Won: What’s up guys! Welcome back to another episode of Seoul Therapy, the Podcast. My name is Won..
Daytona: Daytona
Daniel: Daniel
Won: And in today’s episode, we’ll be talking about two topics. The first one being Groovyroom creating their new record label AREA, and the og legendary artist Beenzino joining E-Sens’s label BANA.
Won: As usual, if you (laughs) guys
Daytona: Woohoo!!
Won: As usual, if you enjoyed today’s episode, please subscribe to our podcast on all streaming platforms and don’t forget to give us that five star rating on apple. Also for more contents, please go and follow us on all socials @seoul_therapy.
Groovyroom starting AREA sub-label :49
Won: Ok, so to kick-off today’s episode, let me give you guys a brief background. Basically Groovyroom, who is under Jay Park’s label H1ghr Music created another label called AREA and while this is Groovyroom’s project or label, it’s still considered a sub-label of H1ghr Music. So, I believe Jay and Groovyroom have this partnership to you know raise these artists together. So, what do you guys think? Do you think this relationship will work?
Daniel: For me, I think it’ll work amazingly well.
Won: Really?
Daniel: Just because we’ve seen this before with Illionaire Records and you know with Ambition Musik as a sub-label but I think this is something that's really new and interesting because you’re creating another sub-label under a sub-label, I would say… But you know that’s just my opinion because people can say H1ghr Music is just another label or sub-label; but I think it's a sub-label and Groovyroom creating another sub-label I think… they might be the first label to create another sub-label under a sub-label which is really interesting. Although it’s fairly new, I would still think that it’s really amazing and I think it’s going to work well just because you know it’s Groovyroom right? And everybody loves Groovyroom and I think Groovyroom is at the point where they’ve established themselves as one of the elites in the Korean hip-hop scene as a producer. I think this is going to expand the Korean hip-hop community because I remember in our previous episodes, Daytona would always mention how you know the Korean hip-hop is way too small and it needs to expand and I think this could be a sign where the Korean hip-hop community becomes bigger because you’re creating another label that’s under a sub-label. Yeah, so why not? You know other labels can do that too with VMC starting a sub-label. I think it could be a trend in the Korean hip-hop scene and with two artist in Gemini and Mirani, that’s a really good start. So, you get one R&B fusion style and you get more of a hip-hop style with Mirani so I think… at the end of the day, it’s a really good start for H1ghr Music and Groovyroom.
Won: So, Daytona, what do you think? The relationship I mean especially in the Korean culture, this could be pretty interesting right? There is a “sajangnim” which is a CEO and then there's another sajangnim the CEO under it.
Daytona: Like, the fact that there is a sub-label under a sub-label is interesting. But also, it is a bit different in a sense because if you look at it, H1ghr Music and AOMG have the same CEO - which is Jay Park. So in a sense, we call this sub-label just because it was the second company to be made. Not because necessarily it was the second company actually under the wing of the first company. So, H1ghr Music was created later but it is not exactly “under” AOMG. They just share the same CEO. But H1ghr Music has Groovyroom as an artist and that artist is becoming a CEO for another sub-label. So when it comes to the business perspective, from what I see, this is a very safe way to expand your business. Look, there's always going to be trouble when you're managing a company, especially a record label; especially when it comes to the whole celebrity Hollywood thing because there’s a very uncertain commodity because like once your artist does something wrong, morally or legally, s*** tanks right? This is a very volatile industry and from what I know Groovyroom is a CEO of AREA, but they are also contracted under H1ghr Music. Like whenever they need help, for example crisis management just like I said, it’s basically going to be H1ghr Music infrastructure that is going to be used. Right? Am I right on this Won?
Won: Yeah, no, I totally agree with you and it’s a good move. It’s really a good move in terms of the business I think.
Daytona: Yeah, when it comes to business, there’s nothing wrong with this and there’s also the point that they are producers. They’re not rappers. They’re producer CEO’s. We never had producer CEO’s. I mean of course, The Quiett produces his own beats a lot of the time. But, he’s known first as a rapper. Groovyroom is not known as a rapper, they’re strictly production right? So, I never saw this before. I never saw a case where… I saw producers leading crews, I saw producers heading up cliques like certain cliques but not a record label right?
