Korean hip hop

Korean hip hop, also known as K-hip hop, is a subgenre of hip hop music from South Korea. It is widely considered to have originated in the early 1990s[1][2] and has since become increasingly popular, both in Korea and abroad.[3][4][5] In 2016, the Korea Foundation cited Korean hip hop as a new trend in the Korean Wave.[6]

In addition to music, Korea's hip hop culture includes a vibrant b-boying scene.[7][8]

History

Early 1990s: Origins of Korean hip hop

Hip hop first emerged in Korea in the early 1990s, following the end of authoritarian military rule in Korea and the loosening of state censorship of popular music in the late 1980s. Rock musician Hong Seo-beom's 1989 song about a 19th-century Korean poet, "Kim Sat-gat," is credited as being the first Korean pop song to contain rapping.[1][5][9] Hyun Jin-young, a rapper who debuted the following year with the album, New Dance, is considered to be the first Korean hip hop artist.[1][10][11]

DJ DOC performing at Cyworld Dream Music Festival in 2011

The debut of Seo Taiji and Boys in 1992 with the song, "Nan Arayo," marked a revolution in Korean popular music. The group incorporated American-style hip hop and R&B into their music, a move that was so influential that they are considered the originators of modern K-pop, and their explosive popularity paved the way for both pop and hip hop artists in Korea.[2][12] Other popular groups who helped spread hip hop into the Korean mainstream in the early 1990s include Deux and DJ DOC.[13][14]

Late 1990s-2010s: Mainstream popularity and underground innovation

The Korean hip hop scene grew considerably in the late 1990s and early 2000s due largely to a growing hip hop club scene and the influence of the internet.[3] While K-pop groups continued to incorporate rap into their songs, this time period also saw the emergence of pure hip hop groups, notably Drunken Tiger, "the first commercially successful true hip hop group" in Korea.[15][16] The group's single, "Good Life" topped Korean charts in 2001, despite the fact that the group was considered controversial due to the explicit nature of their songs.[17] Hip hop duo Jinusean, who were signed to former Seo Taiji and Boys member Yang Hyun-suk's new label YG Entertainment, also found mainstream success during this period with their songs "Tell Me" and "A-Yo," among others.[18][19]

In 2001, then-underground rapper Verbal Jint released his first mini-album, Modern Rhymes, which introduced an innovation to Korean hip hop: rhyming. Prior to this, Korean hip hop lacked rhyming because it was seen as too difficult due to the grammatical structure of the Korean language. Verbal Jint's method for creating rhymes was widely adopted by other artists.[20][21][22] Rap duo Garion also made an impact on the underground Korean hip hop community with their 2004 self-titled debut album, notable for being entirely in Korean.[20][23][24]

More Korean hip hop artists experienced mainstream popularity and success in the 2000s and 2010s. Dynamic Duo's 2004 album, Taxi Driver, sold over half a million copies, making it the best-selling Korean hip hop album ever at the time.[25][26] Epik High topped music charts in both Korea and Japan in the mid-2000s and reached the #1 spot on the Billboard World Albums Chart with their 2014 album, Shoebox.[27][28][29] Rap duo Leessang's album, Asura Balbalta, topped Korean charts just one hour after it was released in 2011, with every song from the album simultaneously charting in the top ten on several real-time music charts.[30]

2010s-present: International popularity

Korean hip hop's profile was again heightened in 2012 with the debut of the TV reality series, Show Me The Money. The show, which features both underground and mainstream rappers, is credited with increasing the popularity of hip hop in Korea.[4][6][31] Interest in the series has since spread abroad, with rappers who participated in the show's fourth season performing in the United States in 2015. The show also held auditions for its fifth season in Los Angeles in 2016.[4][32] Other Korean hip hop artists, including the rosters of popular record labels Illionaire Records, AOMG, and Amoeba Culture, toured the United States in 2015 and 2016.[33][34][35] Epik High also held a North American tour and played U.S. music and film festival SXSW in 2015 before becoming the first major Korean group to play U.S. music festival Coachella in 2016.[36] Though less popular in his native Korea, rapper Keith Ape became a viral sensation in 2015 with his song, "It G Ma."[37][38] The song is credited with helping expand Korean hip hop's audience abroad.[3][5][39] In 2016, the Korea Foundation cited Korean hip hop as a new trend in the Korean Wave, the term commonly used to refer to the recent spread of Korean pop culture throughout the world.[6][40]

