[Hiphopplaya] Yeopo - 'P.O.R.N' Interview

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

[Hiphopplaya] Fana - 'FANAttitude' Interview

[T/N: Bear with me the typos and incorrect grammar that may appear in this lengthy interview. My eyes feel like popping out but I wanted to push this out before I never get the chance to (I've had it on hostage in my drafts for 10 days now...). On an off note, I'm not sure if I want to mull over doing more lengthy translations but I'll try if I get good responses. I'll also come back sometime this week to edit the errors on this interview but enjoy!]



Arriving an hour before the interview, we were able to feel through the sense of responsibility held in his words in the duration of the interview of how he embodies the title of his album, "FANAttitude," a combination of the words 'FANA' and 'attitude.' If you want to know more about Fana's attitude, listen to his album and read the interview. A boy not afraid to look ustp at the sky; you can think of his smiling face whilst reading the interview in our delightful yet deep conversation we were able to hvae with him, as he had nothing to hide. 

HHP: How did you lose weight?

Fana: I think it was like this, in that I just lived life. I'd walk from my old house which was located in Gwangmyeong all the way to Hongdae.

HHP: Isn't that really far?

Fana:&nbspIt takes 3 hours and that was during the time where I'd live life drinking a lot. I'd walk all the way to Hongdae to drink and walk home, and so I repeated this lifestyle...nowadays I don't so much anymore. I actually gained more weight than then so I was embarrassed when the topic of my weight loss made it to the press. 

HHP: If you look at the articles online, they label you as 'good looking rapper.' Do you often get overwhelmed by this?

Fana: It's very overwhelming. 

HHP: You released an album after 4 years since 2009, but you have been actively promoting in the meantime. 

Fana: I'm not sure if it was noticed, but I did work very hard.

HHP: Are you currently housed under a label?

Fana: No, I'm not. If I did, then you can call 'The Ugly Junction' one. 

HHP: We heard that you joined the crew Buck Wilds back in June, however there seem to be a lot who may have not known.

Fana: Yes, a lot of people might not know. It's still vague if I really joined or not (laughs). I joined because I lost in a game of darts. 

HHP: A game?

Fana: Yes, J-Tong had told Ddolbae, a member of Buck Wilds, to coax 'Fresh Avenue' to join Buck Wilds. Honestly, I had no thoughts of joining. At the time, I was drinking and beside me was a dartboard so we ended up playing a game of darts, betting that I would join if he (Ddolbae) won. Because I knew of his dart skills prior to our match, I thought of how there'd be no way that I'd lose. Maybe it's because Ddolbae had a goal in mind, but he ended up hitting the S-Bull four times straight.  

HHP: (Laughs) So you really kept your promise?
Fana: Yes, that's why I joined (laughs).

HHP: So DJ Wegun just happened to follow and join?

Fana: Wegun said on that day that if I joined, he'd join too so he ended up following along.

HHP: So are you the oldest member in Buck Wilds currently?

Fana: Yes, that's right. There's also Kirin who joined recently so we're the two oldest members from what I recall.

HHP: The members of Buck Wilds participated in your bonus track for the album. So you haven't been working on the album for a long time then, correct?

Fana:  Yes, that's right. the 'Show StopperS Remix' was only revealed with the Buck Wilds members' part but other artists such as Rico of Daze Alive Music, winner Jackee.Y of the 'GALMIGHTY' auditions also participated in the track. However, in the process of editing, we found that their parts didn't fit so the two were cut off and the track ended up becoming a Buck Wilds remix. Also, Vida Loca, the producer of the track, happened to be a member of Buck Wilds as well. 

HHP: So were you originally intending on a different remix version?

Fana: No, there were no intentions like that. The remix just happened to get into the track list. After production, I listened to the album overall and it was a total of 40 minutes long. For those who listened to the tracks digitally, you might all have thought that it was short as well. So in thinking of how short it seemed, I thought of adding another track and wanted to make the track an exclusive for the CD only. Also, I actually dislike tracks with multiple people so rather than releasing it digitally, I decided to only have it released in the CD. 

HHP: You also featured in the show 'Show Me the Money' as of recently. How did you come across featuring on the show? 

Fana: Yes, I received a call from Mad Clown. He told me how he was supposed to compete with Lexy but due to her leaving the show, he could use another featuring and with the track being fitting with my style, he decided to give me a call. Also at the time, Mad Clown was on the same team as MC Meta and since Mad Clown was a former friend within Soul Company as well as MC Meta being a senior I respected and have known when I was younger for 10 years now, I debated a lot with myself since I didn't necessarily have a good relationship with 'Show Me the Money' either. So I began asking those around me, majority of them responding back to me with questions of why I'd go on such show but Ddolbae was the one who told me that aside everything, I should take up the opportunity with a pure business mentality. So as a result, I went on the show and because of the show, I prolonged the release date of my album as well. 

HHP: There were a lot of responses showing how you put on a good performance. How did you feel?

