Where U At?: Calling the fans of KHip-hop
It’s hard to miss fans of the idol groups and singers, but Korean hip-hop (Khip-hop) fans are much harder to find. I know they exist, but you wouldn’t KNOW it looking at fan activity on the Internet. There are some real reasons why they might want to think about standing up and being heard.
You can say what you want about idol fans, but one thing they do exceptionally well is provide information. With numerous websites, forums, Twitter accounts and Facebook pages, you are hard pressed not to know details about your favorite artist or group. When you decide you are going to break down and like Super Junior, E.L.Fs, the fans of Super Junior, are more than happy to provide you with all the details, ranging from eye color to that song that you really like but can’t find because you don’t know the name of it. They give you pictures so that you can pick them out of a crowd and they provide a community where you can spazz out with like-minded people.
Some Khip-hop fans might be too cool for that. Very few run websites; a cursory search brings up few results. A few may peep their heads out to review an album or engage in the age-old debate of what is “real” hip hop versus “fake” hip hop in a forum. But, for the most part, you can’t find them.
That’s a shame. I like my share of Khip-hop, so y’all might want to rethink your Internet presence for a few reasons. If you don’t provide information for people who may be interested in Khip-hop, you are denying potential fans. I faced this recently when I got all excited about Primary‘s See Through. Other than finding images of Primary with that box on his head, I found precious little information about Primary, his history, and how he came to work with Gaeko and Zion T. Sadness.
When Khip-hop fans don’t write about Khip-hop, they also give the power to others to define it. Trust me, you do not want National Public Radio (NPR) telling the world about Tablo. Rather than focusing on his talent, NPR followed the digital blood trail from the accusations that he failed to receive a degree from Stanford University: “He’s a rapper and one of Korea’s most famous artists. He’s also been at the center of a media storm, but not because of his music. His is a story of pop-culture paranoia and conspiracy.” No mention of his music, the development of his career or his significance to Korean hip-hop. If fans don’t take responsibility for how people see KHip-hop, someone else, probably less knowledgeable and invested, will. And it won’t be pretty.
Another reason Khip-hop fans might want to increase their web presence has to do with another form of responsibility. Part of this responsibility involves calling out tomfoolery when you see it. Let’s consider Jay Park‘s mixtape Fresh Air: Breath It. Its 100,000 downloads received lots of attention; major online outlets reported on the mixtape’s viral status.
Far fewer outlets addressed the lyrics, many of which hellokpop can’t even publish. Salima described the mixtape as “a string of sexually aggressive and overzealous songs that do much to highlight the fact that Jay Park’s got a lot of sex on the brain.” At the same time, other writers, like IATFB, aren’t really bothered by those lyrics: “ I’m not saying the mixtape is poor because it offended my sensibilities or anything (it’s hip-hop/R&B, man).”
Here’s my issue: that isn’t hip-hop. At least not all of it. Even if you don’t think Jay Park is “real” hip-hop, it’s hard to deny that he’s working the hip-hop vibe. With no Khip-hop fans calling Park out for, at the very least, using lyrics to reinforce the myth that all hip-hop is anti-woman, people like IATFB will continue to think that this is par for the course. And it is not. Grandmaster Flash, acknowledged by everyone as one of THE elders of hip-hop, said in an interview that this misonception is the one he hates the most:
“I think that somebody went around and said that in order to cut a hit record, we have to disrespect our brothers, sisters, mothers and children. What people don’t realize here is that hip-hop has a large influence on people. What you say maybe just frivolously, somebody can seriously go out and go do. I’m not saying that what we’re doing is not right, but it shouldn’t be the only way that a record is made. Like if you listen to ten records, seven of them is either disrespecting our sisters or hurting people” (55).
American hip-hop fans have been dealing with this for years: the myth that “real” hip-hop translates into the objectification of women. It’s so pervasive that people think that is true. And they will continue to think similarly wrong things about Khip-hop unless fans step up and set the record straight. This is what “real” hip-hop fans do: love hip-hop, but love it enough to criticize it. If you are going to be down with hip-hop, then you have to deal with some of its problematic aspects.
So Khip-hop fans, in the words of Taeyang, “Where U At?”
Sources: NPR, seoulbeats, Asian Junkie, Amazon; Photos: ILoveAsia; The Chemistry Magazine
CeeFu
CeeFu is Crystal S. Anderson, associate professor at Elon University (U.S.) and K-pop and Kdrama fan. Her favorite groups include SS501, Shinhwa, Super Junior, SHINee, Dynamic Duo and Brown Eyed Soul. I teach classes in American studies, African American literature and culture and Asian popular culture. I do research in comparative cultural studies, which includes K-pop. She also writes on Asian popular culture at: www.highyellow.me.
