Lil Pump angers China with racially offensive song

US rapper Lil Pump has triggered an uproar in China after posting a video of a song containing racially offensive lyrics and a squinty-eye gesture, inspiring Chinese rap artists to fire back with "diss tracks."

The 18-year-old Colombian-American rapper, whose real name is Gazzy Garcia, posted the song on his Instagram account on Monday, drawing more than 4 million views and a slew of angry comments, many written in Chinese.

While pulling the corner of his eyes, Lil Pump mentioned China's retired NBA legend Yao Ming and used a racial slur that mocks the way Chinese people talk: "They call me Yao Ming 'cause my eyes real low (Ching Chong)."

The song, "Butterfly Doors," prompted Chinese rapper Li Yijie — whose stage name is Pissy — to hit back with a diss track.

Pissy, of Sichuan hip-hop group CD Rev — or Chengdu Revolution — told AFP he had "to take action if he humiliated me, a Chinese citizen, in a rapper's way that we both understand."

The hashtag "CD Rev's official fightback" was one of the hottest topics on China's Twitter-alike Weibo and was viewed more than 440,000 times.

"(The Chinese) hip-hop scene wants to give a voice to the public on international news. Rap is our weapon to protect ourselves or to fight," Pissy told AFP.

Tommy Sire, a 29-year-old rapper living in Shanghai, said he thinks Lil Pump rapped such words due to "ignorance" but the counterattacks from Chinese artists could play a positive role in China's hip-hop circle.

"I think it's a good thing for a Chinese rapper to come out and diss back in the hip-hop culture, because this can allow American hip-hop enthusiasts to know that China has such a culture," Sire, whose real name is Geng Tao, told AFP.