# CD Rev

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{{Short description|Chinese government-sponsored gangsta rap group}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name            = CD Rev
| image           =
| image_size      =
| image_upright   =
| landscape       = <!-- yes, if wide image, otherwise leave blank -->
| alt             =
| caption         =
| alias           = Chengdu Revolution
| origin          = [Chengdu](/source/Chengdu), [Sichuan](/source/Sichuan), China
| genre           =
| years_active    = {{start date|2016}}–present
| label           =
| associated_acts =
| current_members = Wang "Chuckie" Zixin (王梓鑫)<br /> Li "Pissy" Yijie (李毅傑)<br /> Tan "N.O.G." Yunwen (譚鈞文)<br /> Luo "Roy" Jinhui (羅錦輝)
| past_members    =
| module          =
| module2         =
| module3         = 
}}

'''CD Rev''', also known as '''Chengdu Revolution'''<ref name="gao">{{cite magazine |last=Gao |first=George |date=8 March 2017 |title=Why Is China So ... Uncool? |url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2017/03/08/why-is-china-so-uncool-soft-power-beijing-censorship-generation-gap/ |magazine=[Foreign Policy](/source/Foreign_Policy) |access-date=10 October 2017 }}</ref> or '''天府事变''' (tiān fǔ shìbiàn), is a [Chinese Communist Party](/source/Chinese_Communist_Party)-sponsored [gangsta rap](/source/gangsta_rap) group<ref name="guardian">{{cite news |last=Phillips  |first=Tom |date=30 June 2016 |title=Chinese officials hire gangsta rappers to boost China's image abroad |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jun/30/chinese-officials-hire-gangsta-rappers-to-boost-chinas-image-abroad |work=[The Guardian](/source/The_Guardian) |location=[Beijing](/source/Beijing) |access-date=10 October 2017}}</ref> whose [nationalist](/source/Chinese_nationalism)-themed music has been described in [the West](/source/Western_world) as [propaganda](/source/Propaganda_in_China).<ref name="beech">{{cite magazine |last=Beech |first=Hannah |date=30 June 2016 |title=This Chinese Propaganda Rap Is the Most Painful Song Ever Recorded |url=https://time.com/4388991/china-rap-propaganda-cd-rev/ |magazine=[Time](/source/Time_(magazine)) |location=[Shanghai](/source/Shanghai) |access-date=10 October 2017}}</ref><ref name="hernandez">{{cite news |last=Hernández |first=Javier C. |date=31 December 2016 |title=Propaganda With a Millennial Twist Pops Up in China |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/31/world/asia/china-propaganda-communist-party-millennials.html |work=[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times) |location=Beijing |access-date=10 October 2017}}</ref><ref name="linder">{{cite web |url=http://shanghaiist.com/2016/06/30/this_is_china_rap.php |title=WATCH: Godawful propaganda rap song attempts to spit the truth about China to foreigners |last=Linder |first=Alex |date=30 June 2016 |website=[Shanghaiist](/source/Shanghaiist) |publisher=[Gothamist](/source/Gothamist) |access-date=10 October 2017}}</ref> The group's [music video](/source/music_video)s have been viewed online millions of times partly due to the support of [state media](/source/state_media) in China<ref name=hernandez/> and widely discussed in Western media.

==Background==
CD Rev's four members—Wang "Chuckie" Zixin, Li "Pissy" Yijie, Tan "N.O.G." Yunwen, and Luo "Roy" Jinhui—are from the south-western Chinese city of [Chengdu](/source/Chengdu),<ref name=guardian/> a city with an emergent American-style [rap music](/source/Hip_hop_music) scene.<ref name="huff">{{cite web |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/chinese-rappers-hip-hop_us_55ca6009e4b0923c12be783e |title=Meet The Chinese Rappers Bringing Hip-Hop To The Middle Kingdom |last=Sheehan |first=Matt |date=11 August 2015 |website=[HuffPost](/source/HuffPost) |access-date=10 October 2017}}</ref> The group claims to have been formed on 1 October 2015, the anniversary [date of the foundation](/source/National_Day_of_the_People's_Republic_of_China) of the [People's Republic of China](/source/People's_Republic_of_China).<ref name=guardian/> The group is one of a number of nationalistic media projects sponsored by the technology entrepreneur [Rao Jin](/source/Rao_Jin); other endeavours include the website [April Media](/source/April_Media) which produces Chinese-themed talks in the style of [TED](/source/TED_(conference)).<ref name=hernandez/>

The group claims to draw inspiration from American hip-hop artists such as [Eminem](/source/Eminem) and [Dr. Dre](/source/Dr._Dre),<ref name="mullany">{{cite news |last=Mullany |first=Gerry |date=12 May 2017 |title=Chinese Rappers Take Aim at American Antimissile System in South Korea |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/12/world/asia/china-south-korea-thaad-rap-video.html |work=The New York Times |location=[Hong Kong](/source/Hong_Kong) |access-date=10 October 2017 }}</ref> though their lyrics express "more affection for law enforcement than is customary for gangsta rappers".<ref name=guardian/> The band's members believe that CD Rev's music is a modernization of traditional Chinese patriotic education.<ref name=hernandez/><ref>See also: [The Patriotic Education Campaign](/source/The_Patriotic_Education_Campaign)</ref>

==Music==
CD Rev have released a number of singles, frequently accompanied by music videos, on topics ranging from [China's disputed territorial claims in the South China Sea](/source/nine-dash_line) to the legacy of [Mao Zedong](/source/Mao_Zedong).<ref name=mullany/>

