Don Malik

Deepflow - DazeAllLie (cover art)

Deepflow once again reacts to Don Malik with diss track ‘DazeAllLie’

In the relentless diss battle between Don Malik and Deepflow, the boss of VMC has uploaded another diss track, titled ‘DazeAllLie’.

As lesser known rappers (the most prominent of them being Kor Kash) are already trying to get a free ride on this diss battle by targeting Don Malik, Deepflow has responded to Don Malik‘s latest diss track ‘Deep talk‘.

This time around, the track produced by VMC’s VEN is titled ‘DazeAllLie’ and, as expected, targets not only Don Malik but his entire label daze alive. Its members are, besides Don Malik, rappers Jerry.k, SLEEQ, and singer Rico.
Deepflow beings his verse with responding, not answering, to the last lines of Don Malik’s verse:

“What, answer? I’ll just hit you with rap and hang you from a bridge
That bridge is Yanghwa and you’ll never awake from that nightmare
People close to me all stop me, saying ‘Why unnecessarily waste your energy?’
I don’t care, f*cking DAZEALIVE, Megal fam.”

“Megal” is short for “Megalia,” a Korean “feminist” website that was rather controversial. The word “megal” is now used in lieu of “misandrist” in order to insult feminists. daze alive’s members, especially SLEEQ and Jerry.k, are known for being feminists. SLEEQ left a great impression as she proclaimed “I’m hella feminist” on Mic Swagger before.
Deepflow goes on to diss Jerry.k, daze alive’s CEO, by inviting Don Malik:

“Hang out with me, I’ve taught you better than your CEO”

In his first diss track, Deepflow dissed Don Malik about getting his first tattoo on his throat, to which the latter responded with “My first tattoo is on my back, my name and a crown / I’ve never showed my back to you so you can’t see it.” This was meant in reference to the idea of “never showing one’s back to the enemy.” Deepflow tackles this with the following:

“Sorry, unlike you I don’t lean that way, I don’t want to see your back”

Interesting is also this line in which Deepflow addresses Don Malik’s request for an answer to why VMC, according to Malik, “went back on their word:”

“If you want an explanation, just conduct a hearing or something”

Deepflow also lets us know that he apparently knows the name of the person Don Malik censored in ‘old Wave‘. Malik mentioned in his interview with HiphopLE that his feelings of anger and disappointment toward that person had disappeared which is why he censored their name.

“I know the person whose name you hid behind a beep
Malik was afraid he wouldn’t be able to release his album without that person
People might not know this but you’re gifted at marketing
Like your CEO’s real intention you’re aiming for the Blue Ocean”

In the last line, the veteran rapper is referring to the marketing strategy “Blue Ocean Strategy,” once again accusing Don Malik, and Jerry.k, of noise marketing. The image Deepflow used for this track is a screenshot of Don Malik’s interview with HiphopLE whose caption reads: “Yes, it was noise marketing.”  This was Don Malik joking about the idea, he then added: “No, I’ve actually risked too much [with the diss track] for this to just be noise marketing. I’d never risk my life [as an artist] for marketing one mere single. I simply wanted to wrap up those feelings inside of me as soon as possible. That’s why I released the diss track.”
Deepflow ends his verse with this:

“Finishing off a twelve years younger guy equals exactly the snacks for drinks”

In other words: “winning the diss battle against you was a piece of cake.”

 

Reactions

Korean fans are still thrilled, fully enjoying the exchange between these two rappers. The opinions range from “As expected from God Sanggoo [Deepflow],” “He destroyed him [Don Malik],” to “This was weak but I enjoyed it.”
The attention is on the two rappers and their labels as the battle is getting bigger. “I wonder if someone will respond again?” asks one curious fan.

Don Malik - Deep talk (cover art)

Don Malik responds to Deepflow with ‘Deep talk’ in ongoing diss battle

After Deepflow reacted to Don Malik’s diss track yesterday, Don Malik released ‘Deep talk’ in response to it just a few hours ago.

The whole battle started with Don Malik‘s track ‘old Wave‘ in which he dissed several rappers. He explained in an interview with HiphopLE, which was published today, that he had been a fan of everyone he dissed. However, those individuals disappointed him as he felt they were going back on their words. Yesterday, Deepflow of VMC, who Don Malik dissed in his track, reacted with the song ‘신관예우(新官禮遇)‘ which roughly means “treating newcomers with respect.”

The battle between this young rapper and the veteran is unfolding further as Don Malik has now released another track titled ‘Deep talk‘. It was, just like his previous track, produced by Cloudy Beats. Don Malik once again makes his point very clear starting with the image he used to represent this track. It is a screenshot of part of an interview in which Deepflow talks about Show Me The Money. Here are some important parts of it:

“[Deepflow:] ‘Participating on SMTM and thus earning more money than before does not mean one is a successful hiphop artist. We have to prove to the newcomers that they can do well like us even if they do not participate in auditions […]'”

“In fact, Deepflow has been asked to appear on the program [SMTM] several times. However, Deepflow and his label VMC made it clear that they will not go along with the trend.
[Deepflow:] ‘If all of this is entertainment, if you think that in this small rap game entertainment exists, then what we have to do is obviously to boycott it [SMTM]. Not out of a sense of duty or anything, but the honest answer really just has to be to deliberately boycott it and take the opposite stance.'”

Don Malik starts off his verse, which is quite long this time around, responding to Deepflow’s line of “You dare use the word ‘underground’? I’m its synonym.”

“The self-proclaimed synonym for underground appeared on Unpretty and took up the mic to judge celebrities
Let me ask you one thing Manse, that probably means
that it was you who sold out the entire underground [scene], huh?”

“I didn’t deny history, it’s a fact that you’re a traitor”

He also responds to Deepflow mentioning that he invested 10 mil in QM’s album while Malik supposedly took an equal amount for his featuring on the very same album:

“Paying someone [for their work] and getting paid [for one’s work] are the basics
After I learned about his situation, I got 30[0,000] and wrote a killing verse
He [QM] thanked me for doing it [with so much effort] as if it was my own [track].
I share my pay with my colleagues”

Deepflow mocked Don Malik for getting his first tattoo on the throat to which Don Malik says:

“My first tattoo is on my back, my name and a crown
I’ve never showed my back to you so you can’t see it”

Here, he is referring to the saying of ‘never showing one’s back to the enemy’. Since Deepflow also mocked the younger rapper for not having any rhymes in his verse on ‘old Wave’, Don Malik not only added great rhymes this time around, he also spits:

“All of your rhymes had no effect on me at all”

As a veteran who is older than most of his fellow rapper colleagues, Deepflow played the “I’ve got more experience” card in his verse, which Malik counters like this:

“The things that “Shh! Shh!” nobody can tell to your huge build,
I told them to you, be grateful, deep[ly]”

Don Malik also doesn’t forget to put in some witty wordplay, below with the word “대장” (daejang) which can mean both “boss” and “fat:”

“It must have been urgent, the boss stepped forward right away
With just a few words the fat on your stomach will come out”

“More important than your appearing on shows is your attitude
That heavy body very easily
turns around, like turning one’s hand, Doraemon’s helicopter
Even when the beat to ‘Cut Cut Cut‘ plays, people sing along to Nucksal and Huck P‘s verses
Even though he appeared on SMTM, Ja Mezz is still cool
I’ve asked my questions, where did you put your answers?
Let me tell you what this is, this is a dongsaeng talking about the hyungs’ pathetic actions
If talking nonsense even in a diss track makes you happy, well,
it’s your life
But if having been doing this for a long time is something to brag about, Outsider, Baechigi, next up Deep is back
If you’ve seen my interview with LE you’ll know, cause that was so simple that even you can understand
To the lyrics I wrote because I was so full of rage you responded with nothing but illusions from your head
Was I supposed to do nothing about racism? I see, the 10-year deep f*ck is so naive and nice”

“Spitting conscious rap to old idiots
is like singing psalms to a dead horse, I learned this
a few days ago so this here is just a verse for the sake of the battle”

Reactions

The latest reactions from Korean fans were ecstatic, there was not a single negative thing said about this new track: “I didn’t think he was going to reply but this is dope,” “Within just two days, Don Malik’s coolness has risen by 400%,” “I really like his energy,” “The lyrics are so good,” “Aside from who’s right or wrong, my ears are enjoying this a lot,” “I’ve got goose bumps.”
Several fans also mentioned that they like the diss culture in rap as it allows for a situation like this where a young rapper can tell off the hyung: “Listening to Don Malik’s rap was cathartic.”

