When we talk about South Korean music, we immediately think of K-Pop, or traditional music like Pansori or Trot. But there is another musical genre currently booming in Korea: k-Hip-Hop.
In this article, you will have a small overview of the history of Hip-Hop in Korea through 5 reference artists of this scene: Tiger JK, Leessang, Jay Park, BeWhy and Bibi.
Tiger JK: The Legend
Tiger JK is considered the father of Hip-Hop in South Korea . He began his musical career in 1999 with the band Drunken Tiger. Their debut album "Year of the Tiger" was very controversial upon its release due to their nonconformist lyrics and their style very different from the typical K-pop groups of the time. Despite these obstacles, Drunken Tiger rose to the top of the charts in 1999-2000 and went down in history as the best hip-hop group Korea has ever known.
In 2006, he founded the record label Jungle Entertainment, which has hosted major hip-hop artists such as Yoon Mirae and Leessang. A few years later, in 2013, he created a new label "Feel Ghood Music" that specializes in R&B and hip-hop. Among the artists he has signed are Junoflo, MRSHLL, Black Nine and Bibi.
It is impossible to talk about Tiger JK without mentioning his acolytes forming the trio MFBTY (My Fans are Better Than Yours): Yoon Mirae & Bizzy.
Yoon Mirae, also known as Tasha, is the very first Asian/African-American rapper to have made a career in South Korea. But her voice is just as remarkable as her talents as a rapper. Indeed, Yoon Mirae has recorded many OST of K-dramas, including for "Descendants of the Sun", "Crash Landing on You" or "Itaewon Class" and she was a judge of the famous singing show "Superstar K".
Interesting fact: Tiger JK and Yoon Mirae married in 2007 and are considered the Carters (Jay-Z & Beyoncé) of Korea. They are the couple who opened the doors of Hip-Hop in Korea.
As for rapper Bizzy, he is also associated with the hip-hop collective The Movement, a crew formed by YDG (another big name in Korean hip-hop). Since its creation in 2000, this crew promotes hip-hop culture through featurings with various Korean artists with very varied musical styles. You will find Bizzy in collaboration with Jay Park, Leessang, Dok2, Dynamic Duo, Bobby Kim or Double K.
Goofy Freestyle Tiger JK:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7Js3sMdPY8
Goofy Freestyle Yoon Mirae:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7DW94-ACrM
LeeSsang: An essential duo.
If you like Korean variety shows, you probably know Gary, a former permanent member of "Running Man" and a regular visitor to "Return of Superman" with his son Haoh.
But Gary is mostly a rapper/songwriter and half of the hip-hop duo LeeSsang. His sidekick Gil plays the role of singer and producer in the duo.
Gary and Gil made their debut on the Korean hip-hop scene in 1999 with Honey Family: a diverse rapper crew that is considered one of the best hip-hop groups in South Korea.
It was in 2002 that the duo LeeSsang officially debuted, with the album "Leessang of Honey Family". It is interesting to note that Gary and Gil produced this album alone, without any technical training or major record label support. But their talent does not fail to shine: that year, the title "Rush" feat with Jung-In (and sampled on "You are everything" by the Stylistics) wins the "Hip-Hop Music Award" at the Mnet KM Music Video Festival. Slowly but surely, thanks to Gary's off-tempo rap and Gil's hoarse voice, the duo rose in popularity and in 2009, he signed with Jungle Entertainment (Tiger JK's label).
With this new platform, Leessang released 3 studio albums (Hexagonal, Asura Balbalta and Unplugged) and dominated the Korean charts until the group's separation in 2017. They now pursue solo careers: they focus on their respective families and occasionally collaborate with hip-hop artists of the moment (Heize, TRADE L).
LeeSsang is a rather unique duo in Korea: Gary and Gil are highly respected in the music industry for their autonomy (they write, produce and film their own tracks and music videos) and the quality of their live performances.
In the manner of Hocus Pocus, Leessang combines rap with very diverse sounds: pop, rock, jazz, soul…
YT Leessang Channel:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwWoDgX_W0go5P4z9RHPwBw
Rush:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1t5OU0GODXk
Can't Break up Girl, Can't Breakaway Boy:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rYL8AHJaTc
Turned Off the TV:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-HxaERgTNwY
Pursuing The Happiness:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=le0GI8FtB2o
Tears:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=77qAgl1SCPk
Let's Meet Now:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p08JFzkinKM
Jay Park: The Prince of Korean Hip-Hop
Impossible to classify Jay Park in a single box: he is a singer, rapper, producer, b-boy, but also entrepreneur.
