Swings releases 'King Swings,' Ugly Duck, TakeOne, and everyone with their moms diss Swings

Just a few hours ago, Swings released a free track titled 'King Swings' which was made out of motivation from hearing Kendrick Lamar's recent controversial verse in his featuring for Big Sean's 'Control.'

Not too long after that, Ugly Duck and TakeOne as well as a couple of other artists released their own diss tracks in response to Swings.

The reason why these two artists are more noted for their diss tracks than others is because these two are members of the crews Buckwilds and Do'main, the two crews that Swings directly called out in his track. Also, the certain "hyung" that Swings mentions in his track is referencing Jtong, who is also the leader and founder of the Buckwilds crew.

It's funny because Jtong and Swings were once together in a crew themselves which was Illest Konfusion up until Swings left. Illest Konfusion also housed other artists in their crew such as Simon Dominic (Simon D for short), E-Sens, and Beenzino.

From my assumption after having translated and analyzed the lyrics of all the tracks below, the disses tossed back and forth are more than just calling Swings out for being fat and Ugly Duck for still being considered a rookie.

As mentioned in Ugly Duck's lyrics of Swings not having a good relationship with Simon D, what we can assume is that there was a rift probably at the time when Swings left Illest Konfusion. Another assumption that can be made is that as mentioned in my article of E-Sens leaving Amoeba Culture, Swings got involved in the rift that could have happened between Simon D and E-Sens. Last but not least, Simon D is known for being close to the members of Buckwilds, especially Jtong (as Simon D was also the one who recommended Jtong to Amoeba Culture) so it's easy to see how the Buckwilds members would go against Swings.

Anyway, the track got around pretty fast in the span of a few hours and the responses from netizens are really divided. Scanning through the comments on Swings' video, a lot of people feel that Swings is not how he used to be in the past. Not going to lie, I think this as well as I still enjoy Swings' older works but after being on the show 'Show Me the Money' and being in a powerhouse underground label going mainstream, he's bound to take a shift in his music to cater a different audience.

With underground artists who came across the diss tracks, there was nothing but appraisal. Artists like Simon D, Huck P, and Suda tweeted about how everyone did well and some believed that this may have been the better diss tracks that shook up the Korean hip hop scene in a while.


The lyrics and links to the respective tracks are below so take a look at the lyrics and enjoy!

Swings - King Swings

Kendrick's really amazing as he woke me up all the way from Cali

I got Seoul; Now I'm burning from my homeland and everyone burn in my methane

I counted the money I had and I still seem like a kid

But I'm not jealous anymore because I'm like Hammington Sam

Like a real man, I went in my bare skin under the scorching sun

Of course, now my skin as well as heart is poisoned black

I sit in front of my desk and fill the pen with my doglike drama, the sincere worries my dad has for me, and diss all the retarded emcees

Nearly all of Korea is too busy creating a trashy image

They call themselves hip hop, yet they can't even get a girl's number

Skills are your seniors, bitch; your little dick grew a wee bit

You're not even a trainee, yet you can't even release one album 

Be satisfied that being ignored by me is an honor

With your awkward gestures and talk mimicking black people 

I had a fight with a reporter in trying to defend you guys

Your skills are short like the length of Clara's shorts

You're like Minkyung wearing see through as your insides show clearly

If you don't want to be suppressed like a wheel, then why don't you move aside in trying to live

You're just a loser looking at yourself in the mirror wanting to become a celebrity

You even look like you'd lose in a fight with your girlfriend

You say swag only in front of those younger than you 

When I arrive, everyone grows quiet like it's time for service

I'm the Jack Sparrow of this game and you're just a model pirate

I'm always the skilled king but now I even have popularity

I'm the giant of advancing; that's right, your car and you yourself are a Wrangler

I don't lose, retard so why do you guys keep trying to step forward

Even if you cheat, I still shoot the ball into the net 

I take out the fire burning in me at night as it incinerates and burns you

You burn like a car that just got into an accident, fry like a French

Ride or fuckin' die, there's no one real like me

That crown is mine and take it off like a stripper

Or bow down to me like you would to your father-in-law

You're just a moldy bread, so how do you think you'll change...just like that, why don't you choke that broom-like neck of yours

Just make yourself turn grape color and explode, please explode

You wet the floor brightly beneath with the two holes missing your eyeballs

I want to even kill your crew, fucking hunchback roach

I hire foreign workers to gang rape you...that's revenge

The people who raise their tone of voice when they're scared when their tones are usually low, I'll chop both arms off

What you'll wear is a basketball shirt and I'll dunk your head inside the water..

