On March 22, a post written by a Korean netizen on Pann circulated online after criticizing the rappers under SM Entertainment.
The netizen wrote, "To be honest, there is no good rapper from SM aside from NCT. But why are they obsessed with raps to their songs? Red Velvet and EXO are like that."
The netizen also added, "I am not hating, but even if it is a good song, I can't listen to the song anymore because I don't like the rap part."
In response to this, K-pop fans, especially SM stans and other Korean netizens, had honest and divided opinion about this post, noting that this is a whole agency that the original poster is targeting.
Some netizens commented that SM Entertainment's rap line is fine, saying, "Red Velvet and EXO's rap parts are not that long, so it's tolerable, right? If the rap is not there, the song will feel empty."
"I cringe from time to time, but even so, it feels livelier when it has the rap in it. Also, the rappers from Red Velvet and EXO are working hard, so please don't hate on them. They are doing good!" A netizen wrote.
Meanwhile, some of the K-netizens who criticized the rapper from SM talked about EXO's Chanyeol and Sehun, who debuted as a duo through EXO-SC in 2019. Netizens expressed that the two unit members' raps are just fine, but the netizen said, "I can't really listen to their duet though both of them are my biases."
In addition to this, a netizen also alleged that Chanyeol is terrible with all his raps in their songs "Tempo," "Love Shot," and "Obsession."
Another netizen thinks that the rapper was chosen by SM Entertainment because he can't sing, so he raps instead, but his solo releases and live performances say otherwise.
"There are a lot of comments saying the song is livelier because of the song, but it is not it. Some songs just break up as soon as the rap comes out. [...] people rap because they can't sing, but they can't rap as well," the online user said.
However, this controversy has been a scalding hot topic for years now, wherein netizens claimed that SM has indeed been not good in having rappers, aside from NCT.
But, as time goes by, SM Entertainment especially their rappers including, NCT's Taeyong, Mark and Jaemin, SNSD's Hyoyeon, TVXQ's Yunho, EXO's Chanyeol and Sehun, Red Velvet's Irene and Yeri, Super Junior's Eunhyuk, SHINee's Minho & Key, and many more have established a good rapping reputation over three generations of Korean pop, contrary the post itself.
Furthermore, K-pop fans were also taking the sides of their idols against the criticism, saying that SM rappers were not only good at rapping but they are also good in singing and dancing, which is a quality that not every idol has.
Nevertheless, K-netizens are claiming that the post is an open message, also to other K-pop idols, that there is still a room for improvements and fans and idols should take this as a good criticism.
