Skip to main content

Yumdda criticised for his judging on 'Show Me The Money 10' - Summary & Reactions

  • Posts, videos and comments about Yumdda have flooded online Korean hip-hop communities over his "questionable" judging of 'Show Me The Money 10' contestants after he chose 13-year-old green rapper Song Minyeong over experienced and skilful rappers such as Kitsyojii, PULLIK and even San E to join his team
  • Growing frustration among avid 'Show Me The Money' viewers are doubting if Yumdda is qualified for his position as a producer on the show, criticising his disrespectful attitude towards contestants as well as his contradictory words and actions in preceding episodes


-----


"A summary on SMTM 10 Yumdda's judging controversy"

Video by 홀릭

Full video transcribed:

Yumdda has been at the centre of controversy on the internet due to his attitude as a producer towards 'SMTM 10' contestants and his method of judging on the show.

Firstly, it is regarding his attitude towards 'SMTM 10' contestants. In Round 1, he made comments that would offend many contestants. "I don't like it," "boring," "I can't understand what you are saying so how am I supposed to assess you?" etc. (Note: He almost always spoke informally to the contestants)

Even in The Quiett's case, he would always maintain basic courtesy during his notorious 3-second cut judging and would always finish with "thank you for the hard work." Or, in the case of the widely-respected Korean hip-hop artists Tiger JK and Verbal Jint, they've always remained respectful towards contestants as producers of respective seasons.

Many have criticised Yumdda, saying that he should've kept a basic level of respect towards the contestants who came down to have their rap judged, even if he were a lighthearted do-whatever-I-want type of person.

Yumdda once said that he wasn't "fond of playing around when it comes to music," but his actions in Round 1 have proved contradictory. His behaviour continues even in Round 2.

Unlike his fellow producers who constantly gave constructive feedback to contestants by pointing out what was good, what was lacking, what should be improved in their rap...

... Yumdda maintained a frivolous attitude in his judging. He was seen throwing snide remarks to contestants, who could feel offended as a result. And for San E, he gave absolutely no feedback, just "it was completely boring, it was so-so."

He even asked Ja Mezz why he decided to participate in 'SMTM 10' again "after profiting much from the show."

Also, there's the Choi Sanghyeon PASS incident.

In Round 2, Contestant Choi Sanghyeon failed to get his lyrics right for over 30 seconds and showed the producers absolutely no stage manners with his remarks: "So damn embarrassing, f*** this is embarrassing! Please stop the beat, f***."

Yumdda and Toil claimed that they accidentally allowed Choi Sanghyeon to pass the round because they were both deep in discussion when 60 seconds was up and they both missed the timing to press the FAIL button along with the rest of the producer teams. They were excited to hear the hip-hop style they preferred, and couldn't press the button in time.

Perhaps, it was an honest one-time mistake that could really happen.

However, in Choi Sanghyeon's 1:1 Battle with Northfacegawd in Round 3 - Yumdda was seen getting excited when Choi Sanghyeon appeared to perform very well, proudly showing off that he was the producer who "picked" this contestant.


Thus, many have expressed displeasure with Yumdda's actions.

Also, Team Yumdda X Toil was the only producer team that had allowed Song Minyeong, a contestant who anyone could tell was inexperienced and lacking in the basics due to his young age, to pass Round 2.

Yumdda said that he "invested in (Song Minyeong's) potential."

It is a bit ironic when Yumdda chose to press the FAIL button on Ja Mezz who received high praise from the other producer teams, but he gave a PASS to Song Minyeong who received 3 FAIL from the other producers.

Finally, Yumdda's words regarding Koonta in 'SMTM 10'.

Opinions regarding his words were divided, with one side being "Yumdda truly cherishes Koonta, that's why he said all of that," and the other side being "if Yumdda never said those words, Koonta might have a much better image right now." Koonta then dropped a legendary performance in that episode, and afterwards, there's no denying Yumdda had brought down the mood with his tears. Perhaps if Yumdda had advised Koonta with a smile on his face and did not get angry, Mnet would have edited Koonta's part to give people the impression that he's a 'playful older brother who has a foolish side to him, but raps very well,' no?

Strictly speaking, 'Show Me The Money' is a 'hip-hop variety' programme. It's not like every single scene in the programme will be serious, and it's not like every single contestant will be judged with 100% seriousness. However, Yumdda's actions had clearly raised more eyebrows than they delivered laughter, and I think that is why he is currently deep in controversy.


-----


"Yumdda is in trouble"

Video by 세상에하고싶은말들TV

An excerpt from this video for Episode 5 content:

... However, he is currently in controversy for his judging on 'Show Me The Money 10'.

"Lil kid, come out!"
"Me...?"

That was how he picked the lil kid Song Minyeong as the very first person to join his team.

But you may ask why is that an issue? Isn't it the freedom of the producer to choose whoever he wants to come to his team? What's important is: San E, Basick and Koonta were standing before him, but he picked Song Minyeong first. He did pick Basick and Koonta later but did not choose San E in the end.

Now, he explained the reason why he chose the lil kid.

