POPSEOUL!

So for those of you who had a chance to meet them, you know that Epik High is nice but did you know how goofy they are? Did you know how serious the underground group of DJs and hip hop artists take their music? Well we had the opportunity to discover it.

We started the night with an interview with MC Dumbfoundead. He’s been rapping since he was a teen and is a well recognized face among emcees in Los Angeles. Here is parts of the interview below and for more info on him check out his website.

PS!: What do you want to do?
Dumbfoundead: “I want to represent real hip hop.”

PS!: What is real hip hop then?
Dumbfoundead: “It’s you not compromising to what’s hot. You’re not restricting yourself but just being real to who you are. That’s why I like Epik High, they’re real to what they do.”

PS!: What do you think about all those Korean artists coming over then? They seem to be changing their original style for the “American” style.
Dumbfoundead: “They should really not try to change too much. That may be their downfall. Straying from who they are. Once you forget why you came into the business you lose yourself.”

Right after the Red Carpet (six foot red rug) Event, we had the opportunity to meet and interview them in the VIP room of the House of Blues on May 16, 2009. We were grabbed right after the red carpet was wrapping up and before we knew it we were heading up the stairs and passing walls that had dragons painted on them. We finally enter through the door to see everyone (except Far East Movement because they were already on stage performing) there.

We interviewed the first person closest to us- none other than Kero One.

PS!: What’s different about your second album?
Kero1: “The first album felt like something was missing and so for the second album I added a lot more Euro “soul” into it.

PS!: Will.I.Am from the Black Eyed Peas left a personal video message for you supporting your work. How do you feel about that?
Kero1: I was pretty stoked that he left a personal message. I was expecting a email or something but the video made it very personal.

PS!: You’re all about “doing it yourself” work ethic, what do you think about the Korean stars who all make it big under a major label?
Kero1: “Artists with labels are good just as long as you learn from it and enjoy what you do.”

PS!: You left your previous job to pursue the music industry. What made you decide to go into music to begin with and what practical advice can you give those trying to do the same?
Kero1: “I decided to go into music because even as I was sitting through meetings as a web designer all I thought about was music. [So if you're that] passionate about it you should [go into music] but also you should consider what others say. If they validate you take the leap of faith.”

PS!: What was is like touring with Epik High?
Kero1: “It’s crazy seeing the reception of these guys. In Japan there were like fanatical fans waiting at the airport but the crazier thing was they were all girls.”

As we said our goodbyes to Kero One, we moved onto Epik High and Myk. (note some of the questions were asked during the Red Carpet and the press conference the following day.)

PS!: A lot of readers from all over the world like France, UK, South America, and even Israel have asked when you’re going to come perform there.
EH: “The reason why we came to America was because Samsung and Verizon contacted us asking us to perform. It’s all about contacting us. If you contact us, we’ll come and perform.”

PS!: What do you think about the Korean artists coming over? Do you think you have an edge over them?
EH: “We are considered anomalies in the Korean scene thus when coming out here we don’t have to be different. We try to make listeners interested in ourselves. We try not to play into the crowd.”

PS!: We’ve heard that the San Francisco concert was a sold out success. What do you expect from the LA concert?
EH: For the LA concert it was all about expecting the unexpected. In SF it was crazy. We were used to fans going crazy in Korea but in SF it was crazy! We couldn’t hear our own music.”
Tablo: “It was all about meeting the fans. SF was crazy with 2300. It was awesome for us to know that half our fans in Korea were not Korean.”
DJ Tukutz: “SF gave us an exhilirating reception. I want LA to be more and in NY I want it to be like a bomb!”
Tablo: Like musical terrorism? So then is Seattle going to like a typhoon?”

PS!: So are you guys working on your next album? Can you tell us anything about it?
EH: Yea, we’ve been working on it even now. On the airplane and in hotel rooms. It’s still in the beginning stages but this time we’ll be experimenting with traditional Korean music with lots of classical music. It’ll be different from anything we’ve ever done.”

PS!: What is it like being part of your own label now?
EH: “We like the fact that we’re on our own record label because we can do whatever we want. We’re forever fourteen [years old]. We don’t like people tellings us what to do. We only want to answer to the fans. We may not listen to everything they say but we’ll take it into consideration”.

PS!: You went into mainstream music for awhile, how’d you feel about that?
EH: “At first when the company was a few people we could do our thing without them saying anything. But as our albums made more money and we became responsible for more and more people and their families, you can’t help but try to make your music make money. I’m not saying it was bad but it was a good learning experience. We might go back to mainstream if we get bored but we’ll see. Map the Soul was simple hip hop and thus it didn’t do as great as the other albums but also it was an independent distribution. For our next album it will be national distribution so we’ll see how that works out.”

PS!: We know you took a public stance against illegal downloading, but for a lot of your foreign fans, they learn about you through downloading, what do you think about that?
EH: “We don’t care about illegal downloading as much. If you get introduced to music and stay that’s tight. I mean I [Tablo] used to be involved in it but stopped after I started making music. It was more of a “ethical” decision.

PS!: Is it hard to maintain a personal relationship because you’re in the limelight?
EH: “Personally, we don’t really care. If you present yourself to the public as a normal person they’ll leave you alone. We don’t try to hide it.”

PS!: Finally, Boxers or Briefs?
Tukutz: Briefs
Tablo: Briefs but not when I’m sleeping.
Mithra: Tight pants… TIGHT pants.
Tablo: It’s not really tight, only when he wears it.
Myk: Nothing at all.

Right after, we got to sit down with some alone time with MYK.

PS!: So what can we expect from your first album?
Myk: “It’s going to be simple. A collection of love songs.”

PS!: Are we assuming that they were inspired by someone in particular and if so is it the sad kind or the happy kind?
Myk: “Yes, and you can say it’s not about heartbreak.”

PS!: Is it hard to keep a personal relationship like that considering you’re working a lot or on the road?
Myk: “Well i only made a major intro onto the scene for a few months now so I don’t think it’s that hard. It just means we’re on skype a lot.”

PS!: People used to think you were an alter image of Tablo until the video of you and Tablo drunk rapping popped up.
Myk: “Really? This is the first I’m hearing of it.”
Tablo: “You mean like my slim shady? It’s more like Myk is my slim shady.”

PS!: So what has it been like on tour?
Myk: “All my releases has been in Korea and low key underground tracks. I worked with Pe2ny but nothing really became of it. I just helped by featuring in it. It’s my first time seeing the fans and interacting with them. This has all been thanks to Tablo.”
Tablo: No, if anything we should be thanking him. He’s the dream of our company.”

PS!: How’d you meet Epik High?
Myk: “I met Tablo as if it was destiny. CEO Allen aka A-Diddy is my godbrother’s cousin and his cousin Charles was also a childhood friend of Tablo’s. I came to Korea to visit and met Allen and BAM!
PS!: “You guys met eyes fell in love?
Tablo: Yea, it’s Korean Drama status.
Myk: But seriously, we found out we had the same taste in music and the rest was history.

Thanks to all of you who submitted questions and it was great meeting y’all.

For more information about the respective artists interviewed here check out their websites.
Dumbfoundead: http://www.myspace.com/dumbfoundead
Kero One: http://www.kero1.com
Epik High and Myk: http://mapthesoul.com