Won: I don't know. I feel like there was… There was like a small one like few in the past I feel like but they just didn't become too big.
Daytona: It wasn’t this significant because I cannot actually remember any of them off the top. Cha Cha Malone is CEO of H1ghr Music too but..
Won: That kind of counts I guess.
Daytona: Yeah but he’s doing it with Jay Park right?
Daytona: So, it is a very safe strategy when it comes to business expansion and I guess it all comes down to how much talent does Groovyroom have not just musically but being like recognizing future talents. Mirani was a good choice. She’s on fire right now. She single handedly along with Mushvenom, almost resurrecting Show Me the Money 9 season. That stage was incredible. Still I think it’s incredible. It’s just very interesting like to see a producer grow the creative division like the creative side totally. Like, I’ve never seen this before.
Won: Do you guys remember Prime Boy? I think his name was Prime Boy. I remember he had a small label and NO:EL…
Daytona: It’s called Prima Music.
Won: NO:EL used to be part of that label before he joined Indigo Music. There were cases of producer leading a label but like Daniel mentioned initially, Groovyroom is a significant… It’s like a household name in the K-hip hop scene. So, them starting a label is something huge and even if you look at the lineup, I mean even though they only have two artists right now, Gemini for example, he seems like a very global type of artist.
Daytona: That’s like basically what I think Jay Park is trying to do through all of its conglomerates I guess.
Won: So, even Gemini when I was looking at him like, I feel like he’s really targeting or they're really targeting the global market rather than Korea you know? So, that diversity is really nice and I can’t wait to see which more artists they reveal in the coming months you know? Cause I’m sure they have a list on hand.
Daniel: Could I make a quick theory? I believe the next artist that Groovyroom will sign is Mushvenom. I just have this huge feeling. It’s either him going to AREA or him going to Daytona; it’s one of the two. I don’t know for some reason Mushvenom just seems very viable option to AREA because of the close relationship that he has with Groovyroom.
Won: Another artist I can think of right now on top of my head is..you know Park Hyunjin from High School Rapper 4 right now? That boy definitely is going to be signed by someone for sure. He’s going to end up somewhere in Jay’s wings whether it's AREA, H1ghr, - wherever it is like he’s going to end up in that wing. Do you have any other suggestions Daytona that you might see that might join AREA?
Daytona: (sighs) AREA,
Daniel: It’s difficult. I mean it’s a fairly new label so…
Daytona: Remember the conversation we had about Korean labels becoming kind of crews instead of labels? And how like Daytona records is trying to break that? I think Jay Park is trying to go in the opposite direction. I’m not saying that’s bad, I’m just saying because they’re are very many positive aspects of going the way it is right now. So, when it comes to who is going to go into AREA and who is going to go into the AOMG empire I guess, you kind of see what kind of artists is going to go in there. I want Daytona Entertainment to be a bit more adventurous and pick whatever person that is talented while Jay Park curates it for a way more mainstream appeal. That’s the way I want to see this scene going and in that sense… there was this kid in high school rapper that’s very good at singing - the one whose friends with the dreaded guy. Who was it?
Daniel, Won, Daytona: Lee Sang Jae, Lee Sang Jae. Yeah Lee Sang Jae
Daytona: Lee Sang Jae. I think he’s going to go to… I think he’s a viable candidate like he has that mainstream appeal and Jay Park always likes very motivated artists who are trying to like get it out of the grind you know? Like I think he has more affinity towards…. Not saying it’s bad at all please because there’s some people that might think that but that has a way simpler work ethic. That has a more Jay-Z vibe rather than a Nas vibe you know what I mean? Yeah, I think Jay favors that. Jay favors like that started from the bottom and trying to make it to the top - that Illionaire mentality. Jay Park is very fond of that and he’s… I think that is a common ethos that penetrates all of the AOMG artists.
Daniel: Yeah, I didn’t think of that. That’s so true.
Daytona: Yeah because…. Again, just because it is such kind of a sensitive era right now where any word can be convoluted into weird connotations. I’m not saying it’s bad at all. I’m just saying that AOMG artists tend to have that hustler mentality as a common factor and I think Jay likes that in an artist. He wants to have an artists that consistently puts out music rather than artists that is more artsy in a sense that’s trying to carefully craft out albums but an artist can make hits; that can consistently put out work through a rigorous work ethic and Lee Sang Jae seems like the kid that will do that.
