[Interview] Genius Nochang | 'I had to make a smart use of the situation' part 2/2
Nochangās interview with Hiphopplaya
I was originally going to do the first part only because I got tired of it but I changed my mind the next day haha
Hipple: The album shows a lot about your scandal. How do you feel right now?
Nochang: I feel like Iām sitting below a pit, another pit, and another pit, where Satan is. The last part of my tenth song in my album describes the place Iām in right now and Iām there right now.
Hipple: To be honest, I was startled by the beer you brought with you today.
Nochang: You would know if you go to my studio, there are stashes of liquor bottles (laugh). I didnāt even care to clean the mess up because I knew people would say something about me being on drugs. I have all kinds of liquor in my studio and they are all empty bottles. Even though I have the biggest room in JMās building, every time I move, you can hear sounds of empty bottles clacking. Thatās how drunk I was these days, and every day is hard for me.
There were a lot of emergency situations and Iāve still been going to the hospital, but my life is a pain right now. First of all, when I got the paper with interview questions, there was a question about if I was willing to talk about her. To be frank, Iām willing to talk about all of it if it was just about me only. People are going to find out about my mistakes and embarrassments anyway. However, the reason Iām not talking about it is because it wasnāt just me that was involved in the incident, there were other people, too. They were already harmed by my mistakes, so I refuse to talk about it.
Lastly, I even revealed the name of the reporter that wrote the news about my incident in the 9th track in my album, but they still had the nerve to ask me if I wanted to talk about her. Iām really angry at the person who even had to idea to make that question, and want to glare at them so to the point that they feel threatened. How could you even ask me that questionā¦ Anyway, thatās how I feel right now.
Hipple: (Intimidated) Were you able to contact Reporter Kim Hangil? (The guy who wrote the article about Nochangās scandal).
Nochang: He doesnāt even know my new instagram. He?ā¦ that #$@# probably doesnāt even know my new instagram. When I made the mistake of putting that DM on my instagram, I deleted the post within 5 minutes and even deleted my account. But, when I saw that article about me, it seems like he captured my post within that 5 minutes. At first, I was like āwhat?ā If youāre not my fan, how could you see that post and capture it within that 5 minutes, and if you ARE a fan, couldnāt you do something better like promote my new music rather than capturing something like that..? I didnāt understand that, either.
Say that he was my fan and he was able to see that post because of good timing. But he had to take his time to write an article for me for every one to see. I really want to stab him with something like a bamboo spear just enough until he doesnāt die and hang him on Namdaemoon (for everyone to see). I really want to.
Because this is not just about me. If it was me who posted a nude of myself for 5 minutes and someone found out and wrote an article about that, it would just be me who suffered. However, this is something that other people were involved in. The article didnāt do any good deed to anyone and it had unnecessary, personal information. I felt like I didnāt have the basic rights of a human.
I know that Iāve made a mistake, but that only applies to people who were part of the incident. I wonder why he had to write about it for the public and make me, whoās not even famous, suffer. Does he have any goals or pride as a reporter, when my life is fucked up and ruined to the point I want to die?
Hipple: Do you want to meet with Reporter Kim in real life?
Nochang: Iām not going to meet him. I shouldnāt face him in real life.. my sufferings have been shown in āķā or the 9th track and Iām happy with that, if people find out about it through my tracks. If he is a human being, he will be sorry for my situation. But I donāt want to see him in real life. I feel like I will kill him. But one day, Iāll pay back for what he has done, so I hope you wait comfortably with worry-filled days. (omg)
Hipple: The last track of your album, āķā is a great song to end the album. It was like an epilogue for me, and it was easy to understand compared to the other tracks..
Nochang: Itās my favorite as well.
Hipple: Did you see the review of āķā on the Hiphopplaya forum? A user did left a nice interpretation of it.
Nochang: Ah.. Iāve seen that because Narae sent it to me, I was shocked that people actually understood what I was aiming for and he understood about 90% of what I was meaning to say. I was amazed.
Hipple: I want to know the meaning of the title, āķā.
Nochang: There are 3 meanings of it. Itās the first character of the word happy for Korean, 'ķė³µā. It also means stanza in poems. And if you type the same keys on the qwerty keyboard in English, it spells 'godā. I donāt have a religion and Iām close to being an atheist, but I really like religous books and mythology. And I respect the existence or the being of a god. Sometimes, I have thoughts like if there was a god, it would make life much more fun..
Anyway, I think Iām a god. Iām not talking about myself physically, but what I mean is that Iām the one who choose my perceptions of things. I can choose to look at this coffee cup in any way I want, how I listen to things, and how I feel things. I think Iām a god of myself for being able to do that. I donāt compare myself with the 'being of god.ā But Iām the one who makes the world out of my surroundings, so I think Iām my own god.