Relationship with K-pop

In its early days, most Korean hip hop fell into a category called "rap dance," where artists mixed rapping with pop music.[1][41] There are still many K-pop artists who incorporate rap into their music, including popular groups Big Bang, Block B, and BTS.[5] Some K-pop rappers, commonly known as "idol rappers," are active in the hip hop scene, including Bobby, member of boy band Ikon and winner of season three of Show Me The Money, and Rap Monster, a member of BTS whose 2015 mixtape was included in Spin magazine's list of the year's best hip hop albums.[42][43][44][45]

Many Korean hip hop artists have also collaborated with K-pop artists.[46][47][48] Successful collaborations include "Some," a 2014 song by Soyou of girl group Sistar, R&B singer Junggigo, and rapper Lil Boi, that was Billboard's K-pop Hot 100's longest running #1 hit of 2014;[49] "A Midsummer Night's Sweetness," a 2014 collaboration of After School's Raina and rapper San E, that topped ten Korean music charts shortly after its debut and went on to win several major year-end awards;[50][51][52][53] and "I," a 2015 song by Girls' Generation's Taeyeon featuring rapper Verbal Jint, that topped eight Korean music charts after its release.[54]

B-boying scene

Yoon Mi-rae and Tiger JK performing at LG Electronics' CYON B-Boy Championship 2010 finals

B-boying, also known as break dancing, was introduced to Korea in the 1980s by dance clubs in the Itaewon neighborhood of Seoul, which were frequented by U.S. military personnel and other foreigners.[55] But it is wasn't until 2001 that Korean b-boys received international recognition, when the dance crew Visual Shock won "best show" and fourth place at Battle of the Year, the biggest b-boy competition in the world. Korean crews went on to win either first or second place at the competition for the next several years.[56]

In 2007, the Korean Tourism Organization founded an international b-boying competition called R-16 Korea. The event, which draws tens of thousands of spectators to Seoul each year, is also highly profitable for the Korean government.[56][57] Korean hip hop artists, including Jay Park, Yoon Mi-rae, and Drunken Tiger's Tiger JK, have performed at R-16.[58]

B-boying has also experienced popularity in Korean theater, including, notably, the musical, Ballerina Who Loved a B-Boy, which premiered in Korea in 2005 with performances in other countries, including Singapore, Japan, China, Guam, Colombia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The show was still staged daily in Korea as of 2013.[59]

