Don Malik

In the ongoing diss battle between JUSTHIS and VMC, the Indigo Music artist has released a digital single today. ‘THISISJUSTHIS’ is a nine-minute long diss track. Find out about the whole battle!

Who

Seoul-born hiphop artist JUSTHIS is known for being a successful artist without the help of the mainstream music market. He gave his debut in 2010 when he featured on producer Shirosky‘s EP under the artist name ‘TiMeWiNe’. In 2013 he formed the team Common Cold together with Mad Clown; the duo released one official single in 2017. JUSTHIS is signed to Swings‘ label Indigo Music and is a member of DOPPELGÄNGEM Crew, which he founded together with illinit.
In 2016, JUSTHIS released his debut album ‘2 MANY HOMES 4 1 KID‘, winning the Newcomer Award at the Korean Hiphop Awards and being nominated for Best Rap & Hiphop Album at the 14th Korean Music Awards. The album had a huge impact, and JUSTHIS’ rap skills received praise by critics and fans alike.

Previously

In November last year, Don Malik released the diss track ‘old Wave‘, in which he mentioned several rappers as well as label Vismajor Company (VMC). The label’s CEO Deepflow then responded, and after a quick back–and–forth, he announced the battle as ended.

Deepflow, nicknamed “the Godfather of Korean hiphop,” has been producing high-quality music through his label while also supporting rookie artists. In his diss track, Don Malik basically pointed out that VMC “changed their attitude,” initially showing pride in the underground scene and dissing mainstream music, but then selling themselves to that very mainstream market. With this, he referred to Nucksal‘s participation in Show Me The Money, or Deepflow being a judge on SCHOOL RAPPER. Don Malik made it evident that he had been a long-time fan of Deepflow and his label, and therefore felt very disappointed with them, seeing his trust betrayed.

Continuation

JUSTHIS and Don Malik have been known to be close; in 2017 JUSTHIS produced Don Malik’s single ‘MOWGLI‘. Already during the Don Malik vs. Deepflow (VMC) battle, JUSTHIS had expressed his negative feelings toward Deepflow at Viann and Khundi Panda‘s ‘Reconstruction‘ LP showcase in mid-December.
In the following, JUSTHIS dissed Deepflow on ‘UV Cypher Ep. 3‘ where he appeared alongside Kid Milli, Bassagong, and Swings. He expressed his disappointment in Deepflow’s change of attitude:

“You wanna earn money? Them asshole snakes changed lanes”
“In the end you became the type of person you initially dissed”
“You got no love, nor my respect”

However, Deepflow showed no reaction to the diss. He appeared on a talk show (episode revealed on March 22), where he explained his thoughts. He said that in a personal conversation, he might agree with Don Malik and JUSTHIS and feel sorry, but in a diss battle he can never admit to that. ‘You cannot respond to a diss track with a track saying that you’re sorry,’ so Deepflow’s stance.

After Don Malik’s sexual harassment incident in February, fans thought the entire issue to be over and done with. However, JUSTHIS did not give in: He appeared on episode 31 of Olltii’s freestyle series ‘7INDAYS’ (read: “chillin days”) and explicitly insulted Deepflow, Nucksal, and Don Mills. (Don Malik appeared on several episodes of 7INDAYS too, including episode 28 where he and Olltii briefly mention the diss battle.)

Responses came immediately: One day later, Deepflow dropped ‘나다 이‘ (English title: nada e; lit.: it’s me, you [insert insult]), and two days later, Don Mills dropped ‘랩저능아‘ (English title: what the fuck’s diss; lit.: rap retard).

Today, JUSTHIS released the digital single ‘THISISJUSTHIS’, which contains a nine(!)-minute long diss track. It is rumored to have been recorded in one take. JUSTHIS once again dissed Deepflow, Nucksal, and Don Mills, and name-dropped Swings, FANA, Hwaji, and illinit.
Not even five minutes after the single came out, Nucksal revealed his own opinions on the dissing in the track ‘Black Mirror‘, in which he also mentioned ‘THISISJUSTHIS’. As it seems impossible that Nucksal recorded the track within five minutes, he likely added those parts at the end.

Opinions

While ‘THISISJUSTHIS’ gained favorable reviews, the whole affair brought JUSTHIS a few more haters. Deepflow was praised for the good quality of his diss track. Both Don Mills and Nucksal’s diss tracks garnered mostly negative reviews, as they were lacking compared to the two rappers’ usual quality.
As usual, Fans are eager to find a “winner” in this battle. However, since JUSTHIS is asking for a confession that Deepflow is evidently not going to give in a rap battle, the two sides appear to be at cross-purposes.

‘THISISJUSTHIS’ Credits:

Executive Producer: JUSTHIS
Scratch: DJ KENDRICKX
Mixed & mastered by Kaystah at Lighted Theater Studio
Artwork Design: JUSTHIS
Presented by Indigo Music

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Sources: Mnet, Namu Wiki