MDA Rap and all the Flak

This is the infamous rap from the top brass at the Media Development Authority (MDA).

This has drawn a lot of flak since it's release a few days ago. Comments like 'they are so stiff', 'they shouldn't be in suits', 'pretending to be hip', 'humiliating' etc have been made by netizens and articles in the press.

But my question is, why be so hard on them? They aren't professional rappers. What do you expect? I think it's already quite brave for them to attempt to do something like that. I bet it's the first time most of them are actually rapping. So are the critics expecting them to rap like Snoop Dogg or Eminem?

It's true that the title of the rap 'MDA Senior Management Rap' is a bit of a put-off, and the lyrics are also pretty awkward, because they try to squeeze so many words into each line, but I think it's overall a very commendable effort. The message that the MDA is forward looking and creative is more effectively conveyed through a rap rather than via a standard, boring speech.

If you think that rapping is only reserved for the 'young and cool' and it's so 'high-brow' that it's only open to a select group who 'knows how to do it', I think that's rather unfair. We have seen memorable and funny moments where politicians such as former Russian President Boris Yeltsin and ex-Japanese PM Junichiro Koizumi letting their hair down and dancing. So are we going to criticize them if their dance moves are inelegant ?

It boils down to the fact that people enjoy rebelling against authority. People have this mentality, that the more you tell them not to do something, the more they want to do it. Parents, teachers, the government and the law are all figures of authority who set rules and tell you what not to do. So people like to rebel against such figures. And the MDA is the authority who sets the policy for the local media, regulates media content, and tells us what we can and cannot watch. No wonder some disgruntled media players enjoy poking fun at them for their rap.