List of Korean hip hop artists

The following is a list of Korean hip hop artists[60][61] with Wikipedia articles.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Um, Hae-Kyung (2013). "The poetics of resistance and the politics of crossing borders: Korean hip-hop and ‘cultural reterritorialisation’". Popular Music. Retrieved 2016-04-27.
  2. 1 2 "Hippity Hop And You Don’t Stop: Korea’s Hip-Hop Link to the US". Seoul Beats. 2014-02-25. Retrieved 2016-04-27.
  3. 1 2 3 Maher, Daniel Milroy (2015-03-02). "The Rise Of South Korean Underground Hip-Hop". Complex UK. Retrieved 2016-04-27.
  4. 1 2 3 Bai, Stephany (2016-01-28). "South Korean Rap Competition Series to Hold Auditions in U.S.". NBC News. Retrieved 2016-04-27.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Lee, Madeleine (2015-12-01). "2015 Was Korean Rap's Breakthrough Year". NOISEY. Retrieved 2016-04-27.
  6. 1 2 3 Lee, Woo-young (2016-04-12). "Han Dong-chul, mastermind of Korean hip-hop boom". The Korea Herald. Retrieved 2016-05-01.
  7. ↑ Lee, Hyo-won (2011-07-04). "'Ruthless' Koreans sweep B-Boy tournament". CNN Travel. Retrieved 2016-04-27.
  8. ↑ Usher, Charles (2011-07-05). "South Korea: World breakdancing capital?". Christian Science Monitor. ISSN 0882-7729. Retrieved 2016-04-27.
  9. ↑ Eperjesi, John R. (2012-03-07). "Korean Beat Attitudes: Rainhat Poet and Ko Un". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 2016-04-28.
  10. ↑ Dillow, Gordon (1993-05-09). "Rap's Seoul Brother : Dance Transcended All Language Barriers for Korean Music Star". Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved 2016-04-28.
  11. ↑ Cha, Yo-rim (2013-08-23). "Hyun Jin-young to release first new track in 6 years". Korea Herald. Retrieved 2016-04-28.
  12. ↑ "The Root of K-Pop: The Influences of Today's Biggest Acts". Billboard. 2013-08-06. Retrieved 2016-04-28.
  13. ↑ "Way Back Wednesday : Originators of Swag in K-pop, Deux". All Kpop. 2012-06-13. Retrieved 2016-04-28.
  14. ↑ "Way Back Wednesday : The Original Bad Boys of K-Pop "DJ DOC"". All Kpop. 2012-04-18. Retrieved 2016-04-28.
  15. ↑ "Keeping it real: What is authentic about Korean hip hop?". Beyond Hallyu. 2015-02-04. Retrieved 2016-04-28.
  16. ↑ Forrest, Brett (November 2000). "Silence Makes The Beast Grow Stronger". SPIN Magazine. Retrieved 2016-04-28.
  17. ↑ Ha, Julie (2014-01-31). "Korea’s Hip-Hop Legend Tiger JK is a Rebel with a Cause". KoreAm Journal. Retrieved 2016-04-28.
  18. ↑ "Way Back Wednesday: Jinusean". All Kpop. 2012-02-29. Retrieved 2016-04-28.
  19. ↑ "Jinusean tops music charts with ‘Tell Me One More Time’". Korea Herald. 2015-04-15. Retrieved 2016-04-28.
  20. 1 2 "15 Korean Rappers You Should Know That Aren’t Psy". XXL Magazine. 2013-02-12. Retrieved 2016-04-28.
  21. ↑ Kim, Hyo Jeong (2012-08-16). "The man who made Korean hip-hop history". Jeju Weekly. Retrieved 2016-04-28.
  22. ↑ Noh, Hyun-gi (2012-01-24). "Verbal Jint emerges from underground". Korea Times. Retrieved 2016-04-28.
  23. ↑ Surh, Jung-min (2010-11-04). "Garion rises in hip-hop scene". The Hankyoreh. Retrieved 2016-04-29.
  24. ↑ Han, Brian (2015-11-18). "S. Korea’s hip hop stars Dok2 and company reveal roots to LA". The Korea Times. Retrieved 2016-04-29.
  25. ↑ "Dynamic Duo Members Start Military Service". Korea Times. 2009-10-13. Retrieved 2016-05-01.
  26. ↑ Ha, Ji-won (2014-07-11). "Dynamic Duo to release collaboration EP with DJ Premier". The Korea Herald. Retrieved 2016-05-01.
  27. ↑ Kim, Ji-soo (2014-11-02). "Epik High ponders secrets of success". Korea Times. Retrieved 2016-05-01.