Your oxygen supply is low so your lungs tell me, "My oxygen passed its curfew"

Are the words that the character from a novel spits real?

Because you got hit during your school years, do you spite me?

Again this year is the delicious seaweed soup my mom makes for me -

If you want to eat soup, then hop on your four-wheeled bicycle and move out of the way

This is my business and there's no positions for work

With a killer flow, I'm the right person to be in this position

Who are you trying to scare? I'm the MC eater 

This is my territory so try to come over and I'll give you a bruise on your cheek

I changed the motherfuckin' game
Your shit is motherfuckin' lame
Your pronunciation sucks and your Korean is lesser than mine
Hurry and apply for Kumon; learn with me starting from ABCs
Motherfucker you a fuckin' poser
Feature on the Playboy poser
When you walk, you walk carelessly but nowadays I'm healthy
When I meet with female college students, the discussion topic is always grades
You found a job early but I obtained skills first
Mr. Hip Hop, I declare that I'm going to run with Jang Moon Bok
No one can hear the meeting place for dummies
Don't worry, dad and mom are fine
I'm going to change the "boos" I hear with my ears to "yeah"
Instead of "fat," I'm going to become "grand"
When I make it real big, you'll see on my car on the highway with Busker Busker, Eloquent King, you get what I'm saying, right?
Whenever I won in arcades, I got hit by my hyungs
Now with age, your chin? It's going to disappear
But sometimes I'm not that bad, I'm a nice guy
My hair moves here and there like the wi-fi from a coffee shop
People say I look like Santa; Merry Christmas, jingle bells
U missed me man? It's alright because look, the king is back
If you're a rapper, then you have to rap first because that's first
You're doing the opposite in taking off your panties
With pants on, you ask me, "Swings, how does that happen?"
I don't know either but my attitude doesn't change on broadcast either so if you saw it, then acknowledge that nobody's real like me
You saw it, the corner of my mouth going up like Nike
Buckwilds and Do'main have too many members like Wu Tang
I'm still a new thing if I made my lyrics into a book, it'd be thicker and the weight of the paper would be heavier than all of yours combined
I don't hate you, I just don't like your certain hyung
Sure, I'm sorry so now follow me through rap
Except the fucking rookies because y'all are just fucking rookies
When I was a rookie, I wasn't like you guys so step it up
The politicians in the generation before me aren't that small in numbers
I don't respect you as you're just moldy rice to me
My mentality is Tupac and my mouth is a fuckin' boombox
Who's going to give me a shoulder note; the leader is the third emperor
Illionaire is my goal and of course I acknowledge Gonzo
But I'll redevelop everything as this hip hop scene is like my Songdo
Do I do this for the scene?
Fuck that, I do it for me
I did it for this scene but what did it ever do for me?
What is rivalry? I have to higher my standards
I have a lot to reflect on but it's not over this
Kang Minho, E-Sens; you left your company now
As a friend and a fan, I'll tell you that don't become a memory but a legend
VJ, we waitin' for ya, San-E we takin' OVER
We'll turn them all into dust and use them when we're ready to eat like baking soda
I'll cancel what I said about dissing the scene since I have both love and hatred for it
But, when I do become king, please accept the fact that victory is mine

