YG’s 2014 debut, My Krazy Life, has disappeared from digital streaming platforms like Spotify, Apple Music, the iTunes Store and YouTube, Genius notes. It is no longer available after playing against “Meet the Flockers,” a song with lyrics about targeting “Chinese neighborhoods” when attempting a break-in. Pitchfork asked representatives from YG, UMG, Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube for comments and further information.
“Meet the Flockers” has been criticized in the past, sparking outrage from politicians and a petition to promote the ban in 2016.
It was reported last week that YouTube officials were demanding that the song be removed from the website. The request to the YouTube Trust & Safety team was denied in an email from executives to employees on March 22nd. An email to the YouTube staff read:
We will start by saying that we find this video extremely offensive and understand that it is painful for many to watch, including many for trust and safety, especially given the ongoing violence against the Asian community. One of the biggest challenges of working in Trust & Safety is that we sometimes have to leave out content that we disagree with or that we find offensive.
In addition, the email indicated that the lyrics violated the company’s hate speech policy, but that “Meet the Flockers” would stay up due to an exception in the education, documentary, science or art, where the “artistic context” cited and concerns raised setting a precedent that would result in the removal of more music videos.
At the time of publication, the standard edition and several deluxe editions of My Krazy Life are available for streaming on TIDAL. All editions contain “Meet the Flockers”.