Fana: I honestly didn't look for responses. I just thought to myself of how I should work on my facial expressions better. On scene as well as on broadcast, I practically hypnotized myself to work on my facial expressions but right before going on stage to perform, I had spilled water on my clothes. I was initially supposed to be on the crane to perform but due to the initial shock of having spilled water on myself, I went on the crane and hurriedly tried to dry off the water before my performance so I just performed how I normally did, which was with a lot of effort. With effort, it shows on my facial expression so all I thought about this performance was how I should have worked on that better (laughs).

HHP: In the meantime, you were on broadcast with Fresh Avenue as well as hosting your 'The Ugly Junction Live' shows for a while now. We'll ask about each of them. How did you come across doing broadcasts on Fresh Avenue?

Fana: Originally it was DJ Wegun who was doing a mix broadcast but seeing as there were 10 guests watching, he decided he needed guests and that was when I went on, which was also when it shot up. That is, the ratings for the broadcast. So with the hits it got, I went on several times which led me to sit around all the time hanging out...yes, that's how it started.

HHP: There were a lot of issues surrounding the broadcasts of Fresh Avenue, with topics of disbandment of Soul Company, you being recruited by 'Show Me the Money,' and bringing up Mad Clown in the Fresh Avenue Awards.

Fana: He wasn't someone that was brought up just then, because Mad Clown was brought up all the time. We don't hide our words on our broadcasts as we're straightforward with our thoughts. Even with our issues with Soul Company, we said it then and there as well as the issue surrounding 'Show Me the Money.' Whenever an issue surfaced, we said it without hesitation.

Fresh Avenue - Fana & DJ WEGUN's radio broadcast

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/fresh-avenue

HHP: There were videos taken by you yourself labeled 'Goblin Rush.'

Fana: In college, I was a mass communications major and I ended up learning video editing during the quarter I was graduating since I never went to school nor studied efficiently. Anyway, everyone around me was swamped with contents and because it would be a waste to let them rot, I bought a camcorder and started recording. But as of right now, I'm actually really behind on those videos and I have about a half year's worth of terms but I haven't been able to release them due to being busy.

HHP: You also released a video relating to Soul Company and it seemed that you filmed it last winter. 

Fana: Yes, I think I have a term up till there so I release recent ones sometimes.

Fana's Youtube Page / [Goblin Rush]

http://www.youtube.com/user/TheUglyJunction

HHP: So you started 'TUJL' since Soul Company. How did you start this up then?

Fana: I first thought of it in 2009 and from 2007 to 2009, my income as well as popularity was so-so then and it was during the time that Soul Company was soaring high up. They were at a position where no one could compare at all. Despite the label growing, even then and now, I still never had big thoughts on promoting. The label was expanding more than I had wanted and so I thought of something I could promote in by myself, which was how I thought of 'The Ugly Junction' and I believed it to be something I can take care of by myself. And so in the following year in August, I opened doors through 'TUJL' for the very first time. 

HHP: Coming back to ‘TUJL’ in present time, I want to say that it's really fun. Whether it's the World Soccer TUJL 11 competition, the Gwangju performance (TUJL 22, A Lavish Vacation), and the 'GALMIGHTY' auditions which centralized female rookie hip hop musicians. Your planning stands out in many ways through the examples listed above. Do you plan all these yourself? 

Fana: Yes, I think of all the ideas, overview them, direct, recruit, and draw the poster myself.  

HHP: That's amazing. Which performance was most memorable for you?

Fana: It had to be the World Soccer competition. Pento had one the match but we plan on hosting another competition. 

※ Watch all of TUJL here : http://www.hiphopplaya.com/live/list.html?key=The+Ugly+Junction

HHP: As mentioned before, the 'GALMIGHTY' auditions was a very unique case. How did you come across planning that?

Fana: Auditions weren't the first idea that I thought of. At first, I had wanted to plan a performance centered around female musicians and in midst of planning, the idea of auditions came into mind and thought, "Why not have female musicians audition?" The thing about auditions was that there's so many out there and with accepting both male and female, we thought there would be too many participants as well.

HHP: We heard that the responses were good and that a lot of female rookie musicians had participated as well. 

Fana: Yes. Although the participants who copied rap styles were all eliminated later on but including those participants, there were over 70 teams that joined which surprised me. We thought that at most there would be 30 teams but seeing the turnout, we found it very encouraging. 


HHP: How did your production go with the winner of the auditions, Jackee.Y?
Fana: The prize for winning the auditions was a guaranteed single with G-Slow and I really want to put a single out for her but she's also very driven. I know I'm not in a position to rush her but...I'm also at a point where I'm just feeding her attention. I really want to help her release a single as soon as possible. 

HHP: While carrying out your performance, you collaborated with Burn Intense as well and for your album title track, you also collaborated with CONVERSE. How did you come about your collaboration this time? 

Fana: Honestly, I have to say Ddolbae's story for this. Although I am someone who is pursuing in music and have planned events before, I'm not someone who is competent in terms of business in my opinion. Ddolbae is a friend who has worked in that route and as he discharged from the military, he decided that he wanted to start it up again in finding his place through his studies, which is why we began working together. In the case of Burn Intense, it was through his proposal letter and same goes for Converse. To be honest, 'Shoestring Blues' wasn't the title track. It was through listening to the track with Ddolbae that he told me, "We could do something with this" so he began writing a lot of proposal letters. In midst of all of them, Converse was on the roster also and according to a representative from their end, they seemed to have thought that it matched with our end as well, which is how we began working together. 