There's one thing better than sex and that's succeeding






Ugly Duck - Ctrl + Alt + Del *2


Instead of feeling a sense of rivalry, my feelings of disappointment grow bigger
You're better off reminiscing on the days when I was your fan 3 years ago
You're no different than the fuckers you used to talked hella shit about
You can't open Just Jam shows without anyone famous on the lineup
You thought you were pretty tight if you labeled your works as "not mixed," huh?
You really have no sincerity, do you. Just stop making music overall
"Please understand me as I didn't do mixing for it~ This is the real RAW SHIT!~"
I can't even hear what you're saying, yet you try to rationalize
Let me make you another nickname: "Mr. Rush"
Do what you were best at, which were throwing fists and being a mobster
You think that just because your voice is loud that everything will go well for you
Stop making those pig screeching sounds and get on the rhythm
You never try to research but yet you blabber a lot
What did you say to me when I was looking up music? That I'm an otaku?
Then what are you doing making a living off of the same people who do what I do
Illionaire, Hi-Lite, VV:D, Buckwilds, & Do'main
You can't even open up Just Jam without us
Who do you think you are overlooking someone else's table of food as the world's greatest pig?
Why don't you go eat your feed with your grand left hand
And if you're trying to reference someone, do it straightforward and right,
That "Jtong! Hella hates me, Swings!" instead of "Now I'm King! Swings! So don't hate me as your hyung!"
Also, you would use Rhymer hyung as an excuse to say this and that
You're the CEO of JM who contracted with Rhymer that contracted with Loen
Where did your upgrade go?? Your class fell headlong
Whatever you do, you always say Rhymer hyung, Rhymer hyung as your excuse
Fuck, when did you have so much reasoning for yourself you pig, pig, pig
Did you seriously want to make issues, you copy cat, you crazy ass
You're a psychopath, a crazy ass, a crazy ass who's desperate for attention
There's a line to be drawn, you crazy ass feeding off of your pride in yourself
You act cool but we all know it's a gimmick and that you're just Swings the retard
You had a rift with Ssam D (Simon D) for a while and now what?
You apologize suddenly and request for him to guest in Just Jam the next day
I understand your motives but aren't you slightly even embarrassed?
I love you but I have to say what I need to say
Just because you were on broadcast for a while, it seems that you get a lot of functions calling in for you to perform for?
You seem to enjoy the fact that people recognize you now, huh?
Look at you hang around retards like Mad.C and J'Kyun
I hope your friendship lasts forever till your graves
You got qualified here, qualified there
Hey, you got qualified there too
Why don't you spend that time picking up your pride from the scripted Show Me the Money
A legend is shitting and from today on, you'll remain as just a good memory to me

TakeOne - Recontrol

Why does everyone copy Lil Wayne
It seems like even after a few years passing by, people are still sounding like Drake and Asap Rocky
Do do do do! Everyone seems to be difficult with Kendrick Lamar now since they can't rap like him
Here, before we copy Korea, we're already caught up
Why do you keep holding onto your dick in front of your female followers
It's illmatic if everyone likes fast-paced things
If you debate the core of what differentiates an official album and a mixtape, of course their quality is the same, maybe in terms of income they're not
No one recognizes musical competence, even if your popularity goes up
Don't overestimate with the influence you have because look at Beenzino. Seeing him, we know that it can disappear any day when you kiss your girlfriend
It makes no sense. Do we have to keep our eyes out because of females?
It's ironic how you mention Verbal Jint and San-E because didn't they change too?
'You Look Well' on the charts is what everyone knows about
This isn't a diss but a problem we all have
Hip hop is our preparation and our homework for when it becomes popularized
Everyone uses popular female vocalists for their singles
"They call themselves hip hop when they can't even get any game"
You're the one who uses the money from the number one music chart agency in the first place
It'll be remembered in the heads of hip hop fans that this rapper that's you is a commercial rapper
The results of Swings hyung's music is terrible just like his influence
The reason why is because he chose the wrong target to call out in the first place
I DON'T SELL WEED MOTHER FUCKER, I SMOKE IT
There's thick smokey (makeup) lined up beneath the eyes of a rapper who acts like a celebrity
The way you talk on SNS changed once you went on 'Show Me the Money'
You claim to be the punchline king; then when it comes to your enemies, set them right with a punch
Out of those, the targets may be J'Kyun, Mad C, Din Din. Zizo, and Swings
Who knows, it could be Jindo Dog, Loco, Illtong, or even me
But out of those people, go ahead and ask around who's changed
Of whom acts cute on their Facebook
This is the Korean version of Kendrick Lamar's 'Control'
If you're going to keep your eyes out, then why do you even copy in the first place
Also, that's right, I'm a part of Buckwilds and Do'main
We're just friends but we don't pursue music with a business approach
If you have a problem with the numbers of our crew members, then go diss Bulhandang
Before you call yourself an oldie, choose who your target is
Also, I wish R-EST hyung would stop it with the tweets
No matter how much you try to break someone down, no one acknowledges you, which is why no one calls you out to performances in Gwangju

