Today I'll be blogging about a guilty pleasure of mine: Epik High. Though this group, with members Tablo, Mithra Jin and DJ Tukutz, is from Seoul, it does not partake in the mindless, generic music that South Korea's pop industry churns out like a well-oiled money-making machine. On the contrary, Epik High's music is far from superficial: they cover various social issues while testing out different ways to showcase their lyrics. Indeed, this hip-hop group pushes the musical envelope and has tracks that range from soft rock, more mainstream rap, old school hip hop, RnB... in short, Epik High has songs that can please any audience.
I say that they are a guilty pleasure because, well, I've mostly only liked their more mainstream, pop-y stuff. Though they are really not too shallow by South Korean standards, such songs as One, Wannabe, and Run are simply too... mainstream. Furthermore, the majority of the group's work is in Korean and so, to me, liking a song without understanding what it's about is too superficial and thus, these songs, though excellent, cannot win the top spots in my Epik High favorites based on catchiness only.
However, quite a few years back, my friend linked me this song of theirs that actually has English lyrics. From their book album, Map the Soul (魂), released on March 27 2009, this song, of the same name, is a perfect example of Tablo's poetic skill and lyricism which, combined with the old school hip hop vibe, make this one of my favorite songs of all time.
Map The Soul (Worldwide Version) (ft. MYK and Kero One)
This second song, off their fifth studio album Pieces, Part One is quite different stylistically from Map The Soul but has the same great witty lyrics and musicality.
Breakdown (Supreme Mix)
Great music! If you're into rap that's not mainstream with real meaning, you should listen to Immortal Technique!
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