HHP: We saw that Ddolbae helped you out a lot with the promotions for this album. Could you give us a second to introduce who he is?

Fana: He looks a lot like the actor Yoo Toong (laughs). He was a former CEO of King the 兄 Records, worked under J2 Entertainment, is a junior of my school, and is now preparing to work in an agency. He came across working in this field after having been a staff of Soul Company. 

HHP: You also took on another collaboration with Jangkoal. How did you come across working together?

Fana: I was constantly trying to recruit someone to help out on the artwork for the album and Jtong had told me about how he had purchased an artwork from Jangkoal to hang at South Town. Seeing the artwork, Ddolbae threw out the idea of possibly working with the artist and after having seen his artwork on his blog, I decided to give him a call to work together. 

HHP: What was Jangkoal's response in your offer?

Fana: I think he was very optimistic about it. I let him listen to the album first and he liked it; he likes the track 'Gum' a lot. 

Jangkoal's blog

http://blog.naver.com/jangkoal/

HHP: So it's alright for us to assume that you've made this album for nearly 4 years, correct?

Fana: Yes, although the entire four years wasn't necessarily dedicated to making the album, but it's close enough.

HHP: Was there a reason as to why it took so long?

Fana: There's a lot of complicated events that mix in with the reasoning. Hrm...what should I say first...first off, after finishing the production for [FANATIC], the [FANAttitude] album wasn't necessarily the next runner up that I worked on. I was working on an album titled [FANAlyze] and in the midst of working on it, the [FANAttitude] production coincided, which caused somewhat of a delay...also, I had issues with my prior label, my health wasn't at its best, and I had to graduate. I had about 2 years till graduation and my parents really wanted to me to graduate. There were a lot of work invovled in planning for 'The Ugly Junction' as well. Of course, it was something I was doing because I enjoyed it however, it was because of it that I couldn't get a grip of myself. Swamped in everything, I couldn't focus on working on my albums and to be quite honest, my drive for working on them was lost as well. I had no desire to put out albums which was why it took so long. 

HHP: The tracks you put in the album were tracks you either released as singles or sung at performances. So does this mean that for your album [FANAlyze], you worked on it separately from this release? 

Fana: The album name [FANAlyze] derived from a combination of the two words "FANA" and "Analyze." With [FANAlyze], I pushed for more of a brighter feel. Although nothing was confirmed, 'FANAttitude' was actually a track for [FANAlyze] as it was the first track I had written lyrics for off the album. If I explain this in further detail, it's that I wanted to make [FANAlyze] an album where I analyze a part of myself. I decided to start off with the theme of the path I walked on and my attitude towards life which eventually led to to working on 'FANAttitude.' But in midst of writing lyrics, I was continually reminded of the theme of my direction and attitude so I thought, why not make an album based off of this wholly so that's when I really began working on the album. The reason why I released a single was because I had expected dates of releases for them. In the album [FANAttitude], the first six tracks were all worked on chronologically. I wrote most of the lyrics in April of 2010. In the case of 'Full Speed Ahead,' I sang it as a new song in the first show for 'TUJL' and since I received a good response for it, I made a promise to the audience that day that I'll release it officially sometime in the future. So in planning for the upcoming 'TUJL' shows, I thought about how there should be a highlight within each show and that was to hopefully release a new track which led to the second show for 'TUJL' being a release showcase for 'Harmony' and 'What if I' being a celebratory track for my 10,000th day. 

HHP: So did you choose what fit the best out of what you produced? 

Fana: Yes. I tend to write up a lot of lyrics beforehand. In knowing the theme of the album, I began producing based off of what I already had in my collection and picking from there what matched the theme. 

HHP: We heard you already have lyrics to the sequel album. Will this be for [FANAlyze]?

Fana: No. This...this is something I'm revealing for Hiphopplaya first in this interview but the next album is titled 'FANAconda.' There's going to be a lot of stronger sounding music in that album.

HHP: Ah! Then the album is a combination of the words "FANA" and "Anaconda." By strong, do you mean hardcore? 

Fana: I was honestly debating between two options but because this is an issue with my indecisiveness, I can't tell you right away but I have a feeling that it'll be released really soon. 

HHP: As you said before, you write up your lyrics beforehand but you invest a lot of time receiving songs. How long does it normally take you to receive them?
Fana: Honestly, this album isn't 100% of what I had envisioned from the beginning, however I did release it because it did make it to the level where I was at least satisfied with it. But when it comes to productions, I found it that producers had difficulty with me writing lyrics prior to receiving the track. Since this production is also a form of art, I can't speak objectively of it as it's something abstract, so I think that's why it takes long. 

HHP: On Soriheda's Twitter, he wrote that The Quiett was respectable (everyone laughs). So you tend to request beats after writing lyrics as opposed to writing lyrics when you receive a beat?

Fana: Yes, I request them most of the time. With the exclusion of several tracks, I produced based off of this method for majority of them, however surprisingly enough I wrote lyrics based off of beats more than I normally do. Examples of this were 'Move Again,' 'Remove Again,' and 'B.A.M.' Of course, 'Show StopperS Remix' was definitely based off of a beat already given. That's about it.