Daytona: Ourealgoat maybe?
Won: Who?
Daniel: Ok
Daytona: Ourealgoat
Won: Oh yeah yeah ourealgoat
Daytona: Yeah because he puts out work all the time.
Won: That’s true.
Daytona: He has a very handsome kind of vibe going with him too. I think ourealgoat. He was on the H1ghr music compilation too so.
Won: Right, no, no, Groovyroom was the one who actually introduced him to Jay Park so. That makes alot of sense too.
Daytona: My pick is Lee Sang Jae or OurealGoat
Won: I feel like there’s so many labels and crews these days like I feel like everyone has one under their pockets to be honest. You know? So, like Groovyroom making one is not a big news. Even Daytona, they’ve been announcing new artists quite often these days. Alot of them were producers. Futuristic Swaver, Meloh, Bradystreet, Skinny Brown, Toil like… You know like its almost like everyone has their own thing these days so it's no surprise that Groovyroom made AREA and honestly best of luck to them. I feel like they have a different vision compared to more local labels out here. I really feel like they have a different vision from what I see. So you know kudos to them and you know I wish them the best of luck
15:22 The start of Beenzino to BANA conversation
Won: And we have another label… BANA having a huge huge artist. Yes, so Beenzino joined E-Sens. What do you guys think about that?
Daytona: This was insane!
Won: Why Daytona Why? Why was it so insane?
Daytona: To make a states comparison, I’m sorry I do this alot of the times but it’s really convenient in portraying the message. This is like Drake joining TDE. This is like Drake going to the Aftermath records and teaming up with Kendrick. This is crazy like bonafide Beenzino is the quintessential superstar of this era. Like he symbolizes so much within the Korean scene because like although there always have been commercially successful rappers before, Beenzino was the kind of rapper that fused the commercial with the artistic so seamlessly that it made hip-hop.. He changed hip-hop and how the general public receives hip-hop. You know what I mean? And he did it through numbers. Like he didn't have a major record labels backing him. He had Illionaire Records but they were not major in a sense that they’re like Sony Entertainment backed or something like that. And from a guy that comes from an independent label and to make music really starts from the bottom and goes to the top without any media like support. He manages to change the culture is exactly what hip-hop is about and he’s the first one to show that properly. And of course, BANA always had incredible artists like E-Sens, especially who is my favorite rapper and a lot of people's favorite rapper.
Daniel: Agreed.
Daytona: Yeah, because E-Sens represents the fundamentals. E-Sens, although he doesn't really like this label, he kind of default does like because his album “The Anecdote” is considered the “Illmatic” of hip-hop.
Daniel: Classic.
Daytona: So, E-Sens has always been the kind of player that does kind of well on the charts - not exactly superstar status but he has the quintessential kind of the heart of the culture kind of guy.
Won: Right.
Daniel: Forsure.
Daytona: Yeah, he represents the spiritual the more ideological side of Korean hip hop while Beenzino represents where hip-hop can go like the idealism of hip-hop right? So, to see rappers that are the best in their respective spectrums, the spectrums within Korean hip-hop come together into a single label; this is like seeing the avengers team up for the first time.
Won & Daniel: Yeah, Yeah
Daytona: People lost their s**** including me when I saw that damn he’s going to Beasts and Natives Alike that short for BANA. Wow!!! This is crazy like… but then again it makes sense because Beenzino was always the kind of person that managed to be commercially successful without making commercial music
Daniel: Yeah, true.
Daytona: I mean of course his music has commercial sensibility but he makes all these weird left field s**** all the time in his albums and he still managed to top the charts. So, artistically it makes sense, it's just that nobody really thought of this before like… Like what I expected from Beenzino like after he got out of the Illionaire Records was that maybe he’s just really going to go full independent.
Daniel: That’s what I thought too.
Won: That’s what I thought too. Yeah honestly… yeah.
Daytona: Because he has IAB studios anyway so he has consistent revenue coming in from that, although they are not exactly a record label.
Won: But he can make it into a record label technically you know? It’s a company so yeah.
