Ignito: Nice to see you. After the last interview with Illtal, I decided to hold it this time again. It's really difficult finding someone to interview Vitality and at this rate, I'm going to interview myself. I hope you can briefly introduce yourself.
Yeopo: Hello, I'm Yeopo, a 30 year old rapper and the youngest member of Vitality.
Ignito: How's your newlywed life?
Yeopo: It's been a year since I got married. I don't have plans on having a child yet and I'm working hard making money, mostly because I'm working harder to find stability economically.
Ignito: There's a story behind your name "Yeopo," that it's shortened for "women and porno." Is that true?
Yeopo: There's not a big meaning behind the name. I went by Yeopo way more than my real name since I was younger, and the meaning you mentioned also is included.
Ignito: This is your first interview after joining Vitality. Although it's late, let's unravel the story of how you came about joining.
Yeopo: I think it was in 2011 when Ignito hyung first gave me the offer and since I wasn't under any crew or label at the time, I was very grateful and open to his offer. Although I did have the passion to drop an album any minute...it took quite a long time for my second album to release, mainly because of getting married but also my other job so it took a long time since my focus was poured into other things. Anyway, being acknowledged as a solo artist, being understood for my lifestyle, and being able to release an album as a member of Vitality is a fortune to me.
Ignito: You released your second official album. Please tell us briefly how you feel.
Yeopo: My second album released quite a while after my first, and it's also an album that was released two years since I joined Vitality. The process was long and there were things here and there but it's thanks to my official album that I was able to record the time that passed by and it's moved me.
Ignito: I heard there were complications with the making of this album.
Yeopo: Since the beginning, I was mending the album into a project team album with Ruffcut but due to personal issues, the album planning was cancelled and it took a long time trying to find beats in my transition to creating my second official album. Also, I had a big event in my life which was my marriage and the precondition to the marriage was being employed so being able to work on this album took longer than expected, however I have no regrets in anything.
Ignito: What are you employed as for your other job?
Yeopo: Fitting with a hardcore MC, I work as a web designer for a company specializing in children's clothing.
Ignito: As a web designer, do you know when you'll be able to create Vitality's website?
Yeopo: I'm thinking tomorrow right away, of course on the condition that Ignito hyung makes a deposit upfront...
Ignito: I don't think a website is urgent for us. It's been 4 years since you released your last album so tell us briefly how this second album differs from your first.
Yeopo: To put it easily, my first album was of my greed as well as an attempt and challenge for myself. My second album shows me settling in, depth, and growth. Because it was my first album, I was greedy and attempted a lot of different things and rather than explaining, I filled the album more with emotions and feelings. This time around, you can see Vitality and Yeopo harmonize in creating its own color and showing thoughts from the perspective of someone in their 30s in this second album. You can strongly feel how much I've aged in comparison to the first album.
Ignito: Your rap style changed tremendously as well. You've released negative feedback from your rapping style for this album. What do you think of it?
Yeopo: Honestly, if you want fancy rapping or flow that flows like water, then I think Yeopo is the wrong person to suggest in this case. For my second album, I decided to aim for a rap style that's more anchored and stiff. To put in simply, I've decided to go for an older sound. I tried not to be flashy and rapped in pointing the exact things. I always think about trying to have a unique color while working on my music but I felt it wasn't really necessary to try and prove my rap skills.
Ignito: If I can add my two cents, I believe that you made an ambitious choice to choose this rap style. You rap without hesitation and get straight to the point, and I can do nothing but applaud you for your entirety being simple and honest. I've heard from people around us that also said that this rapping style wasn't easy and it was actually a really difficult style and I also think that there's no one within the country who can emulate this rapping style or tone. You can see it as a well-established rap style. I was shocked at the responses of people who begged to differ, saying that it was nothing much or that you couldn't rap. Also, I myself know personally that Yeopo is a rapper who can rap in the groove whenever.
Yeopo: Honestly, I know that I have a lot of ego in me, which makes me respect other musicians even more for being able to maintain that. I don't believe Yeopo to be another job of mine to pursue but to be another character to myself, which is why I'm continuously changing my rapping style to fit Yeopo's character and I wholeheartedly think that's the right thing to do. Also, the other egos in me are waiting for their right timing so you'll be able to see my grooved raps soon.