Money doesn't promote someone superior to others among rappers
"Are you considered successful just because you put out a lot of music?" is the question I want to ask
Before you make sarcastic remarks about how we're lazy, think about making an impact in history of hip hop; think of success as something you achieve in the next step up
Now that, that's the right way to create rivalry
If you fight with money and popularity, then you're rivaling idols
If you're going to talk down to us about not putting out albums, go beat up Black Nut first
Your enemies aren't that far from you - they're always right beside you
Don't diss people who are easy targets but have courage
For example, Jerry.k hyung is awesome for his 'Declaration of Current Affairs'
We're not in a rush because we're waiting for the time when we're ready
I'm ready so be ready, 'GREEN IDEOLOGY'

Yasu - Hello, Senior

Nafla - Wings

Crybaby joins Grandline Entertainment

Having shown his unique colors through his singles "Be My" and "6 Line Luv Song," singer-songwriter Crybaby was announced to become the newest family member of Grandline Entertainment, which houses artists such as 015B, Geeks, Crucial Star, TakeOne, Nam Soo Rim, K JUN, Jun Sayer, etc.

According to Grandline Entertainment, they said, "Crybaby is a singer-songwriter that's able to hold a unique yet sensible sound through his R&B that surpasses the bases of pop, rock, hip hop, jazz, and other genres in music. As an artist that's able to write modern yet strong music as well as hold a charming voice, we find him to match the direction that Grandline is headed music-wise which was the reason for us recruiting him."

Crybaby promoted under the group called Crybabies, consisting of 2AM's Seulong and Swings and was under the label Independent Records, housing artists Vasco, Basick, and InnoVator. However, it was announced that Vasco decided to disband the label but in still wanting to take care of Crybaby, he decided to recommend him to Grandline Entertainment.


Crybaby said, "I'm very happy to be a part of the family in Grandline Entertainment, as they house the seniors, juniors, and colleagues I've always respected. I'm confident in being able to deliver even greater and newer music." He continued in saying, "I'm planning on releasing my first album with music that's fitting with the upcoming fall season," announcing his plans in the future.



Source: Hiphopplaya

[Editorial] Hip hop rappers reporting for duty!

(Comedian Sam Hammington, a fixed cast member of the MBC show 'Real Men')

"Hip hop rappers reporting for duty!"

Wait, if you're reporting for duty, why are you dressed in your almost-there skinny jeans and holding a microphone on stage? And why are you putting out albums? Hold up, let's rewind this back a little.

Should we start off with what happened barely a week ago when news of The Quiett performing on the side while being in public service hit the fan? Or should we fast forward a little and talk about what happened last night when Crucial Star got busted for doing public service also? 

I guess I'll rewind way back into the history of the Korean army and their service policies before I unravel each story one by one. 


As many of you might know, in South Korea, it's mandatory for all men to serve in the military. Usually, men start their service as soon as they graduate from high school at the age of 19. So how come you see Korean pop stars enlisting at the age of 28, a nearly 10 year gap? There are various ways to delay your enlistment through reasons like school or work, but eventually you'll still receive a letter with your enlistment date stamped right on it. There have also been cases where certain celebrities like MC Mong and actor Song Seung Hun who have tried evading enlistment, only to end up either exiled from the industry or being forced to enlist after creating much havoc with the press. And then we have our rare – very rare – cases of celebrities having to re-enlist due to exceeding the amount of public events performed while serving in the military, as demonstrated by Mr. Gangnam Style himself, Psy. 

And what happened a few days ago with The Quiett was that he performed at shows and put out albums and songs that were available for purchase on online music sites. So what's the big deal? I mean, he is an artist, right?

Wrong. According to Korean military laws, you're not supposed to perform any commercial activity unless it's at military/government events. Although the government does pay you, it's very little and considering that these celebrities have made much more through commercial activity or performing at events, they obviously want to take the route they've been cruising along for so long.


"But The Quiett is doing public service, no? Then shouldn't he be exempt?" 

Just because you're a public figure doesn't mean you're exempt from this rule. If anything, it's much more enforced because you are a public figure. Public service is an easy way out for celebrities because they're public figures. You're free to live at home and do office work in the military if you're a public soldier while if you're an active soldier, you remain in the military base. 

Whether you're a hip hop rapper, a KPOP singer, or an actor, going down the public service route is looked down upon because the majority of Korean men are forced down the active duty route and have to suffer while celebrities live in the comfort of their own home and work in the office for a few hours. 