I AM HERE! Most of us are laid back and spend our time listening to good music on youtube and going on Tumblr. So many awesome artists, not much time in our daily lives to listen to them all…see the the dilemma? Also, I think the only reason Jay Park is left alone for his style is because he’s too far in the kpop side for us to really say something. But yeah…HEP HAP.
I don’t know if I’m a k-hiphop fan, but I do enjoy a lot of his hip-hop songs. I love Verbal Jint. I think he has a really classy way of writing lyrics and them mixing them with classical instruments, which I don’t think happens a lot nowadays. Als ZICO’s mixtape was one of the best I have ever heard. ZICO has really good voice for rapping and he knows how to use and pretty much every song in his mixtapes has a different vibe to it. He can change his rapping style in ONE TWO SNAP that something I really admire about him and his lyric writing skills are of the hook for his age his vocabulary certainly isn’t lacking. I also like RIMI the female rapper a lot, her song messiah gives me a M.I.A. sort of feel, but with better rapping skills LOL.
As a huge Khip-hop fan I am always searching for websites and information. It is a shame that international fans are denied access to a wonderful culture. Supper Junior was the reason I discovered Khip-hop. “I don’t listen to anything else now” There are plenty of websites out there, but what I find particularly frustrating is that majority of the websites are in need of translations. “This is what takes up 95% of my search time. Khip-hop is my obsession.”
I find that twitter is a wonderful source to find up to date information on a particular group, although delayed at times.
And what we fail to realize is Khip-hop is very censored compared to the American Music Industry until recently the way they performed was dictated. They couldn’t make simple changes, like color their hair. Take (BI) Rain for instance, the first time he ripped his shirt off on stage, at the time it was not allowed. Even Rainism was criticized by the censors and was not going to be released. Not because of the way he dances or the orgy in the music video but for the lyrical content. But lets face it the lyrical content is kids stuff when competing in a aggressive American music industry.
Khip-hop is evolving whether we like it or not, to expand their fan base and be more competitive with the American Hollywood entertainment industry.
I’m a k-hiphop fan and yes, it is a bit frustrating to be one with the lack of international fan websites, blogs, lyrics, or anything! I heard the genre is quite popular among the teens in korea and I hope it will gain the recognition it deserves in the public and around the world. On the contrary, many fans (not all) don’t mind k-hiphop being mainstream because they usually think mainstream=crap. If anyone has any international sites about k-hiphop, please post! (:
Right on, CeeFu. GrandMaster Flash comments are echoed by the late Adam Yaunch (Beastie Boys) in 1998: “”I didn’t realize how much harm I was doing back then and I think a lot of rap artists probably don’t realize it now,” the newspaper quoted him as saying. “I said a lot of stuff fooling around back then, and I saw it do a lot of harm. I had kids coming up to me and saying, ‘Yo, I listen to your records while I’m smoking dust, man.’ And I’d say, ‘Hey, man, we’re just kidding. I don’t smoke dust.’ People need to be more aware of how they’re affecting people.” Lyrics matter.
Good stuff Ceefu. As a member of the Korean media here in Seoul and part of the Korean hip-hop movement, it is sad that us Korean hip-hop fans go unnoticed. I think the simple fact that K-pop idol snuffs out nearly all other genres is the reason there’s little love for hip-hop here.
The thing is, there is a sizable amount of fans that blog about hip-hop. The only problem: it’s all in Korean on Naver and cafe blog spots. So to the international community, it’s a bummer that there’s very few English outlets on the hip-hop scene here.
So while hip-hop is catching on here in Seoul, the problem remains that idol pop is just more catchy to the average, mainstream listener. With a catchy hook, simple words, and a fun beat, pop will get most fans. Most people, unfortunately, have a hard time listening to straight hip-hop (as there’s no easy hook), forcing K-hip-hop artists to go into pop to make money.
Hopefully, the K-pop fans and music lovers around the world can spread the word of Korean hip-hop. It’s truly one of the best in the world
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Haha I just got into korean hip-hop, because of Block B’s ZICO so it’s not always a bad thing that hip hop artists go into the idol world of even mainstream in general (Verbal Jint seems to be doing a pretty good job). Because of that the hip hop scene can als gain a lot of fans. I’ll set myself as an example. But I do have a question. Do you have any recommendations for songs or artists to listen too?
As a Khip-hop fan myself, I’m right there with you Ceefu. As an international fan, it’s extremely difficult to learn about new hip hop artists in Korea due to the lack of credible information. I totally agree that this lack of information, and the resulting lack of media attention, is down right disheartening. If only 10% of the fans on the ground in Korea would take the time to publicly blog about it, Khip-hop’s popularity would skyrocket worldwide.