Indian-Japanese rapper Big Deal and Gnie from Mizoram have teamed up for a song that addresses racism they have faced.
The track titled “I’m a Chinkey” is the second single by Big Deal from his upcoming debut album.
Big Deal, whose real name is Samir Mohanty, has faced many moments where his nationality was questioned. Hence, the song “I’m A Chinkey” is personal to him.
“I’ve been called this word my entire life…in small towns and in big cities by strangers and by friends. I’ve been quiet about it and I’ve had fights about it. Finally, I’ve embraced it and I’m about to tell you our story by flipping the same word that demeans us into empowering us. This is for the entire Asian community around the world,” he said.
G’nie aka Zonunmawia Fanai also shared about working on the track and the emotion behind it: “Rapper Big Deal and me have been great friends from the time we were in Bengaluru together and both of us have gone through racism first-hand to be talking about it in this song.”
“When Big Deal approached me to do the song, it only felt right and natural. A collaboration between us was pending for a while and the fans were asking for it too, so, we had to do it for them,” he added.