  28. ↑ Lee, Madeleine (2015-05-22). "The Noisey Guide to Korean Rap Pioneers Epik High". NOISEY. Retrieved 2016-05-01.
  29. ↑ Benjamin, Jeff (2014-11-03). "Epik High Notches First No. 1 on World Albums With 'Shoebox'". Billboard. Retrieved 2016-05-01.
  30. ↑ "Leessang's 7th album, 'AsuRA BalBalTa', achieves a perfect all-kill". All Kpop. 2011-08-24. Retrieved 2016-05-01.
  31. ↑ Hicap, Jonathan M. (2016-02-13). "Hip hop getting more popular in Korea – San E". The Manila Bulletin. Retrieved 2016-05-01.
  32. ↑ "'Show Me The Money 4' Confirms Los Angeles And New York City Shows, Ticket Sale Dates". KpopStarz. 2015-08-13. Retrieved 2016-05-02.
  33. ↑ Cho, Jaeki (2015-06-30). "The Rise of Illionaire Records, the Independent Label Taking Korean Hip-Hop to the Next Level". Complex. Retrieved 2016-05-02.
  34. ↑ "AOMG To Bring Their "Follow The Movement" Tour to the US This April". Soompi. 2016-02-19. Retrieved 2016-05-02.
  35. ↑ Benjamin, Jeff (2015-01-12). "Dynamic Duo, Zion.T, More to Hit U.S. on 2015 Amoeba Culture Tour". Billboard. Retrieved 2016-05-02.
  36. ↑ Herman, Tamar (2016-04-12). "Epik High on Being First Major South Korean Act to Play Coachella: 'It Feels Like a Miracle'". Billboard. Retrieved 2016-05-02.
  37. ↑ Caramanica, Jon (2015-08-13). "Getting Rowdy: Keith Ape and Real Rap in Korea". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2016-05-02.
  38. ↑ Glasby, Taylor (2015-09-10). "How the Korean trap star behind ‘It G Ma’ ended up at NYFW". Dazed. Retrieved 2016-05-02.
  39. ↑ Glasby, Taylor (2015-11-24). "How Okasian is pushing Korean hip hop forward". Dazed. Retrieved 2016-05-02.
  40. ↑ Leong, Melissa (2014-08-02). "How Korea became the world's coolest brand". Financial Post. Retrieved 2016-05-01.
  41. ↑ Fuhr, Michael (2015-06-12). Globalization and Popular Music in South Korea: Sounding Out K-Pop. Routledge. ISBN 9781317556916.
  42. ↑ "iKON’s Bobby Wins "Show Me the Money 3"". Soompi. 2014-09-04. Retrieved 2016-05-02.
  43. ↑ Townes, Cory (2015-01-07). "Southern Rap Has Found a Home in Asia". EBONY. Retrieved 2016-05-02.
  44. ↑ Mendez, Blanca (2015-05-26). "Rap Monster Is Proving Assumptions About Korean Idol Rappers Wrong". NOISEY. Retrieved 2016-05-02.
  45. ↑ "The 50 Best Hip-Hop Albums of 2015". Spin. 2015-12-16. Retrieved 2016-05-02.
  46. ↑ Jinkerson, Lauren (2015-02-27). "9 Amazing K-pop/hip hop collaborations you'll want on your playlist". DramaFever News. Retrieved 2016-05-02.
  47. ↑ "7 Must-Listen K-Pop/Hip-Hop Collaborations from 2014". Soompi. 2015-02-20. Retrieved 2016-05-02.
  48. ↑ "Is it pop? Is it hip-hop? K-POP and the Urban Collaboration Trend". Korea-Canada Blog. 2014-03-05. Retrieved 2016-05-02.
  49. ↑ Benjamin, Jeff (2014-03-17). "K-Pop Hot 100: Soyu & Junggigo's 'Some' Earns 2014's Longest-Running No. 1". Billboard. Retrieved 2016-05-02.
  50. ↑ "San E and Raina achieve an all-kill with 'A Midsummer Night's Sweetness'". All Kpop. 2014-06-12. Retrieved 2016-05-02.
  51. ↑ "Winners from 'The 3rd GAON Chart Kpop Awards'". All Kpop. 2014-02-12. Retrieved 2016-05-02.
  52. ↑ "After School's Raina captures fans attention with stunning figure + thank you speech by San E". Koreaboo. 2014-11-16. Retrieved 2016-05-02.
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  58. ↑ "R-16 B-Boy World Championships 2011 to feature Jay Park, AOM, Tiger JK & more". All Kpop. 2011-06-27. Retrieved 2016-05-02.
  59. ↑ Jackson, Julie (2013-06-11). "‘Ballerina Who Loved a B-Boy’ makes its mark abroad". The Korea Herald. Retrieved 2016-05-02.
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