Real Keith Ape Fans, Please Stand Up

Welcome to Golden Dragon, a newsletter by Eric Diep about Asians in hip-hop and my takes on trending topics in AAPI pop culture. Golden Dragon is a rotation of interviews, reviews, news, critical perspectives, and random blogs about music I recommend.

• Keith Ape’s new mixtape HERE COMES THE PAIN! released this month, and I’m wary of his relevancy.

• Diep Cuts featuring Khantrast, $tupid Young, and Miyachi.

• Send It: Chad Hugo has new music on the way, and MC Jin freestyles about Jay-Z’s anniversary shows.

Where the hell has Keith Ape been?

I’ve been wondering about that since 2018, when I last spoke to him for a profile around the release of his BORN AGAIN EP.  It was the first time I did a story with a translator, as Ape was still learning to speak English fluently.

From 2018 to 2026, Ape’s been relatively quiet. I’m not on the inside track about his whereabouts or what he’s been up to, but publicly, there have been stories about his health. He posted on Instagram that he was terminally ill and had three to six months to live. More recently, he was in legal trouble for smoking cannabis and vaping in music studios in South Korea. He was convicted of violating the Narcotics Control Act and sentenced to 18 months in prison, along with 40 hours of mandatory rehabilitation education.

Ape has been infatuated with rap music from the South. He’s adopted Southern-style flows before. He’s been dubbed the “Korean OG Maco” and creator of “Asian trap,” dated terms in 2026 that described an Asian rapper’s take on fusing trap elements with traditional oriental instruments. Ape’s new mixtape HERE COMES THE PAIN! dropped earlier this month, and saw little to no conversations about it on my timeline. If this were 11 years ago, there would’ve been write-ups on Noisey, Fader, and Complex about rap’s next trap star.

No other South Korean rapper blew up as he did in 2015. This was the same guy who was obsessed with American rap, remixing viral songs like Bobby Shmurda’s “Hot N***a.” But it came with controversy. OG Maco accused him of cultural appropriation, which the song heavily pulls from “U Guessed It.” Maco sent furious tweets about South Koreans stealing his sauce and perpetuating Black stereotypes by featuring cups full of lean and grills in the music video. Any anger towards a cultural misstep or misappropriation eventually cooled off. He and OG Maco reportedly peaced it up when they met at SXSW.

Keith Ape and The Cohort, his crew that consisted of rappers like JayAllDay, Okasian, and Bryan Chase, had kids yelling “IT G MA” and “UNDERWATER SQUAD!” at their shows. He made a significant splash in America after an SXSW debut and his first New York show at S.O.B.’s. The only thing I can recall from that night was how rowdy the place got when he did “IT G MA,” everyone squished together like sardines and rapped the lyrics with their cell phones out. I was definitely on the side, away from the mayhem.

I texted my friend a YouTube link of HERE COMES THE PAIN! because he’s the only other person I know who regularly listens to Keith Ape. “His English is better haha,” he wrote. The tape is aesthetically reminiscent of the early 2000s, evoking memories of playing WWE SmackDown! Here Comes the Pain with RVD, Brock Lesnar, and the like. Sonically, it pays homage to a mixtape era when Gucci Mane and Lil Wayne tapes were tagged “Evil Empire.” I’m pretty sure I have Bird Flu and The Drought Is Over somewhere on a hard drive.

I’ve been sitting with HERE COMES THE PAIN! and tracing the origins of his inspirations. I hear Gucci Mane. I hear Chief Keef. I hear bits of Playboi Carti. Empire mixtapes are not for the weak-hearted. The songs are carefully curated to please people like me who grew up listening to these tapes and for the Carti generation who just want to mosh at shows. I always enjoy how Ape names his tracks; each on HERE COMES THE PAIN! embody the spirit of Atlanta. One directly references the “Aw shit, here we go again!” meme from Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas just for the chronically online folks. The dark, orchestral trap beats work for Keith Ape here, and now I want to hear him over Zaytoven and TM88 production.

Outside of his Korean fans, where did all his American fans go? In 2026, hip-hop remains oversaturated with new music releases. As outlets and freelance budgets continue to dwindle, there isn’t enough bandwidth for editors to take a chance on profiling every underground act. We can barely spotlight guys like Navy Blue and Sideshow, so you can imagine sustaining Keith Ape’s name in the conversation is next to impossible. I didn’t even know he was dropping until I saw a release date on LiFTED Asia.

Is Keith Ape not relevant anymore in America? Around 2015-2017, he had “Gospel” featuring Rich Brian and the late XXXTentacion and “Achoo” with Ski Mask the Slump God. He and Ken Rebel made “Underwater Rebels,” trying to capitalize on his wave of SoundCloud rap and the punk aesthetic. I remember going to shows and hearing “Gospel” damn near everywhere.

At first listen, HERE COMES THE PAIN! could create tension that he’s borrowing a sound to get relevant again. For every song that cosplays Gucci’s marble-mouthed flow or Carti’s yelps, we would rather listen to the source than what Keith Ape has done. But I’m on the side that he’s spotlighting what’s cool in rap, introducing it to South Korean kids so they can dig for the gems on their own. Sure, he’s not reinventing the wheel, but songs like “GO! x1000” and “GET OUTTA MY WAY” nail that high-energy, Limp Bizkit-style circle pits and wall of deaths.

I hate to say that the American audience has moved on from Keith Ape to guys like Destroy Lonely, Ken Carson, Xaviersobased, Lil Moshpit, and even Khantrast. If Keith Ape and The Cohort reunited at Rolling Loud or Head in the Clouds, it would create the necessary moment to get him in the conversation again. If he did an exclusive interview, we could learn about his creative process and his sobriety (I’m available, editors). There are enough curious fans, and it would have a positive impact on his career, getting people who heard “IT G MA” or the remix with A$AP Ferg, Father, Waka Flocka Flame, and Dumbfoundead to pay attention.

I am a lost orca looking for my underwater squad again.

Stream HERE COMES THE PAIN! now.

Khantrast - “Serve”

While the verdict is still out there for song of the summer, Khantrast gets in on Cash Cobain’s sexy drill trend with “Serve.” I could see myself dancing to this.

If you want to see him perform it live, he’s doing a show at Gramercy Theatre in New York City this Thursday. Tickets available here.

$tupid Young f/ Polo G - “Better Dayz”

$tupid Young and Polo G had this one tucked away for a while. Off the deluxe version of Welcome to Cambodia Town, the two pray to God for a life without senseless deaths and gun violence.

Miyachi x Yvng Patra - “Way Up”

Last year, Miyachi released Salaryman Strikes Back on Mass Appeal, reportedly making him the first Japanese American rapper to join the roster. According to a press release, Salaryman Strikes Back is “a bold and satirical album that draws from his experiences navigating both Japanese corporate culture and global hip-hop.”

I’ve always been a fan of Miyachi because of how he blends Japanese and English into his songs. On “Way Up,” he collaborates with Yvng Patra, pulling Patra out of his catastrophic SoundCloud world to deliver some cool flexing bars.

The GOAT Chad Hugo returns. "JUMPUPW!NYA” featuring Tierra Whack and Leikeli47 is coming this week.

In the meantime, I’ll throw it back to that time Hugo told me I should pick up the violin again.

MC Jin drops a freestyle over Jay-Z’s “Song Cry” about missing his back-to-back-to-back shows at Yankee Stadium. Shout out to the homie Bryson “Boom” Paul for sharing this in the group chat. Who can relate 😭