Ignito: I'm sure that there must have been an extreme gap between having a musical ego of a hardcore rapper and the realistic ego of an average husband, which I think shows well in your track, 'Damn Hobby.' Could you explain this track and the emotions you faced when writing it?
Yeopo: I came across the thought while preparing for my wedding. The biggest obstacle ahead of me was money. I knew that pursuing music has never brought me money but I needed to be able to survive in order to pursue music as well. During that period of time, there were countless moments where I thought of quitting but I was reminded of the feeling of when I first started music, when there was no greed but purely liking music and making up my mind that it was something I wanted to do till I died old. Also, I still enjoyed writing lyrics for no purpose during the times I'd clock in and out of work. It was also Ignito hyung who helped me realize that running away from the distance and confusion that reality brought was a pitiful thing to do, and that was when I realized and found joy in music again. Right now, the most important thing to me is pursuing the music I'm sticking with and being a part of Vitality who supports this, and being supported as a musician by my wife.
Ignito: You can see the unique color and drastic change in your lyrics. The once signature atrocious, simple, and ignorant rap of yours ceased and a contemplative side of yours came out.
Yeopo: I think the results came from harmonizing with each other. I wanted to be more provocative but also be included as a musician of Vitality, so that was the result of combining both factors, however this answer won't make sense for people who listened to the second album before the first.
Ignito: I was slightly disappointed because I personally anticipated that side of you. I hope that Yeopo can continue to promote as a strong and stubborn character while pursuing elegance in Vitality.
Yeopo: I think that my voice is the type of voice that needs to be adjusted to. I think now that people have adjusted to my voice, they can handle my atrocious, simple, and ignorant rap in my next project.
Ignito: Your album is titled [P.O.R.N]. It's a very provocative title. What's the meaning behind titling this as your album?
Yeopo: I have two reasons why this album is titled 'P.O.R.N.' One of them is what everyone's thinking, that it's the word porn we all know of and I used it to give the album a vulgar feeling. Another reason as to why I titled it this is that it's abbreviated for "POWER OF RUDE NERD." It's to express the suppressed anger of isolated but skilled people. I personally am attached to the track 'Hypnotize' which talks about a man who's being bullied but finds security in his sense of belonging, yet he couldn't suppress that anger and ends up taking revenge. I also believe that this story is parallel to where I stand in society, which is why I have so much attachment to it. For those who are weak but hiding their anger, I want you to hypnotize yourself when listening to this track.
Ignito: I was taken aback when I saw that your title track was 'I Couldn't See My Shadow.' Can you describe this track to us?
Yeopo: Humans are always lacking in something and have foolish sides to them but this track talks about how someone is aware of these things, yet they can't bring themselves to say it with their own lips. We as humans always blame our insufficiency at others and when we bring up the subject to others, we turn our backs saying that we ourselves are the only exceptions to this and feed off of this self-gratification. I wasn't any exception to this idea and whenever I showed that side of myself, my wife was the first to tell me about how I acted this way without realizing my actions. This track is an apology to the friends I would talk about when they weren't there and putting my insufficiency out there to let others know so I hope that when others are listening to this track, you can reflect on yourselves at least once.
Ignito: For the music video however, you used 'Death' as opposed to your title track. The lyrics for 'Death' seem very meaningful.
Yeopo: The track 'Death' isn't really about death but more so living life. I know that everyone associates living life to death, the end of life, but I don't believe that death is simply the end that we think of it to be. This is also the reason why I continue to pursue non-mainstream music. I don't believe the end to be the day of your death but I think of how we as ourselves continue to connect to others in what we leave behind and although what I create can't complete itself on its own, someone can make use of this incompleteness and make meaning of it through our connection. Instead of being so hung over trying to complete things, I think people should utilize their time in just living life, which is the moral of the track.
Ignito: Was there a special reason as to why you chose this track to make a music video for?
