Feat: Drunken + Styliztik Jones + Zeebra + Roscoe Umali + DJ Jhig + Tasha
Possibly the best introduction to any of Korea’s music awards. Located in Macau, members of the SUNZOO collab came together for this Pan-Asian music awards.
Category Archives: Videos
[report] Freestyle Day: 3 of the Greats, 1 Stage
Let’s face it–in the past 4 years, JK’s popularity has skyrocketed. His face is plastered throughout Korea, from Giordano billboards, to CJ One Card TV commercials, to Yahoo! Korea interactive advertisements. Despite having their roots in the underground, some artists take this level of fame as an opportunity to go from rags to riches and never look back.
At the 2010 Freestyle Day, an annual freestyle competition/concert for both upcoming and established artists, JK chose not to be “one of those artists” and returned as a guest judge for the freestyle competition. Having fought for almost 10 years to get to the top, JK holds a lot of respect for the undiscovered and hustling rappers in the scene. Despite poster confusion, the competitors weren’t the headliners listed (sorry to disappoint!), but they still provided a moment that can primarily be seen only in Korea’s underground.
Before the winners were officially announced, the judges were brought on stage, giving the audience a glimpse of a rare moment: Garion, Tiger JK, and Sean2Slow (Korea’s most legendary lyricists) standing together on stage.
Pictured: Garion (standing), Tiger JK, Sean2Slow
Pictured Above (Left To Right): Garion, Tiger JK, Sean2Slow
Tiger JK & Sean2Slow (hip-hop legends/fathers of the Movement Crew)
Unfortunately, JK wasn’t performing on this night, so I do not have much footage of him to share. However, for those curious about updates, I asked JK about Tasha’s album release date and sorry to tell you all: it’s still in the works. What I can say is from what’s been said and the comments that have been floating around Twitter, the line up for her album sounds insane.
Special Thanks To: Jungle Entertainment
–Miss DrunkenCamp
[fan cam] Zeebra ft. Drunken Tiger, Bizzy, & Yoon MiRae (What’s Up Party 2010)
This past weekend, JK and Tasha made a special guest appearance at the 2010 What’s Party Hip-Hop Party, with Japanese rapper, Zeebra, as one of its main headliners. Zeebra and JK collaborated before on DT’s “Jet Pack” and the two debuted the above song at this past week’s show. I have absolutely no idea what the name of this song is, but it is certified awesome.
[correction: the song is called “Street Dreams”]
-Miss DrunkenCamp
[report] Rakaa’s album release party – pt 1
After sifting through my photos and evaluating the night, I decided it’d be best to divide this into 2 posts. [warning: long post ahead]
It’s 6:30pm when I first arrive. Already, there is a line forming outside the club. There are 2 DT fans from the UK who were waiting since 4pm. One of them mentions he was a fan since 2000 and said he had never seen JK live. He couldn’t miss this opportunity. Long time dedication like that is truly beautiful.
JK and crew arrive at 7:30pm. Their infamous black van catches immediate attention as they are rushed inside the club. The fans are teased with the sound of their rehearsal booming from inside. They are given some relief as ticket sales start selling at 8:00pm (an hour later than the scheduled time). Most of the relieved fans go off to dinner before the show starts.
After 15 minutes of waiting, the crew finishes their set and are on their way to get ready. We head off to YangLee Hair, a Hongdae spot that they frequent on occasion. Yang, the owner, is the stylist for a number of celebs and was there to personally handle their beauty needs.
As we enter, we see a wall of photos of celebs. At the elevator door is a picture of JK, and we laugh as he stands right next to it during the elevator wait. At the back of the salon is a wall of signed CDs, and 2 shelves filled with autographed Movement CDs.
