Hello world,
I just wanted to share something with you guys, that is really important for me in my life and also effects me in my everday life and that is: "Music". Growing up alongside with my older cousins in Kazakhstan I can remember them showing me always their new "mixtapes" from artists like Tupac, Notorious B.I.G., Eminem and other artist on cassetes. This experience was my first touch to Hip-Hop when I was only 5-6 years old. I also learned to enjoy listening to Rock-Rap while listening to songs by Linkin Park or Limp Bizkit. I can remember my cousin showing me this song called "Numb" from "Linkin Park" for the first time when i was 6 years old, trying to explain and translate me the lyrics while I was rocking off to the track. "In the End" showed me the way I knew i wanted to go with my music variety and the direction for the future and here I am now: a multiracial man, growing up in and between two different culteres and traditions but still be connected with them both. Im really feeling kazakh and german at the same time you know, I am even feeling myself as russian (I finished the first class in a russian school in Kazakhstan) cause race is not about your colour or anything else, it is just about how you feel. We are all one race: human beeing.
Well, let us get back to the topic; while investing my time mostly to oldschool rap from artist like Wutang, D12, Cypress Hill, Outcast or Ice cube, even to some rockgroups like System of a Down or Silverstein, I discovered a whole new genre for myself and that is: "Korean Underground Hip-Hop". I know what you are thinking this is going, but you are wrong: this ain't about "K-Pop" or anything at all about this really corrupt and staged system (the music industry in Korea is pretty fake). The first time I randomly listened to a korean song was about 6 years ago. A friend of mine posted a video of him performing to a korean song while he was breakdancing to it (he is a pretty spaced out guy and wanted to win a competition to Korea where the R16 is taking place, the internatinal breakdance world championship), so I decided to support him. I know exactly how often I have repeated the video so I could listen to the track over and over again while watching him showing his dance moves. My only question to him was: "what language are they rapping in?" After I asked him out about all he knew of this kind of music, I started to spend my time investigating, searching and listening to Korean Hip-Hop by my own and I am still on it. Here is the first korean rap song I have ever listened to, which has connected, linked and bounded me to this art of niche. It is produced by a korean hip hop group called "Epik High" founded by 3 koreans (Tablo, Mithra Jin and DJ Tukutz) and is named "Wordkill". So I hope you enjoy listening to it:
"Epik High" was producing real shit at this time, I could tell and I could feel it.
After almost all the good artists were gone in America and the new generation of Hip-Hop came up together with artists like Lil Wayne, Tyga, Breezy, Deezy etc. (I mean wtf those aren't even good rapper names), I started to focus on Hip-Hop in Korea. The devolepment of Hip Hop there was rising pretty fast with really talented artists. It is pretty amazing how Hip-Hop influenced a whole country and still influences the whole world, not beeing so popular like its older sister the pop genre, but still beeing one of the biggest sub-cultures ever have been founded.
Tablo, leader of Epik High and my personal favourite rapper legimitely after Eminem and Tupac, is a lyrical genius with better vocabulary than most of the (native)american speakers. His treasury of words and world pool is really incredible and lyrically on another level. He studied law at Stanford University to please his parents because they wanted him to do so, but he decided to do his own thing and dropped his music to the world and he is still on it. By the way he is about 40 years old now, almost like eminem and he also looks as young as Em. I dont know if rap keeps you young but well if it's not them who is gonna proof otherwise? Here are some pictures of Tablo you can find on google, so you better can make your own impression:
The following track was one of the most inspiring songs I have ever listened to, so you can make urself not only a visual impression of him: It is called "Over" by Epik High (Tablo solo).
Map the soul was an independant label founded by Tablo and Epik High together with the musician "Myk" (a korean artist, growing up in America) in 2009 but they stopped this project due to unknown issues. (I think financial things were involved). It was also the name of the album: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Map_the_Soul
The song is called "Map the Soul" by Epik High feat. "Myk" and "Kero One" (another korean rapper).
There is also a korean version they wrote to this song and some people say it is more emotinally.
Aside from that the cover of Map the Soul was the choice for my first tattoo:
Epik High today together with the actor "Steven Yeun", better known as "Glenn" from the series "The Walking Dead" chilling and having fun during an award show while beeing real life friends:
There are plenty talented artists out there in Korea who are representing only a little amount of perenct in its music industry itself. I mean most of the good artists are still underground because they get censored or are not popular enough at this time in this country. But Hip-Hop is getting huge in Korea that is for sure.
Jay Park is one of the blessed ones who I was following for the past years staying real, being grounded and bringing and also connecting two different languages and cultures together with an insane flow while rapping in englisch and korean at the same time combining the best of both languages.
This kind of artists all keep me inspired and made me to who I am now, to the person I am today.
Here is his latest upload on youtube performing on the radio show "Sway in the Morning" in Seattle, sharing his experiences, telling interesting facts and performing live at this show. You have to know Jay did grow up in Seattle and moved afterwards to Korea, but came back after beeing in a korean boyband for a certain time. Here is the Interview where he freestyles at the end of the show:
