‘Chiney Don’t Know Who Is We’ Hits Sour Note
April 30 2025 – The Chinese Association of Guyana has expressed grave concern over the release of a local hit song ‘Chiney don’t know who’s we’ which promotes vandalism and robbery at Chinese-owned supermarkets and businesses.
In a statement today, the Association said that while it appreciates artistic expressions of all kinds, artists must use better discretion in considering the impact of their works, especially if it involves the security of real human lives.
“The Chinese Association is concerned that some interpretations of this music video may lead to further harm,” the statement read.
The official music video of the song shows several individuals robbing a Chinese-owned supermarket.
Many Chinese-owned supermarkets were robbed and looted over the last few days, following civil unrest across the country. In some instances, the Chinese proprietors were beaten before being robbed.
“At the time of this release [of the song], many persons in the Chinese community are attending to injuries and loss, some of which are life-threatening and life-altering for the victims and their families,” the Association highlighted.
As such, it said that it hopes that future works by any artist will use better judgment when constructing the content of their work and, in this case, the contextual timing in which they are released.
One of the musicians involved in developing the song, Richard Singh, sought to defend the lyrics in a statement today.
He argued that the music video was created as a work of artistic expression and does not intend to promote violence or encourage crime against the Chinese community. He added that although the video was only uploaded in recent hours following widespread unrest, the video is not a new piece of work, and has been trending since January of this year.
In response, the Association said that while it stands with the pursuit of social justice in Guyana, it categorically condemned the resultant acts of crime and robberies which are misguided and misdirected.
The Association said it remains committed to opportunities to cooperate and contribute to the development of Guyana for a bright future shared by all.
