Tag Archives: MFBTYWONDALAND

[Interview] Korean Hip-Hop Supergroup MFBTY Made an Album Just for Their Twitter Followers

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Noisey interviewed MFBTY recently and discussed with them the origins of their name and the meaning behind their album. MFBTY had nothing but good things to say about the people who inspired them to continue on past all their struggles.

So the name MFBTY came out of this community you found on Twitter of K-pop fandom?

Tiger JK: When I started tweeting, the first group of people that actually started talking to me was from Brazil. So just imagine—we didn’t think we were popping in Korea, and someone from Brazil will talk to us! And I was like “Hey, how do you know me?” And I was chatting with them and they were from different fandoms. And it was sort of an inside joke between them, ‘cause I was kind of like the UN for all these fans from different groups. The inside joke was “my fans are better than yours,” so the fans made the name. One day it kind of snowballed into something, and people were writing MFBTY graffiti in London and Spain and Italy, and we became something like a cult.

Read more here: Noisey Interviews MFBTY

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[Interview] MFBTY sets out to reinvent K-pop with ‘Wondaland’

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The Korea Times interviewed MFBTY, here’s a snippet of what they had to say:

KT: “Wondaland” is diverse. I feel like I heard a bit of everything, from reggae to EDM to rock legend Jeon In-kwon’s voice — what would you call the core of this album?

Tiger JK: Soulful pop.

Yoonmirae: I just call it a very “Feel Ghood” eclectic album!

Read more here: The Korea Times

[Interview] Korean Indie with MFBTY

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The record hits several different genres throughout its nearly hour-long runtime. What inspired you to explore different territory for WondaLand, and what was the process like in bringing different musical worlds together?

Yoon Mi Rae: We just went wherever the music took us. We didn’t stay away from particular sounds or chords in fear of sounding like this or that. Whatever felt good we ran with.

Tiger JK: Being introduced to new languages, artists, and stories from all over the world. This all came from dreams we had.

Read more here: Korean Indie Interviews MFBTY

[Interview] FarEastVibes Interviews MFBTY!

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There’s no doubt about the amount of passion for music you guys have not just as MFBTY but also within your solo careers, but music is also a job. With idol groups representing mainstream Korean music and becoming increasingly popular internationally, does MFBTY feel pressured to alter their music in order to chart well?

Tiger JK: Sometimes, but when we get in the studio we all get lost in our music. Since we do basically everything – produce, write, mix, and all that – we don’t have time to feel pressure. It’s a very, very arduous process, but recording is the most fun part. And bumping our songs as loud as we can and just going through our own playlists to decide what makes the cut on the album is exciting. We’re thinking about getting a producer where we could be led for once and just do our own parts to see what comes out.

Yoon Mirae: Not at all. I know people probably won’t believe me when I say this, but it’s true. I really really don’t pay attention to charts. I just want to make music that I can be proud of and that makes me happy. Of course I would like the album to do well, but I don’t believe that I – or we – should make songs for that reason. Hopefully if we put out good music, the rest will fall into place.

Read more here: FarEastVibes Interviews MFBTY

[Interview] Falling into “Wondaland” with Korean Hip Hop Group MFBTY

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Asia Pacific Arts interviews MFBTY:

At first look, people might simply describe MFBTY as a hip-hop group, but your album is packed with 17 tracks and you explore various genres from not only hip-hop, but electronica, R&B and even reggae. What genres were you most excited to challenge and how was the process of creating a song in that style?

Tiger JK: I love reggae music. It’s always been a root of inspiration for me. If you listen to my old Drunken Tiger records, you will find a lot of reggae influences or me paying homage. Drunken Tiger’s single “Liquor Shot” was dance hall. And Tasha’s “Wonder Woman” single was reggae influenced. Whether it be EDM or rock music, we’re inspired by anything that has soul.

Yoonmirae: Well our DJ/producer/consultant/Feel Ghood Music family friend DJ Smells is really into and good with the EDM side of things, so he was there to help us with fusing our styles together. As JK said, he’s always been a huge reggae fanatic and knows a lot about it, so when JK and Kim Ban Jang from Windy City get together in the studio, it’s pretty much a wrap! When making this album, we just basically showed up at the studio and recorded our jam sessions. We didn’t confine ourselves to one genre or what we thought the people thought we should do. We just wanted to do whatever felt good, made us happy, and hoped for the best.

Read more here: Asia Pacific Arts Interviews MFBTY

[INTERVIEW] MFBTY Talks ‘Peace, Love, and Pillow Fights’, Potential English Release, and More with moonROK

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Your last album, “The Cure”, had an emotionally heavy focus drawn from real life tragedies, but “Wondaland” seems to establish that you’ve moved on, especially with the first track, “Hello Happy.” Can you tell us about the transition from your last album to this one?