Jay Park began his musical career in 2008 as the leader of the K-Pop group 2PM. For personal reasons, he left the band a few months after its debut and returned to his hometown, Seattle. It is there that he released in 2010 his first solo EP "Count on me", cover of "Nothin' on you" performed by B.o.B.
The following year, he returned to Korea and released his first Korean mini-album "Take a deeper look" (2011). The album is a real success (No. 3 in the Billboard World Albums chart) and Jay Park wins the awards at the end-of-year Awards (Disk Bonsang at the Golden Disk Awards, Popular Artist Award and Asia Model Award).
In 2012, he released the album "New Breed" which was also a huge success. With this album, Jay Park held his first solo concert in Seoul and won the "Musician of the Year" award at the Korean Music Awards. In the following years, every album he released rose to the top of the Korean charts. (Favorite for "Evolution" (2014) which is a tribute to Michael Jackson and is inspired by the RnB ballads of the 2000s).
In 2013, he founded the AOMG label, one of the pioneers of hip-hop / RnB in South Korea, and which now has more than twenty artists including Simon Dominic, Gray, Loco, Hoody, Yugyeom (Got7), DJ Pumkin and Code Kunst.
A few years later, he created H1GHR MUSIC, AOMG's "little brother", with producer Cha Cha Malone. This label hosts the new generation of Hip-Hop/RnB artists like pH-1, Haon, TRADE L, Woodie GoChild or Jay B (until last month).
This year, he founded a new label "More Vision" with which he wants to produce his very first idol group (term that refers to K-Pop celebrities).
Interesting fact: Jay Park is the only Korean artist to be signed to RocNation (Jay-Z's label).
Jay has also been a judge on several music competition shows such as "High School Rapper", "Show Me The Money" or his own show "Sign Here" (program created to select the next AOMG artist).
With such an extensive career, Jay Park has touched all styles of music and has collaborated with many artists, a bit like Drake or Kanye West.
Goofy Freestyle Jay Park:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYwmtI97iyE
BeWhy: The best flow in South Korea
BeWhy is considered one of the best rappers of the new Korean hip-hop generation.
His career began with his participation in season 5 of the show "Show me the money". During this survival show, BeWhy attracted the attention of big names in Korean hip-hop, including Simon D (ex-Supreme Team) and Tablo (Epik High). Distinguishing himself thanks to his flow and his very clear diction, BeWhy emerges victorious from the show and sees his career explode: he chains successful collaborations and films many commercials for national television (which is rather rare for a rapper).
In just 3 years, he became a pillar of Korean hip-hop and made his return to Show Me The Money as a jury.
Interesting fact: BeWhy is known to be very religious and often mentions its beliefs in its lyrics. His poetic rap style introduced a new genre into Korean hip-hop. In Simon D's words, BeWhy produces "nice hip-hop," a style of music that can touch listeners without being vulgar or offensive.
BeWhy's flow is quite unique, difficult to compare it to a Western artist. As for the instrumental, there are disco, funk or techno influences. If you like Kendrick Lamar, try some sounds of BeWhy, you may be conquered…
Goofy Freestyle BeWhy:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tJ7cVpONo4
Favorite – "Forever" performed by BeWhy during season 5 of Show Me The Money:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8LltsLOIr8
BIBI: A promising artist
Bibi is signed to Feel Ghood Music (Korean label created by Tiger JK) and the famous Asian-American label 88Rising (created by Rich Brian).
Its name is inspired by the term "baby" and refers to the nudity/naturalness of babies at birth. As her name suggests, she wants to express herself as honestly/raw as possible in her music.
Bibi made her official debut in 2019 with the track "Binu" but was first discovered on Soundcloud in 2017 by Yoon Mirae. She also participated in the singing competition "The Fan" where she won second place.
Bibi's musical style combines R&B, soul, hip-hop and ballads. Rather than producing mainstream sounds (as many K-pop groups do), Bibi wants her listeners to focus on her message. The melody simply sublimates his words.
Since her debut, Bibi has collaborated with great Korean artists such as Zico, Jay Park, JYP, Crush but also on many OSTs, including the title appeared in Shang-Chi "Never going to Come Down" that she performs with Mark Tuan (Got7).
If you like NIKI or AUDREY NUNA, you will surely appreciate BIBI's bubbly flow…
Dingo Freestyle BIBI :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5uf906kDjo
If you liked this selection, here are some additional recommendations to perfect your new Korean Hip-Hop/RnB playlist: Zion.T, pH-1, Lee Hi, Heize, Crush
An article written by Mihary Ramamonjisoa