(pictured: YoonMirae 3, Drunken Tiger 5, DT 7, DT4, and Bobby Kim’s 3rd)
The crew is rolling deep on this night. On top of the headlining performers, almost JK’s whole 8th album line up is present. Those who aren’t getting prettied up have to find ways to kill time before the show. Stylez is drawing on his iPad and mentions its is his lifeline on the road. Roscoe and !llmind talk about their time in NYC (Roscoe just finished rocking Radio City Music Hall with Donnie Wahlberg). Roscoe raves about the crazy double decker tour buses there and NY pizza (made me miss home!) Tasha, determined, finds the one English magazine hidden on the shelf and peruses through the fashion ads. Other major players in the crew, i.e. JK’s producer, Techbeatz, Jason Park, and rapper Loptimist, browse the internet or play games. While this is going on, JK and Rakaa are in the next room doing lines of interviews (almost 2 hours of it)
Halfway into preparations, everyone stops to take a group photo. [Pictured Left to Right: Rakaa, Loptimist, JK, Stylizstik Jones, Yang, Roscoe, Techbeatz, !llmind, and Tasha].
As the group puts the final touches on their show, some of us go back to the venue and claim our spot for the night. At 10:30pm, the loyalists of fans have already packed in. It’s a strange scene — a pillar divides the stage. On the left are primarily Korean fans, while the right are a group of non-Korean fans. They are there to see not only Rakaa, but some came primarily for JK or Tasha. They’re a sure sign that Jungle has gone truly international.
The DJ spins a strange mix of hip-hop and trance. Fans try to dance the time away, but they slowly become impatient and tired. Some are so tired that they choose to sit on the stage. Finally, at 12:30pm, JK comes out to introduce and MC for the night. He chooses to be the official translator as well.
J gives the crowd chants to practice and hypes them up. He introduces Bizzy and in pure Bizzy fashion, he jumps on the stage with crazy energy. As he performs parts of YDG’s “RUN” and his single “After the Night We Broke Up (해어진 다음 날),” he rocks the stage with a fire that fills the room. He had just finished a commercial shoot right before the show and couldn’t even go to the rehearsal, but he somehow rocked it out with 4x the energy than usual.
Roscoe’s up next with Stylistik Jonez. For those who don’t know, Roscoe’s been collaborating with JK since the 2nd album (2000). The two met through DT’s old DJ, DJ Jhig, who asked Roscoe not only to drop verses on the 2nd album, but to also help produce it. Roscoe admits that many of the tracks were produced and mixed down in his old house in a few short weeks. Stylez is a member of the LA collaborative hip-hop crew, Likwit Crew, who are also responsible for recruiting rappers Xzibit and The Alkoholiks.
Stylez steps off the stage to say what’s up to the fans. [The bodyguards are not happy apparently.]
This is what I dubbed “the hat trick.” They brought on a stack of 8 hats and Stylez went through all 8 saying he hated them all. Meanwhile, the fans anticipated they would get one thrown out at them. All they got was disappointment as Stylez threw them to the back of the stage.
Finally, Stylez decides to film the fans wiling out during their set. I will finish this post with Roscoe’s final song, “Live It Up.”
-TO BE CONTINUED-
-L aka Miss DrunkenCamp
[video/docu] Look At Star – Tiger JK (subtitled 2 hour special)
Finally, Tiger JK’s extensive “Look At Star” episode has been subtitled. The 2-hour special looks into JK’s personal life, including his relationship with Tasha, his disease, and of course his music.
The episode is broken up into parts on YouTube. I will post Part 1 of each episode, but you will need to navigate through yonnie’s channel to watch the rest (yonniesubs2). The parts are uploaded in order and are numbered, so navigating should be easy.
Watch On YouTube
Episode 1, Part 1
Episode 2, Part 1
-Miss DrunkenCamp
[video] Tiger JK comments on the state of Asian hip-hop
At the MAMA afterparty.
[credits to Yes Surh for the heads up]
that’s one cute baby
Victory Sealed With A Kiss (JK wins Best Male Singer Award @ MAMA)
In an effort to unify all the music award ceremonies in Asia, MNET transformed their annual awards show into a continental wide award show, awarding and highlighting artists from all over Asia. JK was the first act of renovated MNET Asian Music Awards, starting the show with “Monster,” however, the huge highlight of the night came when JK beat out Bi (Rain), G-Dragon, Lee SeungChul, and MC Mong for the title of Best Male Artist of the year. JK has won his share of awards over the years, mostly under the Best Hip-Hop Artist category, but this is the first time JK has won the Best Male Artist award.
