I was born in South Korea but immigrated to the British colony of Hong Kong shortly before my first birthday. And while I speak and write fluent Korean and spent several summers there I never really got into K-pop (Korean pop). I never glommed onto NKOTB either… pre-fab pop just isn’t really my thing (and for anyone who is insulted at this parallel I’m talking K-pop circa the mid-80s, yeah, I’m old, suck it). But what I did find fascinating about Korean entertainment during the sticky, non-AC-having months at my grandma’s house was that: a) Variety shows and melodramas are HUGE b) famous people there seem WAY more grateful to their fans (like, they actually break the fourth wall and recognize what an incredible LOTTO-type situation they’re in) and c) the oligopolies that rule Korea, known as chaebol (or diversified conglomerates, think Samsung, LG, Hyundai) can really fuck up your gravy train if you disrespect them in anyway or do anything that they deem “inappropriate.” It’s like Disney standards for EVERYTHING. Can you imagine? It’s like a world without JIM JONES. The humanity.

That is my LONGWINDED entrée into talking about KBS (Korean Broadcasting System), arguably the most influential television station in the country that recently banned SeungRi’s song “Strong Baby” for the use of the word “crack.” The label, YG Entertainment, has changed the word to “clap.”

Here is the offensive song in question complete with video and what in my personal estimation has a CRAZY beat despite the questionable choreography.

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This one too.

“Only in the mind of Jim Jones,” said the Diplomat of his star turn on the stage. With the Dame Dash-produced Hip-Hop Monologues, Off-Broadway officially hit Capo status—complete with Playabills.

In promotion of his upcoming album, Pray IV Reign, Jim ditched the standard listening party-fare in favor of a theatrical production set to his music. Certainly ambitious, it followed Jimmy on a harrowing journey from the corner to the classroom (as part of court-mandated community service). Of course, Jimmy had to drop by the club on a couple of occasions—props for a small tribute to Harlem Renaissance-era jazz spots—before the climax in the courtroom.

The play had its moments, both comical and heart-wrenching (kinda). In particular, the scene of a lil’ Jimmy pumpin’ on the block usurped the overall lightheartedness of the play to deliver some real drama. “It shows why Jimmy is the way he is,” said writer-director J Kyle Manzay of the scene, adding, “too many times people don’t really understand why rappers behave a certain way.”

Performance aside, Jones managed to generate a buzz for an album that may have fallen off the radar in the midst of a loaded 4^th quarter. The packed house at the 37 Arts Theater—Harlem’s resident el Chupacabra, Cam’ron, was of course MIA—will now hotly anticipate the release, with the surefire #1 single “Where My Bitches” looming. Well, maybe. But in Jimmy’s world, most definitely.

-Devin Chanda