Research Blog Post 3(K HIPHOP) (2010s~Current)
The newera for hiphop: the notorious kid to Lamborghini MERCY
Hip-Hop in Korea has taken a leap forward, as the fourth wave of rappers appeared in the game circa 2010s. What is significant about this new era is that Korean Hiphop has embraced its roots and started following the us trends more closely. I am talking about trap style of rapping, fast cars, blings, chains, and rollies. I think all of this can be summurized in one music video by Dok2(pronounced Dok-EE) who is a very interesting icon in the korean Hip-hop scene for various reasons, which I will discuss shortly.
As in the video above, Trap style has taken over korean rap scene just like it was the case in the united states. In some cases, it has taken what’s very american and made it even better. IT G MA by Keith Ape, which has a similar feel to american rapper OG Maco’s “U Guessed It” won over the american hiphop fans.
Granted it was more well produced and the whole song is like riding a rollercoaster, it made keith ape an international artist in one night since it was posted on world start hiphop, biggest online hiphop forum in the us.
One common thing is that, Both of these songs sound much like the songs your friend would play when you hand them the aux cord. Just in a different language (not that you can decipher what Future or migos are saying anyway, so in a way they are pretty much the same).
I briefly mentioned Dok2 is an iconic figure in korean hiphop. He single handedly marked a new era in korean hip hop history.
Although he is only 26 years old, he has been in the game for longer than most rappers. As a multiracial kid(spanish,Philipno,korean) growing up in Korea where being multi racial was extremely uncommon, he had a rough childhood. He came from a very poor family(in a LOT of debt) and his only escape was Hip-hop. American rap music really hit him hard where the big rap stars like Jay-Z or Biggie talking about spending big money although they started from nothing at all. After much thought, he quit elementary school at the age of 11 to move to seoul by himself with a sole purpose of making it big as a rapstar like his idols did. He had to live in a container and worked on music constantly. He was recruited by Jo PD(also mentioned in the last post) and started his music career. He debuted as a duo,All Black, with another rapper Microdot. Although they got some spotlight due to the youngest rap artists, All Black broke up not so long after without much commercial success.However, Dok2 didn’t stop there, he kept learning new style, took in all the criticism and improved his rap and producing skills and showed it to the critics by his prolific mixtapes. He gained more and more ground and fan base as he matured as a rapper/producer.
As Korean music market was saturated with k-pop, He saw the opportunity that no one else was doing real american rap/hiphop. As a experienced producer/rapper he teamed up with a fellow producer/rapper The Quiett(2nd generation) and started their own label, Illionaire. Not so long after, Dok2 started to make some serious money.
What comes after his initial success is what made him really unique. Most people korean people would start saving up and stay fiscally responsible. But not my boi Dok2. ALL of the money he made from his label, he started living the rapstar life buying fancy wawtches(many over $50k~$100k) and fast import cars and he currently owns 6 cars including Rolls Royce($700k) and Lamborghini Murcielago($400k), BMW i8, and so on. He didn't’ buy buildings or put the money in the bank. Everyone thought he was going to bankruptm but against all the odds, he became more and more successful. Now he rakes in $5mil a year (this number may seem small compared to the big name american rappers, but remember Korea’s population is only 50 million and hiphop is still a smaller market compared to Kpop).
He is the first case of rags to riches in Korea. He is not only commercially succesful he is also recognized as one of the best emcees in Korea. His lifestory is like a movie and inspired a lot of new young rappers.
It’s very admirable to see how far his dedication and believing in himself got him.
In his song “Air DoTheQ” one of his lines asks ‘There are a lot of successful people, but have you seen a dream come true?”
His story inspires me because he not only succeeded but also made his dream come true. Dok2 did both and he started with nothing.
There are a few ways I can do to promote awareness of korean hip-hop.
- Make categorized and well-organized playlists of korean hip-hop music and share it on this blog for anyone interested in korean hip-hop
- Throw a party invite friends and throw in couple korean bangers here and there.
- Invite friends to a korean hip-hop show. Unfortunately,it’s usually only available in big cities only.
People do not have to like the music, because most people have a specific taste in what type of music they listen to. But most people also enjoy finding new music that they like. So,it’s a win-win and I am doing both american listeners and korean artists favors. I have found many artists from different countries and It’s always so refreshing. Namely, Die Antwoord, South African rap-rave group, Yung Lean, Swedish hip-hop artists, KOHH, Japanese, and so on. You can expand your cultural boundaries by listening to music from different cultures.