Yeopo: Honestly, I was debating a lot with myself since this was my first ever music video. I came about choosing this track because I felt that it was the most representative track of Yeopo. I used minimal lighting to express a simple and strong image for myself. In the perspective of a musician, I'm very satisfied with the final result, aside from my face looking big...I thank director Cha Jung Chul. I think this music video will have others understand what Yeopo and Vitality are about a little better.
Ignito: There were various artists featuring for this album. Tell us your experiences in working with them.
Yeopo: The artists who participated in this album were the members of Vitality (Ignito, Illtal, Banishit Bang), Dragon AT, Chaboom, UMC/UW, and Deepflow. Starting off with Dragon AT, I had always wanted to work with him but he was on hiatus at the time and when he came back, I requested to work with him. For Chaboom, he's an artist I like and he's also helped me with my first album. I remember being moved by the professionalism of these two artists since they accepted my request not too long after and we were able to get lyrics and record right away. When we were recording, I felt anticipation for their upcoming albums in the future as a fan myself. It went really great! As for UMC hyung, I requested through Ignito hyung. I've always wanted to work with him and thankfully, he made time to help out despite being extremely busy. I'm very grateful for him having fun while we worked together, and even taking my directions into consideration with his busy schedule and all. Last but not least, I received help from my longtime friend and mentor, Deepflow, which helped me complete but album. For the Vitality track, we were able to start working on it once Illtal hyung came back to Korea in the beginning of this year. While working on the track, I felt sad yet fortunate that despite being busy with our personal schedules, although we weren't able to dedicate a whole lot of time into our track, the fact that we were able to even make one was bittersweet.
Ignito: What was the process of working with beat makers and choosing your beats?
Yeopo: I think that was the toughest part about this album. I don't know anyone who makes hardcore beats and it took a while from the start for Ignito hyung to adjust to my tastes (I'm into maniac hip hop). I received beats from JA hyung and Scary'P first. I wasn't able to find beats but they were the first two to gladly help out which helped ease out the planning process of the album. Next, I was able to receive a beat from Mild Beats hyung through Ignito hyung. I was also able to naturally receive help from Banishit Bang hyung when he returned to Korea and Dazdepth hyung was busy with his corporate job but thanks to Ignito hyung's efforts and pressure, I was able to work on the song.
Ignito: If you look at tracks like 'Basic' and 'What the,' there are a lot of lyrics out in the hip hop scene looking at Yeopo negatively. What do you think about this and the current state of the underground hip hop scene?
Yeopo: I think both the listeners and artists are too shallow. I always hope for an increase in artists expressing various types of music and their class but looking at the underground scene right now, I'm amazed at how these people are all so unified in wanting name-brand artists opposed to their music and continuously pining for cool and clean music. If this is the case, then I don't think the label of being "underground" fits with what they want.
Ignito: Then what do you think about releasing official albums in this period of time?
Yeopo: It's an idiotic, pathetic, crazy, and retarded thing to do but for an underground rapper, it's a definite thing. It's a constant battle.
Ignito: What do you think hardcore hip hop is?
Yeopo: A man's music.
Ignito: That's true. With the current scene gaining female fans, it's very hard to pursue a man's music. Tell us your plans as Yeopo along with Vitality's plans for the future.
Yeopo: The hardest part in making this album was finding beats, which is why I want to get into producing. I'm also thinking of ways to create a newer album where I can produce something instant yet express in various ways. As for Vitality, currently we're in the process of preparing Ignito's second official album and Banishit Bang's first official album. Also, we'll be holding continuous performances through a brand called Black Show, which is scheduled for this upcoming December. The show will be filled with musicians who fit with the term "black." Last but not least, if time allows it, we'll be thinking of putting out a Vitality album.
Ignito: I'm anticipating it a lot. Also, Illtal and Revenans will be releasing singles any minute so I just wanted to point that out. Ah, and there's also DJ SQ's 'Just Because.'
Yeopo: SQ hyung is always with us 'Just Because' but soon there will be some incredible albums releasing...I believe that these people will come forth will amazing results to surprise us all with.
Ignito: You did well holding up the interview. Did you want to say any last words to the readers?
Yeopo: I'm always thankful for those supporting Vitality and Yeopo and I hope you know that a man's music doesn't die out that easily.
Source: Hiphopplaya
