Nucksal and John Park [YouTube channel 'TEO']
Nucksal and John Park [YouTube channel 'TEO']

Rapper Nucksal has lavished praise on singer John Park's viral "McDonald's rap," saying it was good enough to "outshine 95% of Korean rappers." John Park, for his part, said the glowing reception made him uneasy.

A video titled "John Park's true feelings about the McDonald's rap" was posted Wednesday on the YouTube channel TEO, run by producer Kim Tae-ho's content company.

The clip featured John Park, Nucksal and Stella Jang discussing the rap together.

John Park spoke about the difficulties he faced while creating the piece. He said that because he respects hip-hop, he could not approach it carelessly or treat it as comic material, and he humbly acknowledged that despite giving it his best effort, the final product fell short of the quality he had hoped for.

Nucksal responded with a joke: "John Park should not be allowed to rap — he's too dangerous." Nucksal then referenced an online comment claiming John Park's rap was good enough to "outshine 90% of Korean rappers" and pushed back on it. "That comment is wrong," Nucksal said. "It's 95% he'd take care of."

Singer Stella Jang joined in, citing another comment that said Korean rappers should be grateful John Park appeared on "Superstar K" — a singing talent show — rather than "Show Me the Money," a rap talent show.

John Park said the praise made him uncomfortable. "I feel way too overrated, and that scares me," he said. "When people keep saying I'm good, I don't want to let them down, and I worry that the rappers I really admire might end up thinking less of me."

Nucksal reassured him, saying no rapper thought of him that way, and urged John Park to take his next step as a rapper.

Nucksal advised him to move beyond writing short verses and try completing a full song with a chorus. With a serious expression, Nucksal also asked John Park to collaborate on one of his tracks — a request John Park flatly declined, waving his hands and saying, "I can't do it."


paq@heraldcorp.com