So how did Crucial Star get tied into this?


Apparently, two days ago according to Korean time (15th), someone on DC Hip Hop Gallery posted, "Isn't Crucial Star in public service also?" No one really cared for it until people who crossed the post began to think about it and attacked Crucial Star on Twitter. I mean, he's 24 years old when most men would have either served or is serving in the military but considering he made his debut early under the duo Libra Twins, quickly to be picked up by Soul Company, it made every sense for people to question if he was serving, had served, or is planning to serve. 


And then this happened.

"First off, I want to apologize to the many fans who have watched me for a long while with much interest, which is why I'm writing up this post. With the news of my much-admired musician and senior The Quiett hyung, my heart continued to feel heavy and the reason is because I also am currently doing public service. With not much time left until I'm discharged from the military, I thought about hiding it till then but not wanting to bring bigger disappointment to my fans, I have made up my mind to apologize officially. Although in result I did perform commercial activity, I didn't want to stop music. I was also scared that I'd be forgotten. Everything was a result of my greed and I realize now that these methods were wrong. I'm taking responsibility as a person who grows from the love of their fans and I truly apologize for this. While reflecting on my actions, I will efficiently finish up the rest of my service."

And then this came up, an official statement from Crucial Star's label, Grandline Entertainment:

"We as Grandline Entertainment realize we take great responsibility for the position Crucial Star is currently in right now. We deeply apologize to the many who listen to Crucial Star and Grandline's music. 

As a company, we hold responsibility for needing to direct their artists better and to halt any form of music activities. Because it can hurt the artist, we hope that in this situation you hold back your slanders towards Crucial Star and take it out on us as we, Grandline Entertainment, is at wrong in this situation.

It makes us think back to what music means for these musicians in the indie/hip hop scene without anything to live by as they dive straight in. And during his service, Crucial Star has efficiently done his deed while serving and has maintained a good relationship with his coworkers at the office he is stationed at. We find that it's impossible to have done both – serving in the military whilst working on his music – without efficiency and his passion for music. In result, we're disappointed at ourselves that the damage was done to an artist based off of our wrong decision. 

From now on, we decided to stop all music services of Crucial Star's that was released under Grandline Entertainment and to cancel any upcoming schedules. We as Grandline Entertainment will accept all criticisms in regard to this issue and we apologize once again for what has happened."

But the post by Grandline Entertainment was quickly taken down when the slanders got out of control, saying how passion for music is a mere excuse for trying to make profit when he should be focusing on his service. The label deleted all of their recent tweets regarding to the issue and Crucial Star deactivated his Twitter. 


So, what now? 

Well, the Crucial Star search on Twitter is a mess right now, fangirls crying for oppa to come back, fangirls being patient and waiting for oppa, fangirls crying in anger about oppa betraying them, and last but not least, the angry men who have either served or already served in active duty that are pissed about another celebrity soldier going through public service and getting caught for it. 

There's no guarantee how much damage this has done to his career so far and can only determined from the response of the public when he puts out an album after his service is done and his reflection period is over. As for Grandline Entertainment, they'll probably have to slave Geeks some more to make up for losing one of the two biggest players on their team. 

Meanwhile, for The Quiett, he's penalized to serve an extra 5 days in his service but that doesn't amount to the disappointment in him. Although Crucial Star is quite popular himself, The Quiett has a larger fan base for a) being in the industry much longer b) building his name for being one of the most talented producers of the Korean hip hop industry and c) working with mainstream artists, adding up to all the more disappointment in him. 

In a sense, I understand why underground artists are more desperate in wanting to perform, not just for money sakes, but the fact that they're below a rookie mainstream artist for simply working underground and that 22 months is a long time for an artist to be away and a short time for an artist to be forgotten. However, there's no valid reason for them to have gone down the public service route. 



All in all, this is just an informative post of the two top hip hop rappers in the scene right now and could foreshadow a train of other artists, whether they're more popular or lesser known than these two, to follow their footsteps. Let's just hope no one goes Gangnam Style into the military twice!

[Editorial] 'Mean Girls' - the Korean hip hop edition

The abundance in Korean hip hop compared to just a few years ago isn't much different for the fact that the amount of rappers out there spreading their name and mixtapes may be the same, but the amount of music labels created is definitely different. In this case, more music labels have been created than before.

