Kpop Behind | All the Stories Behind Kpop Stars

You know, talented entertainer Gary decided to leave famous TV show "Running Man." He has shown great performance as a member of "Running Man" since 2010, while he will shoot his last show on October 31. Announcing the news that he's going to leave the show, the production crew said, "Gary told us he wants to focus on his activities as a musician. We thank him for making great efforts as a member of Running Man." In short, he needed more time to concentrate on his career as a musician and could not help quitting "Running Man." Well, by the way, there is a story behind it. Gary debuted as a member of Leessang in 2002 and has achieved great musical outcomes with his partner Gil. Some of you might not know, but Gary not only is a talented entertainer but also is a very competitive hip hop musician who is loved by so many hip hop fans in Korea. However, the situation has changed somewhat. I mean, Gary and Gil do not stick to their a...

Chanyeol of EXO will be featured in Far East Movement's upcoming new single as a rapper. Well, it's unusual for SM artists to take part in foreign singer's album as a rapper, while YG artists usually do this kind of work. Some people might think this is just a one time event. However, I don't think so. SM will continue to try to extend musical territory because the agency is aiming at becoming a global music company which  has a significant impact on every genre of music. When NCT U released its debut single "The 7th Sense" last April, the song was  favorably reviewed by Korean hip hop listeners, while it is rare that SM artists receive a positive response from hip hop listeners. Well, NCT U showed great rap performance in the music, and many hip hop listeners said "They're better than idols of YG." The fact that NCT U has a great rapping ability shows how SM is changing.  Unlike in the past, SM began to pay more attention to its artist...

Have you watched Mnet's "Show Me The Money 5"? You know, a young rapper BewhY showed outstanding performance through the program and won the championship. The talented rap star who captured Korean music fans' heart with has attractive voice tone and unique flow, is now causing a sensation on online music charts. On July 19, BewhY had an interview with Korean entertainment journalists. Through the interview, he talked about his music, life, and career. Especially, it was notable that he commented about Big Bang and G-Dragon when he was asked about the reason why he uses "BewhY" as his stage name. Let's see what he talked about Big Bang and G-Dragon. When I was a middle school student, I really liked Big Bang's music. I became interested in music because of Big Bang even though I became interested in hip hop for another reason. And I thought I wanted to have a great stage name just like G-Dragon. At first, I quoted initial of my real name ...

There are so many kpop boy groups who debuted over recent years. Actually, the boy groups are too numerous to mention one by one. Some of them just disappeared before one knows, while only a very small minority of them became popular. By the way, there is a boy group who has been on the steady rise and succeeded in becoming a well-loved idol group. Yeah, that's BTS(Bangtan Boys). "BTS is in Big Hit entertainment, which is not as big kpop agency as SM, YG, or JYP. That's one of the reasons why BTS' success is so interesting.(Even though there has been a controversy over the group's Sajaegi) Achieving success as a idol group of small and medium agency is much harder than you could ever have imagined. Furthermore, the members are not that handsome. Some of, maybe many of you may disagree with this, but they are not 'pretty boys' like EXO or SHINee members. Frankly speaking, I thought they are too ugly to be idols when I saw BTS for the first time. Well...

Do you like Mnet's hip hop survival program 'Show Me The Money'(SMTM)? As you know, many YG artists appear on the program. Epik High's Tablo and Jinusean will appear on 'Show Me The Money 4' as a judge, while Winner's Song Mino will appear on the program as a contestant. iKON's Bobby and B.I, who didn't debut officially yet, appeared on 'Show Me The Money 3' and succeeded in capturing people's heart by showing off their outstanding talents. Do you think there is nothing intrinsically wrong with the YG artists' appearance on the program because YG is the biggest hip hop label in Korea and the program is about hip hop? Yes, but there is a story behind it. Here are famous hip hop labels in Korea. Of course, YG is the biggest, and the others are Brandnew(Verbal Jint and San E), Illionaire(Dok2 and The Quiett), AOMG(Jay Park and Simon D), Amoeba Culture(Dynamic Duo), etc. Isn't it weird that Dynamic Duo's Gaeko and Cho...