The group's first single, "The Force of Red", appeared in January 2016. The song, performed in [English](/source/English_language), espouses pro-[One China](/source/One-China_policy) sentiments and attacks Taiwan president [Tsai Ing-wen](/source/Tsai_Ing-wen),<ref name=guardian/> describes Western journalists as "media punk ass white trash fuckers",<ref name="buzzfeed">{{cite web |url=https://www.buzzfeed.com/beimengfu/red-rap |title=This Chinese Propaganda Video Is Absolutely Everything |last=Fu |first=Beimeng |date=1 July 2016 |website=[BuzzFeed](/source/BuzzFeed) |access-date=10 October 2017}}</ref> and declares that "the red king's coming back".<ref name=beech/> Group member Wang Zixin later called these lyrics "a little extreme".<ref name=mullany/>

In June 2016, CD Rev released a single sponsored by the [Communist Youth League](/source/Communist_Youth_League_of_China), a government-backed Communist youth movement. The song, called "This is China", was also performed in English,<ref name=guardian/> as it was aimed at Westerners with the intent of changing their perceptions of China.<ref name=mullany/><ref name=beech/> The song's lyrics trumpet Chinese achievements such as the work of [Nobel Prize](/source/Nobel_Prize)-winning chemist [Tu Youyou](/source/Tu_Youyou) and the ancient philosopher [Confucius](/source/Confucius).<ref name=gao/><ref name=hernandez/> "This is China" acknowledges many of China's problems, including [air pollution](/source/Pollution_in_China) and [political corruption](/source/Corruption_in_China)<ref name=guardian/><ref name=linder/> but also suggests that these problems have been exaggerated by foreign media.<ref name=guardian/><ref name=buzzfeed/> The song was characterized as "cringe-worthy"<ref name=gao/> and "wooden".<ref name=beech/> Social media users noted that the music video for "This is China" was very similar to an earlier video from [South Korea](/source/South_Korea)n rapper [San E](/source/San_E),<ref name=buzzfeed/> and the video has since been removed due to copyright claims from San E's production company, [Brand New Music](/source/Brand_New_Music).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9ug6hehTyY|title=- YouTube|website=www.youtube.com}}</ref>

CD Rev released the song "No THAAD" in May 2017, again sponsored by the Communist Youth League. Performed in a mixture of English and [Chinese](/source/Chinese_language), "No THAAD" criticizes the South Korean government of [Park Geun-hye](/source/Park_Geun-hye) for authorizing the installation of the American [THAAD](/source/THAAD) missile defense system, which the Chinese government had objected to.<ref name=mullany/><ref name="SCMP">{{cite news |last=Zhen |first=Liu |date=18 May 2017 |title=THAAD? No thanks, say officially sanctioned Chinese rappers |url=https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/2094747/thaad-no-thanks-say-officially-sanctioned-chinese-rappers |work=[South China Morning Post](/source/South_China_Morning_Post) |access-date=10 October 2017}}</ref> The song's lyrics refer to South Korea as China's "little brother" and warn that "[the] things you're doing now are gonna rip you apart".<ref name=SCMP/>

In December 2018, CD Rev released "F*** Lil Pump", a [diss track](/source/Diss_(music)) against American rapper [Lil Pump](/source/Lil_Pump). That month, Lil Pump had previewed [Butterfly Doors](/source/Butterfly_Doors), a song containing anti-Asian lyrics such as "[ching chong](/source/ching_chong)" and "they call me [Yao Ming](/source/Yao_Ming) cause my [eyes real low](/source/epicanthic_fold)".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/2178577/chinese-rappers-hit-back-lil-pumps-racial-slurs-amid-backlash|title=Chinese rappers hit back at Lil Pump's racial slurs amid backlash|date=December 18, 2018|website=South China Morning Post|access-date=December 18, 2018|archive-date=November 12, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112011040/https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/2178577/chinese-rappers-hit-back-lil-pumps-racial-slurs-amid-backlash|url-status=live}}</ref>

On 15 April 2020, CD Rev released a single named “Mr. Virus”, sponsored by the Communist Youth League.

The content of the song includes:

# Expressing support for [Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus](/source/Tedros_Adhanom_Ghebreyesus), who is the Director-General of the [World Health Organization](/source/World_Health_Organization).
# Laughing and insulting Taiwan.
# Laughing at Western politicians and the media.

These three points are also the most important propaganda views of the [Chinese Communist Party](/source/Chinese_Communist_Party) after the [COVID-19 pandemic](/source/COVID-19_pandemic){{Citation needed|date=March 2025}}. CD Rev sang the propaganda views of the Chinese Communist Party in the form of hip-hop rap. [People's Daily](/source/People's_Daily), [Ziguang Pavilion](/source/Ziguang_Pavilion), and the Communist Youth League jointly praised the song.<ref>{{Cite web|title=人民日报、紫光阁、共青团联合点名了这首说唱！ {{!}} 嘻哈中国|url=https://www.xihachina.com/47372.html|url-status=live|access-date=2021-04-26|website=www.xihachina.com|language=zh|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220218185044/https://www.xihachina.com/47372.html |archive-date=2022-02-18 }}</ref>

==See also==
{{portal|China}}
* [Chinese hip hop](/source/Chinese_hip_hop) 
* [Revolutionary opera](/source/Revolutionary_opera)
* [Propaganda in the People's Republic of China](/source/Propaganda_in_the_People's_Republic_of_China)

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
* {{YouTube|9p0nQdvHOOo|Chinese rappers say "No" to THAAD}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Gangsta rap groups
Category:Chinese hip-hop
Category:Chinese propaganda organisations

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [CD Rev](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CD_Rev) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CD_Rev?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.