Epik High
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| Left to right: Mithra Jin, Tablo, DJ Tukutz |
Who are they?
Epik high are a hip-hop trio from South Korea. Formed in 2001, they consist of Tablo, Mithra
Jin and DJ Tukutz. On an interesting note, the group currently hails from the same record
label as Psy, YG Entertainment. They're
pretty good friends, too.
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| It's Psy and Tablo! |
As I mentioned before, Epik High is a hip-hop group. With all three members having the ability to “sing, write lyrics, and compose and
arrange music”, Epik High have established themselves as a successful group. What makes Epik High uniqe though are their
lyrics, which are known are lyrical pieces of urban poetry. Much of their music is “soulful and often
witty while [also] addressing serious social issues such as identity,
discrimination, community, unity and change as a whole”. As well, each member has many notable
accomplishments themselves.
Tablo is a
graduate from Stanford University. He
has a Master’s Degree in English and Creative Writing. As well, Mithra Jin was included on eleven
major albums in Korea before he even joined Epik High. And finally, DJ Tuktz is known as “the boy
with the magic fingers”. He started
DJing in 1995 and has performed at radio shows, live events and clubs in not
only Korea, but Japan, Boston and New York.
They originally formed as a group in the underground hip-hop
scene. At the time hip-hop music wasn't
as popular as it is now in South Korea.
Eventually, after releasing a couple of albums Epik High eventually
gained commercial success through their third album, Swan Songs.
With this success, they gradually helped bring hip-hop music
to the mainstream audience in South Korea.
After almost a decade in the music industry, Epik High has faced many
challenges. The group has faced long
hiatuses, censorship, label changes and controversy. Despite this, Epik High is still going
strong. They just released their seventh
studio album, 99.
South Korean music is quite similar to North American music. The music industries of both are pretty much
saturated with pop acts, but that can probably apply to anywhere in the
world. But Epik High offers an
alternative. They make real music with a
message.
The Music
This first song is from their third album, Swan Songs, and is called "Let It Rain". It's a very melancholic song about a lost love. The song contains a sad and soft melody that accents the rap beautifully. Even if you didn't know the lyrics, you can still feel the agonizing pain of the song. Fortunately I found a video with English subs. So, check it out:
This other song is called "Don't Hate Me", which is off their newest album 99. In contrast to the first song, it's a bit more poppy and happier in tone. It's a laid-back tune that is extremely catchy. Even if you don't like the song, the music video is pretty interesting. Nothing you would find in America. Anyways, the English lyrics are here, if you want to check them out. Enjoy the song!
So, I hope you liked learning about Epik High. They're personally one of my favourite groups and I don't think this post does much justice for them. So, what are your thoughts on Epik High?
Sources
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epik_High
http://www.ygfamily.com/artist/Main.asp?LANGDIV=E&ATYPE=2&ARTIDX=50
http://www.last.fm/music/Epik+High
http://www.last.fm/music/Epik+High
I like how your enthusiasm for the band really comes through in the post :)
ReplyDeleteAlso, out of curiousity - a lot of your posts have been in and around the pop genre and that got me wondering about Asian music genres. Like here we have country, folk, alternative, hard rock, etc... what are those genres like (or are they even popular?) in the Asian music scene? And what would be like corny parent music?
Yeah, I kind of noticed that too. But Asia is pretty similar to America in that there are many pop artists.
DeleteTo answer your question though, it sort of depends on the country. For instance, Japan has a massive music industry. Because of this, it allows room for other genres of music, to thrive. Rock music is probably second after pop.
But then in countries such as Korea, idol pop music tends to muffle the other genres. There are punk, folk and indie musicians, but it gets really hard for them to make a living.
I'll try to post up more diverse genres of music.
It is interesting that one of the groups members went to Stanford. I wonder how many of the current North American Hip Hop scene have any form of University education. I hope not, or our system needs to be evaluated. Do you think the groups lyrics really make a difference in terms of their popularity in a generation where lyrics have often become an afterthought? (In North American music at least).
ReplyDeleteI guess it is kind of baffling that Tablo graduated from Stanford. That's probably why a scandal erupted surrounding his degree. Many people believed he faked his education.
DeleteTo answer your question, I think that doesn't apply to Epik High. Well, at least when they first started out. The group only wanted to make music to speak out about social issues. Hence, they gained many fans through this. They didn't really aim to be popular. To be honest, they're not that popular in SK. So, really the lyrics don't hove much of an impact on their popularity.
I like your comment that "they make real music with meaning". I agree with the thought that most music now a day does not have a real message or meaning to them. I hate music like that. I listen to many different genres of music. I like everything as long as it has an actual meaning to it.
ReplyDelete