The long-awaited crossover finally happened—20-year-old American YouTuber IShowSpeed (Darren Watkins Jr.) met Chinese singer-songwriter Wowkie Zhang (Da Zhang Wei). The two performed the meme-famous song “Sunshine Rainbow Little White Horse” (阳光彩虹小白马) together. The song first exploded internationally over the lyrics “内内个内” (“nei nei ge nei…”), which were misinterpreted as the N-word due to how it sounded phonetically. Speed’s over-the-top angry reaction turned into an internet moment that sent the song viral worldwide. People found humor in it, since the lyrics are just innocent Chinese words and not a racial slur.
IShowSpeed has been trending in China lately thanks to his unfiltered livestreams across cities like Shanghai, Beijing, and Chongqing. But the highlight was definitely meeting Da Zhang Wei in Changsha. While the streaming platform behind the meetup drew some flak for capitalizing on the moment, there’s no denying the momentous significance. Speed lit up the second he saw Da Zhang Wei whom he’s been wanting to meet. They hugged, performed “Sunshine Rainbow Little White Horse” live, and created what netizens are calling a “dream crossover.” Speed certainly brought chaotic energy as he loudly sang “nei ge nei…” though this time around, when he handed the mic to Da Zhang Wei so he can sing the chorus too, the singer along with other Chinese celebs avoided singing the lyrics.
Anon
Speed was so narrow-minded and self-centered. As if anything that sounds like ‘nigger’ must be a racial slur. Now other people dare not even sing their own language just to please him. If he didn’t make such a big fuss of it, no-one would have even connected “nei ge” to “nigger”.
Coco
I think cultural-appropriation makes for a mutual celebration of the chinese lyrics that the young black man sang.
Bolochip