Tiger JK: Most of my songs are drawn from real life. Particularly “The Cure” was my mantra, it was our prayer for people who are suffering. As far as moving on, I don’t think I will ever be able to. I’m moving forward though because time doesn’t wait for me. “Hello Happy” was just the right theme for us. We wanted to focus on something positive and fun. It was like breaking the ice on a first date after a very long awkward silence on a rainy day by a car driving in a puddle and splashing water on us, now we’re laughing and hugging. It all sounds very Korean drama-esque!

Yoonmirae: We just wanted to do music that made us “Feel Ghood.” I guess you can say it was a self-fulfilling therapeutic decision.

Read more here: moonROK Interviews MFBTY

[News] Bizzy Bizzionary: An Inside Look At MFBTY’s Third Member

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It is March 16, 2015 and a rapper is seen quietly psyching himself up, saying “I can do it” inside a restaurant in Gangnam. He has his game face on. It’s 3 days before his new track comes out. Is he anticipating taking the number 1 spot onthe music charts?

Not exactly. It’s because he has nominated himself to be the MC for their album release party on the 18th. It is very rare to see the artists themselves MC’ing their album release event. It’s usually a professional MC that manages the event ensuring everything flows smoothly. However this rapper is confident he can do a good job.

He is MFBTY’s Bizzy. Haven’t heard of him? It’s the person beside Tiger JK and Yoon Mi Rae. Yes, it is clear that compared to the other two artists, he is not as well known. This is the reason why he volunteered to MC for the night, as this was an excellent opportunity for the media and the general public to hear and notice Bizzy on the stage. He even visited the promo office to receive 1:1 media training and to practice. All preparations were done. All he could do was wait.

Now let’s switch it up a bit. MFBTY’s first full album “Wondaland” was released on March 19, 2015. They received the top spots on 4 respective music charts. However, there were some comments regarding their results saying they were not as good because fans were not aware of the project group MFBTY. In other words, if they knew Tiger JK & Yoon Mi Rae were in it, people were more likely to reach out for the tracks.

This makes sense. Many people do know Tiger JK & Yoon Mi Rae, but MFBTY, that’s a different story. So why are they calling themselves MFBTY? Because other than “My Fans [Are] Better Than Yours,” it also means, “Mother Freakin’ Bizzy Tiger YoonMiRae.

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Bizzy is used to hearing all the ‘usual’ questions, e.g. “what are you doing between that married couple?” Even the writer of this article (Osen reporter) asked him, “So what do you do in MFBTY?”.Although this might have been hurtful to others, Bizzy politely replied “Oh, this and that.”

Within his record label (Feel Ghood Music, which he, Tiger JK & Yoon Mi Rae created) he is known as General Manager, Mr. Park. As their record label just turned two, they are still in their establishment phase and will be needing hands on assistance every now and then. These days, General Manager Mr. Park, (aka Bizzy) is helping with the promotional team which is a big help to them.

It was the morning of the day when the album,”Wondaland,” was going to be announced for the first time to the media and general public. Needless to say, Tiger JK & Yoon Mi Rae had high expectations.

Unfortunately, the MC for the event was Tiger JK. Bizzy froze midway through and Tiger JK had to step in. However, the short amount of time Bizzy was MCing, it left a positive impression on the media personnel.

Rappers tell their life stories on the stages with their flows. Bizzy, a hip hop veteran is always explosive on stage. However, when he needs to talk, he freezes.

There’s a short video clip recorded from KBS, “Yoon Do Hyun’s Love Letter” that is legendary. Yoon Do Hyun asks Bizzy a question and he does not respond back. One may think it was all part of his character, a certain type of as swag, whereas others deducted that maybe he was unable to speak at that moment because he was embarrassed. Most recently on MNet’s, “4KindsShow” he spoke less than Rap Monster (BTS) who featured on their album.

Those that are in Bizzy’s close circles call him, “The music industry’s nuclear bomb with no explosion” much to Bizzy’s frustration. After the album release event, Bizzy took up boxing again (which he stopped doing for a short time). While speaking of boxing, Bizzy commented, Yoon Mi Rae’s punches hurt the most (to which Tiger JK agreed).

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His long awaited solo album

There’s a good chance Bizzy’s solo album will drop in the first half of 2015. With regards to his signature energetic flow and powerful performances, he commented “To survive between Tiger JK and Yoon Mi Rae, I formed a habit of shouting when performing.”

In his solo album, there is an expected music style change. With jazz and R&B on his listening menu lately, he has told the writer that his music style has toned down a little bit. But don’t worry, his powerful performances will not disappear.