JK’s prize was first sealed with a kiss from wife, Yoon Mirae (Tasha). Clearly overwhelmed, JK was at lost for words when he delivered his speech.
Here is the Monster performance that started the show.
After the show, Interscope Records VP, Luke Wood, complimented JK on his performance:
“I was surprised by the energy from the stage with Drunken Tiger. Their skills in rapping are not inferior to that of American rappers like Jay-Z and Raekwon. Also with 2NE1, G-Dragon and Taeyang, I was impressed with the composition. Especially, with 2NE1’s pop dance musical. I also think 2PM and Yoon Mi Rae are memorable.”
While I wouldn’t personally mention some of the other artists in the same sentence with JK, it’s good to see JK and Tasha getting more recognition from international personalities. This adds on to the ongoing list of personas that have given props to the two (Talib Kweli, Rakaa/Dilated Peoples, Missy Elliot, Jay-Z, Cypress Hill, John Legend, etc. etc.).
The last award show of the year, The Golden Disc Awards, comes up this weekend and JK is up for another Best Hip-Hop Artist award. Until then, I leave you with this photo from the latest M.A.C. Viva Glam campaign here in Korea.
P.S. The future generation of “Female Rappers” also did a special performance of Tasha’s “Pay Day,” at the MAMA awards….
A Concert After Work. – Nylon MTV Benefit Concert
Back in the US, it’s odd to catch a big star performing on a weekday. In fact, most managers would nix that idea out of fear that people wouldn’t show up. In Korea, a weekday concert is not out of the ordinary. It’s Wednesday, I just finished flexing my English speaking skills at work, and I’m rushing out to another DT/Tasha performance.
Tonight’s concert is a benefit concert celebrating Nylon Magazine’s 1st year in Korea. MTV is partnered with them and the generous sponsorship form MagnMag.com makes the concert free for all it’s participants. A select few people won guaranteed tickets form Nylon & MTV’s website, so a separate line is formed outside for people waiting for those tickets (roughly 500+ people – WHOA what a line!)
A few Camp staff members and fans decide to wing it and just try to get a ticket from the first come first serve line. In a surprising twist, this line is not as bad as the reserved line, and we’re able to get decent seats.
While the calamity in the seated area is nice, it’s where I notice the difference from American DT fans and Korean DT fans. In America, we’re aggressive and we like getting riled up by the performers. We’re used to the pushing, shoving, and struggling to get a good seat/view. In Korea, fans are content with just sitting or standing where they’re seated. It lets everyone see a view, but when you’re that one person in the crowd standing, throwing their hands up, and trying to get as close to the stage as possible, you’re the odd one out. I actually got a warning from the bodyguards a few times for getting too riled up. I apologize, Korea, but when a performer is telling everyone to stand up, and go crazy, my American habits kick in. (소리를 많이 질려서 최송합니다! ^_^)
Anyway, what’s great about JK’s performances in Korea is they all go all out for each performer’s performance. The panning of JK’s photo and the words Drunken Tiger in the back creates a great effect and it always causes the crowd to scream madly. Back home, a DT performance is not as elaborate and the venue is usually smaller and more intimate (that has its advantages though, making the performance feel more raw — and US DT fans love a crazy raw DT performance!).
In a weird twist, JK actually starts the show and is shortly followed by Tasha. JK is considered a Korean hip-hop god here and Tasha, of course, its goddess. It’s rare they put a huge act first in any culture, but DT fans rejoice anyway (hey — if they finish their set early, that means we can go home early, and trying to get on that last subway train in Seoul is very important!).
Today’s set is very short (consisting of “Monster,” “True Romance,” “Pay Day,” and “검은 행복”) and doesn’t require much explanation. So I’ll simply let the photos tell the story.
(Dear Cellphone company, your customer is product placing in my photos. A donation to Camp would be greatly appreciated.)
