![]() ![]() The homogenous nature of Korea leaves it somewhat lacking in diverse cultural interaction. This isn’t a common occurrence but once would be too common. MBCĮvery so often there seems to be a new report of a Korean sketch comedy show using blackface for a cheap laugh. Maybe I don’t fully understand the subtle nuances of Korean comedy (which I don’t, being that I was born and raised American) but some things are just not funny. K-pop’s popularity has been emerging for a long time now and has seen a meteoric spike since PSY’s “ Gangnam Style.” However, one facet of Korean pop culture that still seems very rudimentary to me is comedy. The soap opera like dramas have engaged a huge following outside of native Korea and subtitles are being read all over the world. Korean pop culture has become an immense commodity within the last few years. You might get to dine and dash without getting checked, but then what? You can’t eat at this table again. You’re not going to get propers from the people that matter or have dignified longevity in this culture without a real understanding of it. They only cared to staple his name to the feature and expect hip-hop to embrace the record. They didn’t care whether this was a good look for Tupac (it wasn’t). Who gave this a green light? In whose Fast & Furious fantasy was there a Tupac hologram (kind of prophetic, sure) illuminated onto an import Honda headlight? And why does it sound like Pac recorded his verse on a T-Mobile Sidekick? You ain’t got the answers, Sway.īesides all the struggle that is the existence of this song and video, could the blatant exploitation of Pac and hip-hop culture in general, be more evident? They didn’t care to make good music or push the culture forward. This was not what I expected.īaby V.O.X., Teenage V.O.X., and Senior Citizen V.O.X. fan, you could imagine my excitement when I got wind of a Tupac feature on a Korean record. Although I wasn’t the biggest Baby V.O.X. crudely duct taped a posthumous Tupac Shakur verse onto a track titled “Xcstacy.” Tupac is my favorite rapper of all time. One of the most polarizing moments for me as a K-pop slash hip-hop fan was when Baby V.O.X. (or Baby Voice Of eXpression…) was a popular 90s K-pop girl group who mixed equal parts electronic music and sexuality as a lasso to herd fanfare. You could throw anything inside of a hip-hop package and it would sell and bubble gum K-pop would not be the exception.īaby V.O.X. There has always been money in selling “cool” and hip-hop might be the coolest thing this planet has ever seen no exaggeration. The influence of hip-hop became undeniable and with influence comes dollars, and with dollars comes thieves. Uptown had its ties to the culture, even though the industry may have exploited those ties for selfish gain– they were ties nonetheless. However, there is an ongoing tale of cultural appropriation when it comes to the hip-hop diaspora because it is such a worldwide phenomenon that doesn’t always require actual passion or understanding of the culture. It could not be denied that the mixed ethnicities of Tasha and Speedy gave Uptown a certain credibility in Korea that other hip-hop acts there did not have, which made the immigration of hip-hop from America seemingly more organic. Yoon Mi Rae) and the lead rapper was mixed Mexican-Korean ( Speedy Bullets).Īll of the members were Los Angeles natives so, naturally, the aesthetic of the group borrowed from Cholo culture with the the obvious influence of Black Hip-hop acts. The players behind Uptown were very conscious of the power of Western influence, and when it became time to put the pieces in place, it was anything but a coincidence that the lead vocalist was mixed Black-Korean ( Tasha a.k.a. The Korean tastemakers and influencers of the old knew they had to borrow America’s swagger (hence drafting talent directly from the USA) but mold it in a way as to not make Korea uncomfortable. ![]() But the hip-hop that was being imported into the peninsula was not the same brand of hardcore East Coast bias rap that was prospering stateside. Hip-hop received an immediate welcome in Korea during the 90s as it gained mainstream popularity in the US. Sonically they resembled something like Bone Thugs & Harmony mixed with Boyz II Men, who were both immensely popular at the time. Uptown was a group of four Korean-American youth who banded together to form a hip-hop collective in South Korea. The same friend that lent me that Wu Tang Clan album also recommended me an Uptown album. ![]()
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