Daytona: But if you think about it, Beenzino is not exactly a businessman.
Daniel: No.
Daytona: He’s the exact type of artist that’s like “man I hate this business s****.” He’s not like Jay Park. He’s not like The Quiett - like he’s like I just want to make my music man. Like all this other business stuff like having to like talk to like putting them on streaming services all the additional advertisement marketing; he’s the type of guy to not give a s*** about that.
Daniel: True.
Daytona: He needs a record label that is going to do that for him.
Daniel: True
Daytona: He’s like the quintessential and almost stereotypical artist not in the sense that like the art that he makes is cliched but how the image we have of what the artist will be like as a person. So, he was always going to have.. Like he needs a record label because all he wants to do in my opinion is to be creative and nothing more. In that sense, BANA’s perfect because BANA’s not a record label that badgers it’s artists.
Daniel: Yeah.
Daytona: Like, I’m not saying other record labels do that, but BANA’s like, You know what, do whatever you want to. You make your s*** and we’re going to advertise it for you.
Won & Daniel: For sure.
Daytona: They’re good aspects of this and bad aspects of this. BANA’s the record label that is more of a support system, rather than a revenue system.
Daniel: Yeah.
Daytona: Like, they’re not like AOMG or Daytona in the sense they want their artist to keep consistently making music. They’re more of an artists… they’re the type of record label that you know what we're not going to consistently put out music but when we really do put out music, we’re going to capitalize on that as much as we can.
Daniel: Exactly.
Daytona: That’s the different kind of business model. So which means that there’s going to be continuous revenue stream from other record labels while BANA is more like when you drop, you drop and we’re going to make a big deal out of it and that’s the exactly type of artist Beenzino is. Beenzino is not known for putting music out consistently. He just drops albums out of blue, disappears for about two years and drops another one and disappears again.
Daniel: Yeah.
Daytona: BANA is the best choice. We just never thought about it because there’s already E-Sens on the label.
Daniel: Yeah.
Daytona: This is such a mind-blowing thing. This is like seeing Nas and Jay-Z on the same Def Jam records all over again.
Daniel: True.
Daniel: And to piggyback off what Daytona just said brilliantly, Man I did not see this coming. Because again, I almost thought… I kind of see BANA as more of like this obscure label that kind of just does its own duty you know?
Won: For sure, For sure yeah.
Daniel: They don’t want to promote themselves. I don’t even see them promoting themselves. They just throw out their stuff projects onto their website and they just leave it there. All their soundcloud stuff are on there.
Daytona: Fans still go crazy though.
Won: There are some die-hard fans for BANA I feel like. “Die Hard”.
Daniel: Exactly. I think those are the like you guys mentioned the big big fans of BANA and I think that’s really cool. I respect that a whole lot because it makes you.. In my opinion more authentic and it kind of shows that idea of freedom. You can do whatever you want but just kind of like…
Daytona: 100 percent creative control.
Daniel: Yeah, just stay true to yourself and just you know, know your limits kind of balance it out in a way so… Man, dude I have nothing else to say but dude Beenzino to BANA is insane. It’s just crazy.
Won: I feel like… Yeah, I feel like some of the global k-hip hop fans may not be too aware of a label called BANA because like Daytona and Daniel like you mentioned like you know Beasts and Natives Alike, this label BANA is not really a promotional label you know? They don’t go crazy marketing, their main artist E-Sens and XXX (Kim Ximya & FRNK) or those two guys are like the main artists, I think… I heard Masta Wu.. Do you guys remember Masta Wu from back in the days?
Daniel: Yup!
Daytona: Yup! Masta Wu Went in there too.
Won: He joined so… This is more of like a… I wouldn't say traditional but more of like a traditional you know like second generation K-hip hop label. You know what I mean?
Daytona: Yeah.
Won: These are like some of the original core Korean hip hop fans go crazy for. You know?
Daytona: Yeah, exactly.
Won: So, I think to these die-hard Korean hip hop fans at least, it’s like Drake joining Kendrick kind of thing.
Daytona: Yeah.
Daniel: Yeah.
Won: So that was huge. I’m actually curious what their direction will be like because as much as I love E-Sens, XXX, and Beenzino’s music, I haven't seen too much of a global movement from them. You know what I mean?
