What Kind of Bitch is She? A Badass One
In an era where a pop artist only grabs our attention with a hit song about once every 18 months, K-pop star Jessi's given us another one with WHAT TYPE OF X barely 6 months after NUNU NANA. 'X' stands for 'bitch'. And X! It's spot on!
I don't know which Korean etymologist decided to make the words "female" and "bitch" so close in spelling and pronunciation. Nyeoh (녀) is female. Nyeohn (년) is bitch. That's why the song title is 'What Type of X' because it would be too rude to spell out in Korean even though Jessi yells it through out the song.
She's saying, 'What kind of bitch do you think I am?' When I first heard it, I was sure she was saying 'What kind of woman do you think I am?' But then I checked... and she went there.
Who is Jessi?
The Korean American hip hop artist, born in 1988, is like a blend of Cardi B and J. Lo. She raps and sings in her brash Queens inflection from a strong chest voice. Her dance moves definitely prefer a lower center of gravity to emphasize the booty as a fulcrum.
When I first noticed her, Jessi went by the stage name of Jessica H.o as if stylizing her last name would make being a ho or thot a cool thing? So I thought she definitely was a bitch who was trying too hard. Now, it's clear you shouldn't underestimate this bitch. She's a bitch who has the industry wrapped around her finger.
Why Jessi is Badass
Yoo Jae-suk (유재석) is one of Korea's 'sweetheart' entertainers. But I sense a real passive aggressive jerk underneath, especially when it comes to not speaking English. Of course, there's nothing wrong with his not knowing English! But it seems like he's been traumatized by not being able to pick up on the language and has decided to take out his twisted inferiority complex on Korean Americans. It's a one-sided fight that only he cares about.
So Jessi's a badass bitch because she's not afraid of twisting a true TV setup to her advantage. In the clip below, Yoo Jae-seok is trying to shade Jessi by quizzing her on Korean phrases she may not know. What's the point? To expose how much Korean she doesn't know? You can see it's Yoo's twisted redemption for not knowing English as well as he'd like, except no one cares but him.
She creates comedy that uses her brain, engages the audience in the joke and kills Yoo with kindness at the same time. You can see that she knows exactly what's going on yet didn't complain. Rather, she turned it into another paid gig where she comes out on top.
Learn from the Best
Sharon Osbourne may want to take notes from Jessi on how to turn any situation where one may have been 'set up' and emerge the winner.
So yes, Jessi is one badass bitch. That's the kind of bitch she is. And she doesn't even have to say it.