everything with the classic audacity of a man: gaslighting, being passive aggressive AND guilt-tripping.”
Second Apology Issued On The Same Day
With mounting flak against him, Park eventually deleted his tweets and issued a new statement on Twitter.
🙏❤️ I humbly apologize. pic.twitter.com/uOUwxzqdN0
— JAY BUM PARK (@JAYBUMAOM) May 27, 2021
https://twitter.com/JAYBUMAOM/status/1397928762495275017
This time, Park admitted that he “didn’t see the problem” and he understood that Allah is “a word some are willing to die behind”.
In the same statement, he also wrote, “… its not in my place to use something that means so much to the Muslim people in my rap lyrics freely.”
The award-winning rapper also emphasised, “The intent was never to disrespect or offend and i will be more mindful going forth.”
“I love and respect everybody from all different cultures, ethnicities and religions,” he concluded.
Born and raised in the States, Park was born and raised in the United States. In early 2010, he left the band after receiving backlash from the negative comments on social media MySpace. He eventually debuted as a solo artiste.