Daytona & Daniel: Yeah.
Daytona: It’s more like they don’t care.
Won: They don’t care. They just throw out their music and art. Just like you said Daytona, they just throw out their art & music and if you want to listen to it, then do it but if you don’t it's cool. That’s kind of like the vibe I get from them you know?
Daytona: Yeah… Like one thing you have to… we have to see is that BANA’s business model comes out in a commodity in a sense that like for example, E-Sens sold more albums than any rapper in the history of Korean hip-hop.
Daniel: Yeah, that’s true.
Daytona: That’s kind of what BANA is going for. Like for example, of course the total revenue when we think about streaming revenues, when we think about concert revenues, there’s going to be record labels that earn much more money than BANA. But, what was really astounding for me is that E-Sen’s albums are always sold out even if they print a whole lot of them.
Daniel: Yeah.
Daytona: Yeah, that’s the similar case for XXX and probably going to be what BANA is looking for in Beenzino’s record as well. Now, what this entails is that, this is not just in hip-hop, when E-Sens second album “Stranger” came out, I might not be exactly correct on this so you might have to look it up, but according to my… from what I know, he sold the most records than the entire Korean music scene, not the Korean hip-hop scene if we exclude K-Pop - that’s crazy!
Won: Beenzino?
Daytona: E-Sens.
Won: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Daytona: Yeah, Yeah. I’m not talking about streaming revenues, I’m talking about physical CD copies. And that’s crazy because that enough is very… what do you call it? Impressive feat. But, a physical CD is also… when it comes to a single unit commodity, that’s the one that gives the artist the most revenue. Streaming services give like 10 cents for each song. They’re f***** bulls***.
Won: Yeah, less than that I think. Yeah, yeah.
Daytona: Yeah so, selling physical CD’s is a very big deal especially in the Korean Indie music scene - like independent music scene. And this makes E-Sens kind of like an default underground king.
Won: That’s true.
Daytona: I think that’s what BANA is going for. They don’t want their music to go super mainstream.
Won: Yeah.
Daniel: Exactly.
Daytona: Artists in the maybe with the exception of Kim Ximya because Kim Ximya seems to have a little bit of a mainstream thirst, but…
Won: Yeah.
Daytona: Artists like Beenzino, E-Sens and Masta Wu, don’t exactly do it for charts.
Daniel: yeah.
Daytona: I’m not saying that is more virtuous because there’s nothing wrong with wanting to top the charts at all.
Won: yeah.
Daytona: But it’s just that BANA is the kind of record label is like you know what I’m not going to give you a hit. I’m not going to help you make the number one song in the f***en world. But what I can provide to you is that I can give you a stable career where you can do anything with your music and still make a living out of it.
Daniel: Exactly.
Daytona: So instead of giving you a hot two year very like top of the world boost, I can give you a 20 year career instead. That’s the thing BANA is going for. They’re looking at a very long term perspective of being a real partner for a musician that just has a core fan base and making sure they can keep putting out music and you know maybe in the process they can get lucky and blow up - if they don’t fine we don’t care. Because BANA is headed by a person named Kim Ki Hyun.
Won: Yeah, he’s the CEO.
Daytona: He worked in SM.
Daniel: Interesting.
Daytona: He worked as an A&R in SM or some other division if I’m correct. He decided to split out of SM and do his own thing. So what I’m trying to say here is that it is very interesting because a person with a business acumen in one of the biggest entertainment companies in Korea, and decides to split out and do this is like… What do you call it? It’s kind of interesting to see but also… Maybe this model is possible. Like because of the position of where BANA is in and because of what they do, many Korean hip-hop fans kind of view BANA as like the ideal… maybe what we think as the most ideal hip-hop music is possible. You know what I mean?
Won: Yeah.
Daytona: It’s like maybe we can do that. Maybe we really don't have to give that much of focus on the charts. Maybe it is possible that we don’t have to compromise as much and still make good music, good records, and be proud of it.
Won: Yeah.
Daytona: Yeah, we don’t have to have that starving artist kind of spirit type anymore. On the forefront of that, BANA is right there.
Daniel: Exactly.
Won: Yeah, no that’s definitely the case and Beenzino said he’s going to release a new album called “Nowitzki” with BANA. So…
Daniel: Such a sick name.
