Steve Irwin
© AFP/Getty Images/File Justin SullivanSydney, Oct. 23: Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin’s friends and family are still mourning his death, but his name is already being disrespectfully used in gangster rap music.
US rap music artist Ras Kass, recently released a new track titled "Gayme Over" as the latest development in a feud between him and fellow rapper The Game, and the track includes numerous personal attacks on The Game, including one inspired by Irwin’s death.
"You're the waste of LA/get blast up in LA/face down, ass up in LA/you the Crocodile Hunter, I am the stingray," reads part of the track.
Tension between the two rappers reached the breaking point when they crossed paths Sept. 14 at a Los Angeles club. The Game along with 30 others had confronted him in a Hollywood nightclub, and knocked Kass out and broke his jaw, causing him to have it wired.
The incident is believed to be related to a mix-tape released by Ras Kass last year on which were lyrics that The Game took personally. Despite Ras saying it was not aimed at him whatsoever, The Game was still convinced that it was.
The two have been exchanging insults on tracks, interviews and even over the internet through social networking services such as YouTube and MySpace.
Ilya Aronovich from Bondi, a rap music fan who came across the song, says that using Irwin's death as material while his family and friends were still mourning was in bad taste, but noted that it is common in rap music.
"It is in poor taste for him to make reference to the death of Steve Irwin. However, I don't think he intentionally meant to offend anyone by it. He obviously isn't aware of how big a loss it was to our country and our culture,” the Sydney Morning Herald quoted him as saying.
"Rappers have always been known to talk about topics like death and refer metaphorically to celebrity deaths. A lot of rappers have used [the assassination of] JFK as an example of what they'll do to someone else," he said.
Irwin died on September 4, after being stung by a stingray as he filmed a sequence for his eight-year-old daughter Bindi's new TV series. (ANI)