HHP: We heard that you purposely had the members of Soul Company participate in the [FANATIC] album, however you worked alone on this recent album. Was there a special reason for that?

Fana: Just because. It was an official album with my name on the line and of course I did receive help in the areas I needed but I felt that with the areas that I could work on, I found myself responsible for it. There is a slight regret I have with the [FANATIC] album and it was with the track 'Brutal Treatment (Part I) featuring The Quiett and Kebee. At the time, Kebee, The Quiett, and I were the members of Soul Company who were cast the most for performances. So because we had to have a track with all 3 members in it, the track was...not necessarily pressure but a reflection of what the label had wanted. If I could toss in an anecdote to this, you can see that we listed that track as "Part I" of 'Brutal Treatment." However, we had actually planned on working on a "Part II." There was a Hiphopplaya radio video where I rapped with Kebee and the part I rapped was actually a verse off of 'Brutal Treatment (Part II).' It was 2010 and at the time I was preparing an album for the next term. Since the first part had 2 rappers featuring in the track, I thought likewise for the second part and so out of the rookies in the scene at the time, I was thinking of recruiting Zico and Park Kyung, who were a part of 'BLOCKBUSTER' then. Of course, the production itself fell apart and although I haven't told him due to working on the [FANAttitude] album, I do have thoughts in wanting to work with him sometime, as I'm under the same crew (Buck Wilds) as Zico and have met Park Kyung recently at a performance also. 

HHP: Is there a rookie you'd like to work with as of recently?

Fana: I'm not sure. To be honest, I'd say rap is my forte so there's no one I'd want to work with through my personal production...hrm...I honestly think there's no one I want to work with. (Everyone erupts into laughter) Although there are a lot of people I'd like to have on stage. With time passing by, there are a lot of people entering the scene who are just as talented. Since 'TUJL' is one of my personal productions, I plan on introducing a lot of rookies. I hope a lot of people can cheer for them when they do come out on stage.

HHP: Up until your last album, you worked with The Quiett a lot, however there are no beats from The Quiett in this album. 

Fana: This is actually a very simple situation if you look at it. I had actually still wanted to use beats from The Quiett so I asked him but during the time I was working on [FANAttitude], he wasn't writing any songs. That was around 2010 or 2011 so that's why there's no tracks made by him in the album. 

HHP: You seem to hang out with the Soul Company members often. How is everyone doing nowadays? 

Fana: I honestly don't see them that often (laughs). There aren't many cases where I hit them up, however there are a few I tend to see more often than others, which includes Wegun as a given or Vida Loca and Jerry.k. To be quite honest, when the news of the label disbanding hit the fan, we tried to not act like it but there was a case of discomfort that we all felt with one another. This was something I felt as well. Although I have spoken about the issue without any hesitation on broadcast, but the problem with me speaking my mind is that this means that my opinion grows bigger than the opinions of others. This was why I didn't like anything that involved Soul Company but nowadays, I don't really think much about it. As I grew older, I became more open-minded...so if I run into them, I'll at least say hello. 

HHP: Your title track is called 'Shoestring Blues.' Did it become your title track due to the collaborations?

Fana: There was no intention of choosing 'Shoestring Blues' as my title track. In being tossed back and forth among different producers, 'Shoestring Blues' transformed into several different tracks. There was no intention of having the track be bright as it is now. Anyway, in midst of the track being passed around, I was introduced to Kimparkchella for the first time in the beginning of this year, and the track it is today is a result of our meeting. Although the track is a lot different from the blueprint I had initially planned out, I received endless recommendations to make this as the title track from music distributors as well as Ddolbae. 

HHP: Your track gives off a band vibe to it. Was that originally intended?
Fana: I didn't necessarily have a band vibe in mind but that I wanted tracks with dynamics. I normally just write the verse first when it comes to composing but with this track in particular, I wrote the chorus instead. What I had originally planned was that during the line "Again after tying my shoes," I killed the pace but when I say "Stand up," that's when the dynamics step in, however a lot of the producers had troubles with this part in particular. Even if I tried, none of them liked it. Prior to this event, I had originally received a track from G-Slow, one being calm track while the other being a gloomy track. In that time, I had worked with Kimparkchella so I chose him because it was fun, not because of a certain vibe I was aiming for. 

HHP: We saw that the guitar was done by Kimparkchella. Do you plan on any other live sessions?

Fana: Yes, most likely when it's my own show, I'll have a live band perform with me. Right now we're in the process of recruiting a band. 

HHP: So is it something that we can see at the next 'TUJL' show? 

Fana: Yes, probably in the next 'TUJL' show, which is in mid-September. I plan on planning it as a release showcase. Since I have to focus on the performance aspect more than others as well as work with the band, I needed more time to practice, which is why I reserved the date a bit later than I normally would. I am also considering on performing with the members of Buck Wilds but I'd have to ask them. It'd probably be the first time I'd perform 'Show StopperS Remix' live. 

HHP: Your music video caused a lot of press since this was the first time you appeared in your own music video. 