Won: It is right?
Daytona: yeah.
Won: He is referring to the basketball player Dirk Nowitzki
Daytona: Yeah he is.
Won: Ok, ok. So, you know if that comes out,
Daytona: Demo is pretty good.
Won: Yeah, I’m excited for that. I can’t wait to listen to that. Daniel, what about you? Do you have any other comments in regards to the whole BANA news?
Daniel: Man, like I said, I’m still in a state of shock just because that’s the last record label I would’ve thought of Beenzino going to. But, again, what Daytona mentioned..it’s a no brainer. I mean…
Won: For sure.
Daniel: Beenzino is the type of guy who you don’t even see where most of his songs aren't on the charts. Maybe “Dali, Van, Picasso,” was probably his biggest hit but even then that wasn’t like all-kill in the charts. So, just signing or going to BANA is probably the most plausible, the most obvious choice you know?
Daytona: yeah.
Daniel: And it’s crazy because if you look at BANA’s website, there’s nothing on there besides Beenzino’s demo track. So, it goes to show you that they’re all about themselves - you know freedom. You know, there’s no limitations or restrictions so… I respect that.
Daytona: They know the value of scarcity. They really do.
Daniel: Exactly. So I highly respect that you know and hopefully… I’m excited for a Beenzino and a FRNK collaboration. So… Man I’m excited for Beenzino’s new career at BANA. Yeah… I wish him nothing but the best.
Daytona: Like that demo was great. Like I was scared for a moment when he got out of the military and when he dropped like….
Daniel: “Okgo?” (Beenzino’s first track back from the mandatory military service”)
Daytona: Yeah, when dropped stuff like… when he came out of the military like… Beenzino’s music always had this like… you might not like it but there was something different about it. And when he came out of the military and dropping all of these demos is like…. Hmmm… this is way too safe. Why is he making all these safe music? And after he announces BANA, and then he drops this “Monet” demo, and he’s like doing all this weird beats and crazy flows, like this dirty a** mixing, I was like… Yes! He’s back! He’s truly back! Now…
Daniel: Agreed.
Daytona: Yeah, I was like, this is the Beenzino that I always wanted. I wanted Beenzino to be creative as possible in all fronts and finally he’s back doing that. And going to BANA means of course he cannot be certain of anything, but him going to BANA just reinforces the idea that he’s going to tap into his inner super freaky creative artist again. It’s just so great to see that. Like I think “Nowitzki” is shaping up to be one of the most hyped projects of this year and it might be a game changer, who knows? Like every time Beenzino drops something, people go crazy over it and like how is he doing that kind of thing? And I think he can pull it off again. I really think he can.
Won: Yeah, you know… Ok, so I think that’s all were going to discuss about you know Beenzino going to BANA today so…
Song Sharing: 34:48
Won: As we begin to slowly wrap up our show guys, as usual, any artists or tracks that you guys are listening to and would like to share or recommend to our listeners?
Daniel: For me, I again I love promotion you know kind of helping the artist out. So, I kind of went in a different turn this time around and I went for an R&B song. I went with a song called, “Walk in the Night” by Moon and it features Zion.T.
Won: I heard that.
Daniel: Bro, I don’t know. This song to me is probably one of my favorite Korean R&B songs. Let alone Moon & Zion.T are probably my top two favorite R&B singers right now.
Won: Yeah.
Daniel: And I mean you can’t ask for anything else. Moon and a Zion.T collaboration come on now.
Won: That’s true.
Daniel: You just can’t go wrong. I mean the composition in both their vocals are very unique but at the same time, it fits well perfectly. The cadences, the production to the song and even in the music video, it’s just very… I would almost say its emotional at times because its very thought provoking. You know? The lyrics are deep but it’s very melancholic, its calm, its put you in a deep state of mind, so… and when your at home all day, you know there’s alot of stress on you, I think a song like this, it’ll help you calm your nerves down and just kind of help ease the stress away and like I said, I’m just a big Moon and Zion.T fan so if you guys have not heard the song, please go check it out, “Walk in the Night.”
Won: “Walk in the Night” alright.
Daytona: I have a very old and new music to recommend I guess..
Daniel: For sure.