Bizzy was offered a lot of Korean idol spots when he returned to Korea from New Zealand. Amongst his nicknames is “Hiphop Gong Yoo,” which might sounds like it refers to the actor Gong Yoo, however this nickname was given to him after people saw him on, “Come To Play.” His positive energy is addictive and one of his greatest assets. He stated that he is at his happiest right now.

Rapper, Sean2Slow gave Bizzy his name a long time ago wishing him to be busy. When asked whether he is busy, he smiled and answered, “Much busier than before!” When you search his name, soybean curd come up first (food product, same Korean spelling as Bizzy written in Korean) he is just happy that there are a lot of “Rapper Bizzy” related posts nowadays.

This is Bizzy, who’s happily single, but would love to raise a family one day.

Source: Osen News
Translated by JSK

-Cheryl S.
YoonMirae INTL

[vid/news] Easter Eggs You May Have Missed in MFBTY’s “BangDiggyBangBang” MV

So we’re off! MFBTY has officially released the Wondaland album, and they didn’t disappoint. While the album is considered “underground pop,” loyal hip-hop fans of the trio will not be disappointed. Before we get into the album, a reminder of the (1 of 3) debut single: “Bang Diggy Bang Bang.”


That hook just gets you, huh? As expected, the song took off, and the entire album topped charts within hours. It was so popular, that it took over 17/20 spots on Daum.net music charts.

As for the video, there have been many compliments regarding the playful vibe and MFBTY’s dance skills (Don’t worry, hip-hop OGs, it was only a few moves). The fast pace and array of colors in “Bang Diggy Bang Bang,” makes it easy to miss underlying messages. Luckily, our keen eyes and MFBTY expertise were able to catch them. Here’s what you missed:

1)There’s A Meaning Behind The Pillow Fights

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When MFBTY was still a joke between Tiger and fans, they created “wonderland,” which was a figurative place where JK and fans could say and do anything, almost like a child getting lost in a mysterious world. Tiger would playfully say, “Let’s pillow fight,” if he sensed someone would disagree with something he said. It soon became a daily saying for him, and fans would reply back, “Pillow fight!” In the beginning of the video, we see JK walking with a pillow in his hand (properly marked “Bang Diggy Bang Bang”) and his destination is a pile of MFBTY pillows. Given the name came from MFBTY fans before there was an MFBTY, it was only appropriate that the debut video started with this shout out to “wonderland.”

2) The “Lost” T-Shirt

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The “LOST” t-shirt appears subtly repeatedly throughout the video. While meaningless on the surface, this is another homage to the original “wonderland,” where fans could get “lost” in the madness.

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Lost tee hiding again on the right corner.


3) Rap Monster’s Jasmine Poops Blow Up Toilets… Literally

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We saw BTS Rap Monster already kill it on MFBTY’s “Bucku Bucku/Shy Shy,” and the last line of his verse was what really surprised people: “Even my poop smells like jasmine tea.” The video for “Shy Shy,” was shot the same day as “Bang Diggy Bang Bang,” and Rap Mon wanted to reiterate his poop smell was so unbelievably good, it would literally “blow up toilets.” Now we know his jasmine poops are green in gaseous form.

4) Duckie Dale, The Bangles, and Indiana Jones Made Cameos 

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If you just understood that, you are an 80’s geek who related to this vid a little too well. There were an unbelievable amount of nerdy awesome 80’s moments thrown in, but the one that stood out to us was this shot. Bizzy’s pompadour hairstyle is reminiscent of famous 80’s icon, Duckie Dale from the film Pretty In Pink. Tasha’s head band takes us back to The Bangles “Walk Like An Egyptian” music video, which helped popularize Egyptian inspired fashion in that time. Leave it to Tiger to exaggerate the turban look and go borderline Indiana Jones (We debated if it was more Douglass Quaid from Total Recall, but that movie just made it out of the 80’s). Their stylist, Little E of electronic band, EE, did a heck of a job taking us back through time.

5) Tiger’s Silent Praise of Bruce Lee

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Tiger has a background as a martial art teacher, and the one person he always aspired to be was Bruce Lee. Tiger has even emulated Bruce’s hair from time to time, and never scoffed at a comparison of him and his idol.

6) Bizzy Is Part Of A Group That Only Makes Up 10% of the Population

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Bizzy drops a line referring to luck on his lefty while holding up his hand in the music video. Bizzy’s nickname is “Lucky Lefty,” because he is left handed.

7) That “808” Is Not An Area Code

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That haunting hook is not a shout out to Hawaii. The code “808” actually has two meanings. The first referring to the  Roland TR-808 drum machine, which may have created some of the hard sounds in the song. “808” is also a police code for disturbing the peace with the sound of bass. Thus, the hook really means, “Here comes the bass that’s going to rock the neighborhood.”

The full length “Wondaland” album is now available in stores and on Itunes.

-MissDrunkenCamp
Drunken Tiger International