Fana: That's right, since it was also the first time I filmed a music video even. In preparing for this album, the first thing I said to Ddolbae was that I'm going to do everything I could with this upcoming promotion. "Let's do everything I can, of course everything that my bank account allows." (Everyone laughs) So the music video was included with this. I was introduced to the PRODUCT 9OOD'S team, who also filmed the 'FLY' music video for Geeks. Since it was my first time filming a music video, I wasn't sure how the filming would roll out but I ended up just leaving it entirely up to them. They basically told me that the music video would be pictured out in this certain way and I would recruit certain people for it...so that's how the music video filming rolled out. Of course, to the people I had recruited for the music video, I didn't tell them the exact details of the music video. I just bribed them with a pair of Converse. 

HHP: Then their pay was in Converse? (laughs)

Fana: Yes, that's right (laughs). 

HHP: It's not just because of 'Shoestring Blues' but I feel that your album overall has a brighter feel to it. 

Fana: I normally don't like to give off the same feel to the sequel from the original work. I find it that for me, it holds no meaning and a small thing like that actually had a great effect on me. With this album in particular, I thought about how I should make an album of "conscious rap." If I had depended on vibes with [FANATIC], I thought of how I needed to focus on delivery of the rap a bit more with this album, which is why I focused on composing tracks to meet with those standards. 

HHP: In your previous album, you composed your album in a W form. How did you compose your album this time?
Fana: This time, I didn't have a specific form in mind as I worked on the tracks according to the order they were placed on the tracklist. Although the order isn't necessarily all in order, from the first to the sixth track, I did work on them chronologically. I received 'Shoestring Blues' and 'FANAttitude' around the same time and with the seventh and tenth track, I also received them around the same time, so you can see it as I worked on those tracks simultaneously. For 'What if I,' it's the track that stands out the most out of the album, which is why I placed it last and I find it that it perfected the album in a way. Hearing from my colleagues that the composition of this album was perfect makes me happy. 

HHP: You seem to continue in composing your lyrics in identical consonant and vowel structure. If you look at other musicians nowadays, the style has changed a lot. Do you plan on attempting a different style?
Fana: I never thought of that once. Because this writing technique has become habitual for me, I normally don't talk about identical or similar consonant and vowel structures anymore. I don't feel the need to tell people anymore about how I produce based off of this theory. Anyway, I think I'm going to continue what I've done before. 


HHP: We get the impression that the first and second tracks 'Move Again' and 'Remove Again' are continuations from one another. 
Fana: I received those two tracks at the same time as well. Originally, those two tracks were stuck together. What I mean by that is that in the track 'Move Again,' the last line says, "The fanaticism of your existence also" and coincides when the second track starts to play. With the CD, there were no problems but when it came to digital releases, the music distributor said that in remastering the tracks, the beginning and ends to the respective tracks will be cut off so instead of having them be cut, I thought it'd be best to have them as their own separate tracks.

HHP: Like your performance for 'The Guiding Star,' you seem to always have a miscellaneous track you perform. How come you don't include these in your album? 

Fana: For 'The Guiding Star,' that...was first sung at the 7th show for 'TUJL.' At the time, it was some kind of promise with the people who came out to the show. I honestly didn't say that with much thought put into it. I simply asked the crowd, "Should I make this a track exclusive for 'TUJL'?" to which everyone agreed. So this is why I never made it into an official track. Even if I did, it didn't fit the music concept with this album so I wouldn't have put it in anyway. 

HHP: You seem to keep your word really well, even with the little things that are said. 

Fana: I don't want to live with the burden with not keeping my promise with the people who were there that day. 

HHP: You seem to be on Twitter often than before now. 

Fana: I used to use a 2G phone but as of recently, I purchased an iPad. In purchasing an iPad, I began to use Twitter more frequently. Because of the recent luck I had, I gained a lot of followers, which also resulted in a lot of tweets with fan arts that I retweet all of. Oh Jieun noona calls me a "retweet monster" and others call me the "ruler of the night" (laughs). This is why I purposely retweet everything at a time where there aren't a lot of people on Twitter. 

HHP: You communicate with your fans a lot it seems. Do you have any memorable tweets that you received from fans?

Fana: I don't receive diverse feedback so there aren't much that are memorable...out of the tweets however, I tend to like the ones that involve then emotions people felt through certain parts from my lyrics; the tweets that seem to be able to dig right into the core of the song. 

HHP: Do you listen to a lot of international music?

Fana: I'm not very up-to-date with the trends in rap, and trap music doesn't really suit my sensibility. I listen to more of old Korean folk and blues consistently. The music I've listened to most was my own music. 

HHP: Really?

Fana: Yes, I'm the biggest fan of myself.

HHP: Then as a fan yourself, what was your favorite track from this album? (laughs)

Fana: Hrm...that's very difficult to answer. I think it'd have to be 'What if I.' Everyone tells me that once they listen to it, it becomes their favorite track from the album. 

HHP: You said you had wanted to talk about the attitude you had towards this album. How would you describe that in words? 

Fana: It's kind of hard to explain with every track...but in regards to the album overall, I would say that it reflects the path I lived as well as  the guidelines I want to live by in the future. Also, it's an album that I worked hard on so that it can become a guide that maybe others can live by as well. 