Daytona: Back in 2010, there was an album called, “Microsuit” by a rapper called, Pento. Pento is one of the most underrated musicians in Korean hip-hop history. He was part of a clique called, Salon 101- which is basically responsible for every alternative hip-hop that comes out in the Korean hip-hop music scene. We just mentioned, XXX right?
Daniel: Right.
Daytona: When we were talking about BANA. XXX wouldn’t exist without Salon 101.
Daniel: Oh? Interesting.
Daytona: Yeah. Pento was a rapper in that clique. There was many talented rapper in that crew but especially Pento. If you think about it, in the states like the Western scene, there was like this fusion of electronic music with hip-hop right?
Daniel: Yup.
Daytona: And I think that started from and really began to blow up from a group called, “The Death Grips.” Which the group dropped a mixtape called, “Ex-Military,” in 2011. That’s when like Kanye began to write and make music like “Yeezus,” - like that super abrasive electronic s***. But, anyway what I’m trying to say here is that “Ex-Military,” dropped in 2011. “Microsuit,” does the same s*** but dropped in 2010 - which means Pento’s “Microsuit” was an album that far proceeded the states. You know what I mean?
Daniel: Interesting.
Daytona: Like in the Korean hip-hop scene, where they’re trying to emulate alot of this stuff that is happening in the states, Pento was a very shining example of actually going further and being faster than the states when it comes to making creative music. So it is a very celebratory album and last week I think, no three days earlier, he dropped an instrumental version of this album. So, anyone who is interested in very abrasive or a little bit pop flavored electronic fusion of hip-hop, you have to check out this album - which is again “Microsuit,” by Pento. There’s a song called, “Krystal,” which features Beenzino on it so…
Daniel: Interesting.
Daytona: Check it out, starts with a K - “Krystal” by Pento and features Beenzino. It’s a great track; like you’re missing out if you don’t know him. He’s a legend in Korean hip-hop that is very underappreciated. Go and check it out - you’re missing out.
Won: Awesome.
Daytona: Yeah.
Won: For me, this is a track that I listen to almost every morning these days and it's called, “It’s Me,” by Wonstein. This was actually the track he submitted for the application video to Show Me the Money 9 and bro like I listen to this song every morning when I wake up and say, “Ah good morning!” Then I just play this song and it just gets my day going so… “It’s Me” by Wonstein and also go check out Wonstein’s application video to Show Me the Money 9 because he sings this song when it’s raining outside andit just has this lofi vibe that’s just you know it’s good, you know? It’s the vibes so.. Yeah! Go check it out and yeah!
Daniel: For sure.
Daytona: Official chill anthem.
Won: Yeah, chill anthem.
Closing 40:19
Won: Anyways… Other than that, like we have a news right? We have a news for our listeners.
Daniel: Unfortunately.
Daytona: Bad news.
Daniel: Unfortunately, Unfortunately.
Won: Not the best but… Basically because of all the things that are going on in my personal life right now, I will step down from the podcast. So it will be lead by Daytona and Daniel for the time being and you know I may come back in the future as a special guest or something but right now, I can’t even post stuff videos on my own YouTube channel like it’s been so hectic - so yeah. Thank You guys so much for the past six episodes
Daniel: For sure.
Won: It’s been a pleasure, pleasure working with you guys
Daytona: It’s been great Won.
Daniel: Thank You for joining.
Won: No, Thank You, Thank You for having me and when you guys become big podcast MC’s, don’t forget about me.
Daniel: We got you, we got you.
Won: Yes, for those of you that are listening out there, Daniel and Daytona is going to be leading the podcast going forward, but you know don’t forget about me as I join as a special guest later. You know don’t forget to check out my YouTube channel, “Show Me the Won” as well for more interesting contents about K-hip hop. Yeah, that’s all the time we have for today, but please do comment and let us know what you think about the topics we went over today and if you enjoyed today’s episode, please go and subscribe to our podcast on all platforms and give us that five star rating please. And as i said before, if you want more K-hip hop juice, go check out my YouTube channel at Show Me the Won and also Daytona’s instagram, Myk underscore Daytona for the Korean hip-hop reviews and follow our social media page @seoul underscore therapy. This was Won, Thank You guys so much and I will see you guys next time! Peace!