Through YG entertainment's special hip hop project, Big Bang's G-Dragon and Taeyang formed a new sub unit GD X TAEYANG and released a single “Good Boy” in 2014. GD took part in writing the song as always, while the song has gained great popularity at home and abroad. After releasing the single, GD X TAEYANG gave an interview to various Korean media outlets and talked about their new album, friendship, and BIGBANG. The two friends GD and Taeyang were both born in 1988, and 14 years ago, they joined YG entertainment as trainees. And they’ve went through rigorous training together for 6 years to make a debut as members of BIGBANG. So, of course, they’ve been good friends both in joy and in sorrow for a long time and know each other better than anyone. About GD, Taeyang said as follows. "Actually, there are many differences between us. He has something I do not have, and I have something he does not have. For example, we have totally different home surroundings. I ha...

YG entertainment's rapper Masta Wu will release his new single. Through the agency's second hip hop project, Masta Wu will release his single 'Come here' on December 2, while two other talented Korean rappers, Dok2 and iKON's Bobby, will be featured in the music.(YG's first hip hop project was G-Dragon and Taeyang's 'Good boy'.) It has been about 6 years since Masta Wu released his album as a member of YMGA, comprised DM and Masta Wu himself, and it is expected that the rapper will capture Korean hip hop fans' hearts with his brand new music. During his hiatus, he has been busy producing YG artists' songs, especially those of Lee hi. Dok2 is one of the Korean rappers who are taking the center stage of Korean hip hop scene, while Bobby will make a debut as a member of YG's rookie group iKON at the beginning of next year.

GD X TAEYANG, YG's new hip hop unit comprised of Big Bang's G-Dragon and Taeyang, will release its single 'Good Boy'. According to YG entertainment, the single will be released on November 21, while the song is co-composed by GD, The Fliptones, and Freedo, and the lyrics are written by GD. The Fliptones is well known as a global producing team who has worked with famous musicians such as Britney Spears, Jason Derulo, Ice Cube, and Santana. The Fliptones also co-composed Taeyang's hit 'Stay with me' with GD. As you know, GD and Taeyang are great friends who have been through a lot together since they began lives as YG trainees 14 years ago. GD has collaborated with Taeyang through the attractive vocalist's various hits including 'I need a girl', 'Stay with me', and 'Ringa Linga', while Taeyang was featured as a singer in 'Korean Dream' that was included in GD's first solo album. Meanwhile, YG will unveil three ...

Do you know Epik High's Tablo? Many of you many know of him because he's currently appearing on KBS' entertainment program 'Superman Come Back' and he's a member of YG family. However, some of you may not know that he's one of the greatest hip hop musicians in Korea because it has been so long since he released his new album.(even though he appeared on Mnet's 'Show me the money 3' as a hip hop producer) Well, Epik High released its new album after 2 years of hiatus. The hip hop group, comprised of Tablo, Mithra Jin and DJ Tukutz, recently gave an interview to Korean media outlets, and Tablo talked about their hiatus, "During the period, Mithra has experienced a slump, and we were not able to release our new album because of our desires for a better album." It was worth it. Right after being released all the 12 tracks of Epik High's new album got the top spots on various online music charts. The songs even knocked down new son...

Dynamic Duo released its new album. The Korean hip hop duo that consists of Choiza and Gaeko is regarded as the representative hip hop artist in Korea, while the two met in the 6th grade of elementary school and have a long standing history of being friends. Choiza and Gaeko started to work together through an underground hip hop scene named CB Mass and then came to establish Dynamic Duo in 2003. Well, the duo's new album 'A Giant Step' includes two tracks, 'AEAO' and 'Animal', while the album really shows a giant step because it was co-produced by world famous hip hop artist DJ Premier, who has worked with popular stars such as Jay Z, Kanye West, The Black Eyed Peas, and Maroon 5. Celebrating its releasing new album, Dynamic Duo held a press conference with DJ Premier in Seoul, but all the people's concerns were centered on Choiza's scandal with f(x)'s Sulli. At the press conference, Choiza didn't talk about the scandal at all, b...