"When we asked him (if he applied for 'Show Me The Money') because he wanted to become a rapper or if he just loved hip-hop music, and he replied that he's just doing it his way, and I really liked that. You have to approach music like that. It's best to do it entertainingly." - Yumdda

Of course, one may think in that way. But, Yumdda shouldn't be saying that. 

Because he said so himself that he wasn't "fond of playing around when it comes to music." He said that,  and then chose a contestant who is making music for fun. That's contradictory.

So, that lil kid must be extremely good at rapping then? Nope. My standard of being "good at rapping" is that you'd still think the rapper is really good when compared to an actual professional rapper.

And now I find out that the person who gave Song Minyeong a PASS in Round 1 was also Yumdda, and he also survived Round 2 after all producers except for Team Yumdda X Toil gave him a PASS. There's no way we can tell what is his criteria when judging contestants.

(Note: Omitted middle due to overlapping content with above)

Due to his baffling judging methods, it is said that Yumdda's image is currently diving to rock bottom. There are growing dislikes on his latest YouTube videos, and an exploding amount of hate comments.


-----


"Proof that Yumdda used the Producer Pass on the James An vs Song Minyeong 1:1 Battle"

Via DC Gallery Hip-hop community

(Note: Theory, take it with a pinch of salt)

This was when the episode showed the producers pressing the Producer Pass during Since VS Hwang Jisang's match. Indeed, that was Yumdda's hand.

However, Gaeko was the one who raised his mic and yelled "Let's go~~~", followed by Code Kunst bashing on the Producer Pass button. The two were the most excited producers at the time.

In this episode, there was absolutely no verbal or visual mention that Yumdda used their Producer Pass during the SINCE vs Hwang Jisang 1:1 Battle. I suppose Gaeko X Code Kunst had used the Producer Pass two times, and then Yumdda used theirs on James An vs Song Minyeong.

However, once Episode 3 aired on TV, the public sentiment of Yumdda was rock bottom and at the same time, the innocent Song Minyeong was also getting cursed at. Perhaps the situation would have blown up bigger if Mnet revealed that Yumdda used the Producer Pass for James An vs Song Minyeong, so they cut out that battle entirely and edited the episode vaguely.


-----


Reactions

"Too many people aren't getting the exact reason why Yumdda is getting criticised right now" [+21]

via HIPHOPLE

It is true that 'Show Me The Money' isn't a sports tournament and therefore there is no need to only pick from the top 3 most skilled rappers in the show. However, that is a topic for when the contestants are of a certain level of skill. Fact is, right now Yumdda is the person pushing up the lil kid when he possesses skills that wouldn't leave you shocked if he was eliminated in Round 1.

So, did Yumdda help us to understand the reason why he chose to push for this amateur lil kid or explain to us what he foresees with his current team? Not at all.

At least Zion.T convinced us viewers about why, out of so many rappers, he chose A-Chess in the 2nd Casting during the Team Matching. He shared what he wanted to do with A-Chess. And that's why he isn't getting criticised right now.

On the other hand, Yumdda was going to choose a desperate contestant but he chose the lil kid instead of San E who was given up by not just the general public but the Korean hip-hop scene too. And that's why he couldn't convince viewers.

It's not just simply "this rapper and that rapper is so much better, so why did he pick the lil kid?" It's because in the time Yumdda spent to bring this lil kid up the rounds, he didn't try to convince the viewers at all. Not even at the very last moment during the Team Selection. That's why he's under harsh criticism.

-

"There's absolutely no reason why Song Minyeong should be under criticism" [+6]

He is not different from the other contestants. Everyone was given the same amount of time and the same opportunities to rap. But he had to meet this give-no-f***s do-whatever-I-want producer, I think that's where the problem lies in. He just wings his judging, so much so that absolutely nobody can predict what he is foreseeing. And now viewers are disappointed, even this young child is getting blamed it seems.

Just in case (anyone is thinking of saying something to him): Please don't do it...

They say he's the youngest contestant in 'Show Me The Money' history... What does a kid like him know? He's just a kid who applied for the competition because he likes rap and is passionate about it, but now he's coming under fire from all directions.

-

"I ran into the SMTM lil kid while eating out LOL" [+1,492]

via fmkorea

I was eating out with a friend when a familiar face passed by us. When I looked properly, I realised it was Minyeong from SMTM. My friend also recognised him. We approached him and asked if he was the contestant on SMTM, and he said yes LOL so we took a photo together and advised him not to care too much about the hate online.

We were cussing at Yumdda at that time, so it was amazing to actually run into Minyeong there. I'm not a big fan of children these days, but meeting Minyeong made me realise how cute he was with his awkward and timid movements.

How pleasant his rap is heard is secondary. He's just a kid who likes rapping and decided to join SMTM, and now he ended up in the song battle stage. What wrong did he commit?

Since he's in the song battle mission, I hope he'll do better and gain support from people before getting eliminated.

Seoul City Gangseo-gu's pride Song Minyeong and Zion.T fighting!

-

Onesun reacts to the episode


-----


Subbed episodes are by Show Me The SUBS

Ads below are from Disqus. An ad blocker is recommended.

Labels: