China Has Reportedly Banned Hip-Hop Culture From Television

The country also banned tattoos from appearing on TV amid a recent surge in popularity for hip-hop.

pg one youtube
YouTube

PG One / Image via YouTube

pg one youtube

China has banned hip-hop culture from appearing on television, according to a report from TIME.

The country now "specifically requires that programs should not feature actors with tattoos [or depict] hip hop culture, sub-culture and dispirited culture" after new rules were put in place by the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television of the People’s Republic of China (SAPPRFT).

These new restrictions were implemented following a recent decision to remove a rapper named GAI from one of China's biggest singing competition shows, Singer. Other recent instances of hip-hop censorship in the country have occured when rapper VaVa was cut from variety show Happy Camp, and songs by underground rapper Triple H were removed from several major streaming sites. A contestant on a show called Super Brian even had his necklace blurred out because it was deemed to be too closely in line with hip-hop aesthetics.

Rapper PG One was also recently forced to apologize for his song "Christmas Eve," which contained themes of drug use and tropes from popular hip-hop culture.

The strict regulations come on the heels of a recent surge of attention for hip-hop in China. A 12-episode internet reality show called Rap of China accumulated over 2.5 billion views after its premiere, according to BBC. You can watch a recap of Rap of China and the rise in popularity of Chinese hip-hop below and read TIME's full report about the new censorship rules here.

latest_stories_pigeons-and-planes