HHP: If there's anything else you'd like to say, feel free to tell us. 

Fana: Because 'Shoestring Blues' is a very unique track, a lot of people will take it in differently from how they approach it. I think a lot of people may think it was a lucky strike that it was fitting with the other productions I had meshed with, however I beg to differ. I think the track shines more when you listen to [FANAttitude] as a whole, which is why I ask everyone to listen to it altogether. I really focused a lot on the details in the rap as well as the dynamics. I hope everyone will anticipate the upcoming album [FANAconda] as well. Thank you. 

Source: Hiphopplaya

[Hiphopplaya] The New Wave #5: Okasian, TakeOne, Ugly Duck

Why yes, I am going out of order for "The New Wave" translations. In other words, fuck the system.

--

Hip Hop

Okasian: I started liking hip hop since high school and when I entered college, I wrote rap lyrics for fun and somehow I ended up recording as well, realizing how fun it was later on. What started as a hobby for fun became something I spent more time in writing rap lyrics for, and so it made its way naturally.

Nickname

Okasian: The nickname is OK combined with Asian. If you read it, it sounds like the word “occasion.” It can mean that in any occasion, I’m OK with it and am able to be accepting of everything in working harder.

Crew

Okasian: Cohort. The members of the crew are Okasian, Reddy, O$CAR, JayAllDay, $WIDEA, Cokejazz, and Kangkook. The name of the crew was made by O$CAR & Kangkook, and the amount of members increased with meeting more people and getting to know them.  There isn’t some bombastic motive we have as a crew, but we’re just friends who like the same things and hang around together. Unlike other crews however, we’re not all musicians. We’re really just a crew, clique, gang. We’re currently designing our own clothing so we’re thinking about starting up a business for the future that’s not too far ahead of us from now.

Title track

Okasian: “You’re the One,” “All In,” and “Goodnight.”

Behavior

Okasian: I think the human Kim Jiyong behaves in the manner of chasing after being happy at the moments when it’s possible. That’s also why I pursue in music. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a job, as it can be girls or money but as a musician, my actions are to make good music. Good music varies by the person but for me, I like music that’s fun and honest, something that can make others dance and think.

Respect

Okasian: To be honest, in the meaning of respect, I don’t necessarily respect a lot of people so if I do respect someone, it’s by a lot and for others, I have respect for them.

From now on

Okasian: I’m working on putting out an EP album by the end of this year and it’s titled “Boarding Procedures.”

Lastly

Okasian: All the people in Hi-Lite and Cohort are awesome people so we guarantee that the time spent in putting your attentions on us won’t go to waste. Also, if there’s a chance, I hope that everyone will live in having as much fun as they can. Everyone! 

Hip Hop

Takeone: The reason why I began liking hip hop was because of MC Sniper. Whenever I went to karaoke with my family members when I was in elementary school, I was really tired of them either singing ballads or trot all the time. I never had a huge interest in music overall up until I listened to the song “Korean” by MC Sniper on a TV commercial one day. I was honestly really shocked then after listening to it. I had listened to Eminem and Jay-Z before and maybe it was because they were foreigners that I couldn’t correlate it as rap but after listening to “Korean,” I felt what rap really was and that this was Korean hip hop. I think the song was more meaningful since I listened to it right on the day I was leaving to study abroad. And that led to me listening to all of MC Sniper’s albums, allowing me to know about Baechigi, Drunken Tiger, Dynamic Duo, Epik High, Movement, and Soul Company. I think from then onwards, I listened to whatever I saw in Korean hip hop. When I started rapping however, it was in middle school. My mom said that if I got 100 points on my midterm, she’d buy me whatever I wanted. I studied for nights on end and I ended up scoring a 95. For my efforts on studying hard, I ended up getting a PSP. Little did I know that the device was able to playback videos so I started looking around for hip hop videos on the internet to put into my PSP, coincidentally coming across the café site Jungle Radio. I was downloading music videos from there and the video I really felt a trigger from was Miller (Way)’s freestyle rap battle in which I believe Sool J had won. After watching this video, this was the first time I realized that any average person can rap. Afterwards, I went to the freeboard and for the first time, I was seeing uploaded music by other people. I thought they were all official artists at first because they seemed awesome, but I later found out that it was all self-recorded songs. I wanted to try it for myself so I went out to buy a microphone and recorded my written lyrics. I never dreamed big of what I wanted to do but after my first recording session, I found out my goals and dreams.  

Nickname

Takeone: My rapper nickname was originally Babo. It didn’t have much meaning to it since my gamer ID was always “baboz*” so it naturally became Babo when I’d upload my self-recorded tracks as well. But when I came to Korea and met other people pursuing in music, I began to get a grasp of how to make music and the details that come out of creating an album…after having knowledge of the system, I found out that what I was doing was on the same level as doing it for a hobby. In wanting to be serious about music, I ended up changing my rapper nickname. I also thought it’d be funny if I put out future albums under the name Babo as well. Anyway, I could only think of my real name, which is Kim Taekyun, and there were already others with the same name, like the comedian or the baseball player. The only thing I could think of is Taekwen. In my passport, my name is written as Tae Kwen Kim so it was hard for friends abroad to call me by my name and they’d always end up pronouncing it as “Takewon, Takewon,” which led me to change it up a little and thus Takeone was born. There’s no big meaning behind it but if I had to choose one, it would be that most film directing have cuts and start off with “Take 1” or “Take 2” for each scene. Just like that, the meaning of Takeone is a start, attempt, and going through the process. There’s the saying of “the start is always the hardest and the beginning is half of everything.” You can relate it to my actions.