After the performance, a few TigerBalm/DrunkenCamp staff rush out to catch a glimpse of the power hip-hop couple. It’s a regular for us to go to these shows and our faces are now familiar to DT’s team. We’re welcomed with the warmness that friends have between each other, but only for a brief moment. A lot of the big stars back home would do 1 show a day, but JK & Tasha are sped off afterwards to another show at a university miles and miles away from the venue. I guess there are no breaks here even for the biggest stars.
[many thanks to MTV for helping this report happen]
-Miss DrunkenCamp
P.S. I need more people who are Korea based who are willing to go to shows, take pictures, and/or write about them. Rolling with Camp has some great benefits (ask anyone on my team!). Email me at drunkencamp@gmail.com if you’re interested!
R16 – The Front Row Experience.
[courtesy of guest writer, Malaysia P.]
It is 6:55pm, five minutes before the show starts. Another Drunken Camper and I are in the front row getting wet from the rain. However, that doesn’t stop the crowd from going wild with anticipation. The show finally starts, and it starts off right with Dumbfounded, a Korean rapper who mostly known for his battling skills on Grind Time TV. He had a real laid back sound that reminded me of Lupe Fiasco (Be sure to be on the lookout for Dumb’s album coming soon. Do your research!).
After Dumbfounded, Bizzy & Palo hype up the crowd before JK’s appearance. When JK comes out, the crowd loses it (You could probably here his name being echoed in Seoul). He starts with “Do You Know Hip-Hop,” one of my personal favorites from his Year of the Tiger album. The crowd is reciting line for line with so much energy. I end up getting hit in the head a couple of times by fans who are waving their hands back and forth, and it’s somewhat of an annoyance. However, JK’s performance is so hypnotizing that it doesn’t matter. Next he performs, “Isolated Ones! Left Foot Forward,” followed by “Good Life,” and then “I Want You,” which is mixed in with Dr. Dre’s “Next Episode.” This was my first JK concert, and watching JK’s concerts on YouTube couldn’t even compare to this.
The best part about being in the front row of the pit is getting the chance to see the artist up close and being more personal with them. JK doesn’t mind the personal bond either. After coming down from the stage more than five times, you can sense the joy he feels from his interaction. It’s a thing that some American artists won’t even do at their shows, and the fans appreciate it greatly.
JK then introduces fellow Drunken Tiger member, Roscoe Umali, and I think El touched upon this performance pretty well. See here for more details.
Afterwards, Epik High takes the stage with a splash, throwing water into the crowd, waking me up from the trance I was in after JK’s performance. Epik’s performance sends the crowd on a buzz that is surely felt. Soon after, they introduce Dilated People’s Rakaa. Man… for those who don’t know Rakaa, do your research! This guy is nothing to mess with! Rakaa brings the crowd back to reality with the message to keep supporting Korean hip-hop because Korea has some of the greatest hip-hop artists alive. He was sharing the stage with some of them that night, so he knew it all too well.
Wait, is that beat what I think it is? Where’s my camera?
As “Monster” starts playing, fans beside me lose it. Every one of the perfomers is back on stage doing their own verse on the “Monster,” beat. I try hard to keep my camera from shaking because the crowd behind me jumping up and down. My camera battery starts to die, and I start praying it’ll hold out to record this rare moment. Luck was on my side as my camera survived the 6+ minute performance.
While being front row is great, there’s always that crazed girl next to you that won’t stop screaming (you’ll hear her in the video). So El uploaded her footage from backstage. It’s tamer than the video I have, but it doesn’t have any distracting screaming girls.
After the concert, an angel from nowhere gave us the okay to meet the stars. The fellow Camp member I was with in had caught Roscoe’s Vlado sneakers that were thrown into the crowd, and one of the show organizer’s who saw it let us enter to get the shoes autographed. In the midst of this, we were able to meet some of the performers before they left. And despite being such an influential force in the hip-hop world, these guys are some of the most down to Earth emcees I’ve ever met. Seriously, this stuff only happens in dreams!
We ended the night on a high note and our hour and 1/2 bus ride home wasn’t even felt. Despite feeling hungry, tired, and wet from the rain, truly, this was an experience that will never be forgotten.
–Malaysia P.
DT MFBTY INTERNATIONAL 