Deepflow - 신관예우 (cover art)

Deepflow responds to Don Malik’s diss with “respect” (신관예우)

With ‘신관예우(新官禮遇)’, VMC’s boss Deepflow has responded to Don Malik‘s diss track ‘old Wave’ which targeted his label, amongst others.

Deepflow is known as the “godfather of Korean hiphop.” He gave his solo debut in 2003 and released his first solo album in 2007. He participated in over 50 albums of fellow artists, which accumulates to over 100 songs plus over 80 of his own. The veteran rapper has been a member of the groups BASTARDZ (with Bizniz and New Champ) and Blazers (with Mild Beatz).
Furthermore, he is the leader of the label Vismajor Company (VMC) which rappers like Nucksal, Don Mills, and ODEE belong to. In 2015, Deepflow released the full-length album ‘Yanghwa‘ which fans soon considered one of the best albums of Korean hiphop.

Yesterday, rapper Don Malik revealed the song ‘old Wave’ via SoundCloud, in which he dissed VMC and directly targeted Deepflow by including a snippet of Deepflow’s song ‘Lookin’ Good‘, which is about hiphop being Deepflow’s one and only calling and in which he disses “mainstream” rappers.

A few hours ago, at the early dawn in South Korea, Deepflow has uploaded the BUGGY-produced track ‘신관예우(新官禮遇)‘ in which he responds to Don Malik’s diss. The title roughly translates to “treating newcomers with respect,” and the image used as cover art already says it all: “So you’ve had a death wish…”
Deepflow starts his verse off like this:

“This is me treating newcomers respectfully but actually I’m not going to lose [on purpose].
A caterpillar dares to flaunt its feelers pretending to be a butterfly?!”

As expected, the veteran uses his years of experience against Don Malik who debuted only in 2014, eleven years later than Deepflow.

“The bravado of a twenty-year-old, that’s nice to see, well, [so] I applauded you first
However, after hearing your rap, uhm, I sighed
You paid to learn rap but there are no rhymes in it, is your teacher to blame?
Or did you think about something else during class?”

“Actually, I just want to do the stuff you hate, bitch
I want to use the words ‘motherfucker’ and ‘fucking bitch’ in my rap bitch”

“‘underground’, you can’t use this word
I invested ten mil in QM‘s ‘WAS‘ album
and you got paid ten mil for featuring on QM’s track
I don’t remember living under the same roof as you”

Deepflow references QM’s first full-length album ‘WAS’ which he apparently invested in. Before, he also helped crowdfund QM’s mini album ‘Eyez in the Drawer‘. Don Malik featured on the song ‘CREAM’ off the ‘WAS’ LP.
The last line above references Don Malik’s ‘old Wave’ lyrics where he rapped: “Thinking we once lived under the same roof makes me want to throw up”
Deepflow continues:

“I don’t even know your real name”

“Because of your poor slang you got sent back from the US airport
and immediately used that as marketing, is that being true ‘underground’?
You dare use the word ‘underground’?
I’m its synonym. Think about who you’re making enemies with
Me taking time to do this is the underground way of respectful treatment
If you grow up I’ll consider giving you my autograph, really
Come my way”

Here, the rapper refers to the incident at San Francisco Airport where Don Malik and several other STONESHIP artists en route to SXSW were denied entry and sent back to Korea. In the following, the agency started a Campaign Against Racism for which Don Malik released the single ‘Yellow‘.

Korean fans were ecstatic about Deepflow’s quick response, reacting mostly like: “As expected from Deepflow,” “So dope,” or “This is the response of an adult!” However, some also supported Don Malik: “Don Malik did better” and “I’m a fan of Deepflow’s but Don Malik made more sense.”

While most are enjoying this development and are looking forward to more, a minority is wishing for peace and quiet: “This scene is so small, what will they do when they run into each other at events? I do hope they stop fighting and get along.”

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