Crew

Takeone: I’m under a lot of crews. If I list them all out, they are Chatterbox Group, BBK, Cookiz, BuckWilds, and Do’Main. One of the first people I worked with musically was Giriboy at the time when he lived in Nowon and with the other hyungs who did music with him, they formed the crew Chatterbox Group. I didn’t live in Nowon at the time but after working on music together and getting to know one another, I became a part of their crew. There are people in the crew now who either quit music or haven't kept in contact as well as haven't been promoting but I never related the term "crew" for promotional purposes. I always thought it meant to be a group of people who are close so I still consistently give them shout outs. As for BBK, these people called Kim Combi were making raps through Voiceware and I realized that these people were people I knew through music and having been bored and mischievous at the time, I ended up working together with them. That's how I ended up joining BBK but rather than starting something seriously, I think I joined them because it was fun. As of right now, Kim Combi quit Voiceware so I don't think anything will be released under BBK.

As for Cookiz, I was still rapping under the name Babo via the internet and Rimi nuna along with Gamja hyung had come across my track called “New York” through DC Tribe where it spread. Since then, we worked together and when I came back to Korea, I was introduced to Warmman hyung and joined the crew called Cookiz. At the time, they had the motive of recruiting rookies and creating a YoungMoney feel when forming the crew but as I had mentioned before, I didn’t like music promotions as a crew so I even dropped out of working on the compilation album also. Warmman hyung ended up setting up a music label afterwards and Cookiz started to drift apart but we’re still Cookiz to this day. For Buckwilds, Jtong hyung just liked me and told me, “Be a part of Buckwilds.” For Do’Main, it’s a crew made with friends who’ve been doing music with me since the beginning. When I started living abroad, Andup at the time was very against it so I didn’t join but did so when I came back to Korea. Do’Main is also rooted more as a group of friends while doing music rather than promoting. If we get along, we naturally become Do’Main. A lot of people are iffy about me being a part of so many crews but to rebuke against their words, crews to me are no different than my classmates from elementary school, middle school, and high school. Even if we don’t know each other that well, we’re all friendly and there are also those who like me just the same. I don’t know why this fact is so embarrassing to others to be honest.

Title track

Takeone: I think my representing track is “The Tae Kwen” from my mixtape that I released this year titled “Takeone For the Team.” Although it’s been a while since time passed by, the emotions, situation, location, and reflection over myself at the time of producing the track represents me very well. It’s a song I still perform often and I like the instrumental in general. I also like music with this kind of feel to it.

Behavior

Takeone: There’s popular phrases in hip hop music and those are “Show and prove” and “Keep it real.” I think the most critical criteria for these two phrases is behavior. Whether it’s lyrics, words, or actions, I think that in life and as a rapper, those who act opposite of those words seem to lose their coolness. For example, I’ve seen so many instances where people who have no production work of their own and can’t even rap that well put out multiple albums and speak about quite famous rappers as if they’re just average and can’t seem to compare to themselves. They probably don’t even think that way…but the actions I mentioned just now are not only different from the definition of “Show and prove,” but it’s different for “Keep it real” as well. I think it has to do with the fact that you haven’t proven yourself and aren’t confident in who you are, so it makes you seem less cool. But from what I’ve seen in rappers who have that mindset down, I’ve never seen them act that way. They’re cool. I think the actions I need to carry out from now and onward are these set of actions.

Respect 

Takeone: For me, respect is also one type of action. I don’t believe that idolizing another artist is respect. What I think of respect is that it counts people, music, genre, lyrics, words, and actions altogether. Respect itself doesn’t discriminate and is open; the action of being able to lower one’s self is respect. I think a few people clash the ideas of idolizing with respect for rappers but for me, I respect the Korean hip hop artists who have the same mentality of respect as me. Of course, props are a given to their achievements.

Role model

Takeone: First off, I don’t have an exact role model for a rapper. Rather than thinking about who I should rap like, I think I gain inspirations from famous international rappers I tend to listen to, Jay-Z, Nas, The Game, T.I, Kanye, and Eminem to name a few. They seem to be like my role models considering I don’t have a lot of underground rappers for my foreign hip hop playlist, but never did I ever think that I wanted to become like them. What I mean by this is that I want to become famous and make money with the music I want to do.

From now on

Takeone: My goal is definitely to achieve them from now on. If I go into detail about my official works, I don’t think I’ll be working on a mixtape for a while so I’m preparing for an official work, in which my goal for now is an official album. It’s something I have to discuss with the company so it could be a mini album or an EP, as nothing is set in stone. Anyway, as I did so with my mixtape release, my goal is to not put out embarrassing works to myself in the future.