I'm sure there were labels floating around but you have to admit, Soul Company was pretty much that chubby, cute guy with the top hat and cane in Monopoly collecting all of the money in the game with Jungle Entertainment and Amoeba Culture coming in close second. You can say that this was the SM-YG-JYP of your Korean hip hop a few years ago. But with the disbandment of Soul Company and Jungle Entertainment prioritizing their 'idol hip hop group' M.I.B, you can say the two out of the three in the holy trinity of what Korean hip hop was began crumbling.

The Quiett left Soul Company to pursue his own 'thang' in setting up Illionaire Records alongside Dok2 and that was really the beginning of Soul Company falling apart, Loptimist leaving soon afterwards to join Jungle Entertainment (to which, I still don't know why he did to this day) and the label disbanding fully in November of 2011. Then everyone really went their separate ways. Minos, Kebee, and RHYME-A- set up Standart Music, DJ Dopsh & Crucial Star headed for Grandline Entertainment, and everyone else just popping up at shows or with their new albums every few months or so.

In the case of Jungle Entertainment, they decided to push for mainstream once Tiger JK and T hit it off as partners for the summer special performance with MC Yoo Jaesuk on the popular show "Infinity Challenge." With Paloalto having left to establish Hi-Lite Records and Leessang still technically under Jungle Entertainment but setting up their own music label, Leessang Company, other artists such as Bizzy, Jungin, Jo Moongeun, and TEBY are under the label as well but aren't seeing much light (thanks M.I.B!) sad to say.

But among the Three Musketeers is one hopeful music label which is Amoeba Culture. Like the other two, they too had their downtime when Dynamic Duo, the face of their company then, had enlisted into the military and E-Sens of Supreme Team being blown over his marijuana scandal. However, instead of the music label disbanding or prioritizing on their 'hip hop idol group,' the company has been working extra hard to step their game up, and it's thanks to their recent recruitment of artists Jtong and Zion.T. Also working hard is producer Primary who has been releasing nonstop singles after his long hiatus as well as Dynamic Duo the moment they had discharged from the military.

However, you can't necessarily always depend on old music labels to continue their reign because with Korean hip hop constantly growing with incoming new faces, this also means that you're at stake of being overthrown from your throne. And it already looks like there are new faces in the scene (run by some old face rappers) to take over.

As of lately, it's been a battle between the three labels: Grandline Entertainment, Hi-Lite Records, and Illionaire Records. Why these three? Because they're the only three companies who have been active with not only promoting their artists, but hosting their own shows as well. Grandline Entertainment has been hosting shows every few months, I'd say once every six months and they've been doing the best in terms of revenue. It's thanks to the artists and their insane networking that the lineup is worth going for, but it's also bad that the lineup is what they depend on to break even. Hi-Lite Records on the other hand may lack in income, but the artists together have a strong built bond (you always see them collaborating, from mixtapes to EPs and even free songs) as well as a strong 'fanbase.' By strong fanbase, I mean that people who are fans of artists in Hi-Lite are usually fans of all the artists under the label so you have loyalty guaranteed for whatever release pretty much. And finally, in the case of Illionaire Records, you have what these two companies don't have yet: mainstream. Although Grandline Entertainment may have some crazy network, nothing tops what Dok2 and The Quiett alone have through collaborating with mainstream artists like Jay Park and Hyuna to being friends with idols such as Junhyung from BEAST. That alone gets you spotlight and fame from not only your experience in the underground scene, but from the mainstream scene as well. I've seen some fans of BEAST follow Illionaire since Junhyung became friends with the two, and you know fan girls - they'll buy your CDs (and call you oppa).

With what was the Holy Trinity of Korean hip hop having led so much artists as well as majority of the underground scene so well yet still crashing and crumbling, it makes me wonder if these new labels of the underground generation today can stand a chance and live up to the saga from before. Are they the new kid from Africa who learns and adapts from what the underground scene had been before? Can they be considered the Cady Heron who overthrows Regina George? Or are all these companies and labels just mere names of a Burn Book and we're still waiting for a Regina George to take full reign over Korean hip hop? Who knows what will happen in the span of the next few months, years, or decades but I hope they still wear snapbacks on Wednesdays.