Lastly

Takeone: I feel like my interview was hella long…sorry. Don’t trust the media as it is. And fuck the system…sea pearl.

Hip hop

Ugly Duck: I don’t think I started by saying, “I’m going to do hip hop!!” When I was younger, it was easier to access hip hop through broadcasts so I think it was given for me to sing along to it like any other song. When I started digging deeper while listening, I thought, “Wow! There’s a different culture like this one” and that’s when I started falling into it. I first started writing lyrics when I entered high school…even then, it was just something I was “trying.” I randomly went to the place that they did cyphers at and tried freestyles also, which naturally led me to recording and posting them online as well as performing in front others…also, this may be really unfitting with my image, but I played for the school band and learned how to play the clarinet. Thanks to that, whether it’s breathing or vocalizing, it helped me improve a lot in rapping. Time passed by instantly and soon enough, I already graduated high school? People think once in a while, “What did I do well?” I thought it was rap so I started officially with a determined mentality.

Nickname

Ugly Duck: It has a lot of meanings. If you translate it literally, well, it means an ugly duck. Of course, it relates somewhat to my appearance as well. Despite the word “ugly” connoting something negative, I wanted to twist that into giving off the ambience of “I’m still better than you even if I’m ugly.” This is also why I wrote down the lyrics, “I don’t care about being a swan. I like being like this.” But the biggest reason behind this name is that I wanted to rap “ugly.” There’s the phrase, “Ugly truth” and if you reverse it, it becomes “Truth is ugly” meaning I’m the truth! I guess I just felt compelled to the word “ugly” and thought of it as cool. Of course, I still think it’s cool to this day. I like it because it feels like hip hop. I started going by this…well, I had another penname before this one but at the time, I didn’t really have the determination to dive into rapping but once I did, I went by this (Ugly Duck) name.

Crew

Ugly Duck: Right now, I’m under Do’Main and Buckwilds. For Do’Main, it’s a crew with friends who I first met when I started rapping. Everyone is unique and good…when we meet up, it’s fun. Without any explanation, it’s just the best. For Buckwilds, many people know it as Jtong’s crew and it was a crew formed in Busan. I’m from Gwangju though…but when I was in my third year of high school, I followed my friend Gganmo to a Busan performance and that’s when I first met our captain Jtong. At the time, Jtong hyung told me, “You join Buckwilds too!” but I was scared and said I wouldn’t….after I turned 20, I showed him my rap to listen to via an online messenger and he asked me again, “Do you want to be a part of Buckwilds? Or no?” But that’s when I had seen him often and gotten to know him so without any hesitation, I told him “Sure.” But to be honest, both crews to me are the same. The duration of how long I’ve known the people are nearly the same…well, pretty much the same really. “Jtong recruited the members of Do’Main.” Anyway, I like it. I don’t think there’s a crew out there like them. We just gathered up the weird ones!

Title track

Ugly Duck: The work I put out under my name to the world are just a few featurings and a few mixtapes, but…hrm. I think it’d have to be “Ugly Boy,” the track I perform the most, the track I like the most, and it was in my mixtape which was remixed from the original single track “Bad Boys” from “Basick x B-Free,” produced by Vasco. I knew I had to do something but I didn’t know a producer so I thought, “Why not rap on top of an instrumental from Korean hip hop?” which is how I began preparing for my mixtape. So I started gathering up instrumentals of Korean hip hop songs that were released and out of them all, I think this one truly portrayed my rap the “ugliest.”

Behavior

Ugly Duck: Going outside of hip hop, I think one needs to have a mindset of always learning and studying to improve in anything they do. Despite the word being “study,” it’s not the study that we associate to what society knows it by. By studying, I mean in getting to know something…it still has the basis of what studying is but rather than learning the concepts, it’s the concept that we realize after feeling it and thinking about it on our own. Whether it's music or games, if you don't know the fruit of labor, then you don't know shit. You'll probably just be sitting there staring off into space unable to do anything. And the Korean hip hop artists we know who crossed this path didn't choose it by college or was hired like other jobs may consider; it's completely different. I think we need to carry ourselves with responsibility and this applies for me as well.

Respect 

Ugly Duck: I think the term “respect” needs to be embedded in an artist's mind. It's not that hard to respect one another. But that doesn't mean that if you can't understand it, that you should pretend you do. In a situation like that where you're pretending to understand it, then you're no different from a scammer. No respect.

Role model

Ugly Duck: Goals...role model...I don't really have a designated one. I know this sounds very vague, but I just want to be better than I am right now and that's applied in all aspects of what I do. There's a lot of awesome people out there and I have so much to learn from them. To me, they're all my role models and my goals to become like them. If I think about stuff like this, there's no end to it...I just want to become a completed person...ah, I don't know...this is too difficult. 

From now on

Ugly Duck: Whether my title will be a LP, EP, or a mixtape, nothing is set in stone but I will come out with something official within this year no matter what. Because I don't have a company I'm housed under, it changes a lot by my greed as well...but knowing my will to do so, I'm sure it'll happen and that ugly tracks will be released.

Lastly

Ugly Duck: I'll do well. 

Source: Hiphopplaya