From that, I used a lot of religious references and words in the song 'ķā. And like in the Bible or books related to Buddhism, I made it so the lyrics had such things as chapters + verses and 'end, next chapterā.
Hipple: Personally, I really liked the lyrics about pits (meaning swamps) and beauty.
Nochang: I used the word pit as 'suffer within chaos, chaos, and negative emotions like sadnessā. I used the word beauty as 'some place or environment I look forward to and strive forā. To be simple, the pit is hell. But I realized recently that I could be in hell, but the fact that Iām making music makes me happy. It was something wonderful to me, that there could be beauty in a pit. Itās an emotion that says, 'I could be happy even when Iām at a dark stage.ā
Contrastingly, there can also be a dark pit in the midst of beauty. Even if youāre leading a happy and peaceful life, you can always fall in a pit that you havenāt expected and you can also fall in one by trying to keep your happiness, or it can just form slowly out of nowhere. Thatās what I meant by that. A dark pit can be right next to me, and there can be a pit under another one under another one, but there can also be beauty upon beauty upon beauty. So, the lyrics are not that philosophical. It just had a lot of references, if you just take it in as it is, itās not that complicated.
Hipple: What is creation for you, is it the process of walking into chaos?
Nochang: It was more about my life rather than creation. Creation often becomes a cause of my life, but almost all the time, my life becomes very terrible because of my bipolar disorder/maniac-depressive disorder. Back when I only had depression, I just thought of dying a lot, but I never put it into action.
Depression is alright once you get used to it, because it is a constant sadness without any happiness or a rhythm. However, after I developed a bipolar/maniac-depressive disorder, or the depression just became a monster inside of me, it made me go up and down and shook my whole life entirely.
With the bipolar/maniac-depressive disorder, I only want to live. Thatās all I think about. But, this is really scary. Because I really want to die, but at the same time I want to liveā¦ so it makes you think, will I really die? and become scared of death and the feeling grows stronger and falls on your head.
To answer your question, a huge part of my life is creation so it could look like that. However, it does not mean walking into chaos, it might just seem like that because my life is going into chaos right now, and there is creation coming out of it. My creation cannot not have parts of my life in it.
Hipple: The last part of the song (ķ, when the beat changes) goes to hell anyway. Is that how you feel right now
Nochang: The place Iām at right now. Iām not only shouting to my friends, family, co-workers, and people I care about, but to everyone. Donāt come yet. Actually, donāt come at all.
If youāre not here right now, please never come here. Because it is hell, there will be things that you donāt want to see and sounds that make you want to pull out your cochlea. So Iām saying, 'You canāt handle all this, you have to be happyā from where I am right now.
However, if I do succeed in getting through all this and escaping this place, I want you to follow me with what you have seen without any fears. Thatās what I meant by my last lyrics before the beat changed in ķ.
Hipple: Iām not even unhappy, but it was a sad song for me. I also listened to it a lot.
Nochang: I usually donāt put songs in my iPhone, but it was my first time putting a song in. And this has nothing to do with it, but someone wrote on Melon (about my album), that they felt dizzy after listening to my album from the beginning to the end. They wrote 'Uhā¦ what the hellā¦ā (laugh). I was really happy about my album and I was continuously listening to it. But sometimes I feel dizzy too (laugh) I donāt know whyā¦
Hipple: We talked about the last song 'ķā, ending our discussion about your album. Letās talk about something else. You talked about your album [ėģ ģ£¼ģķģ¬ źø] (translates to my stock company gold?) to come out soon and there was to be another album with Black Nut. How are you doing with those?
Nochang: I donāt think that one with Daewoong hyung will come out soon. This year, Iām trying to focus on my music only.
Hipple: There are still new comments being written on that article from 2012 (about releasing that collabo album I guess???)
Nochang: That album will be released when weāre at the top and will be as good as Jay-Z and Kanyeās [Watch the Throne]. That will have a new and powerful ripple effect. Wow, why do I always reference Kanyeā¦ itās disgusting (laugh).
Hipple: What is your album [ėģ ģ£¼ģķģ¬ źø]?
Nochang: I already have the beats ready. Butā¦ itās like from 3 years ago.
Hipple: Possibilities of changing the album?
Nochang: No. Iām going to go as it is. Those are beats that I canāt make nowā¦ itās kind of cool.
I listened to the first track in 2 years and I thought, 'Wow how could I do this? I had this kind of mentality to do this back thenā¦ā. The sound is better than things I make right now, and itās complicated. Itās different from what I can make now.
Hipple: How is the album going?
Nochang: There are about 25 tracks, but I need to filter some of them out, and I also have to think about how I should go about using the lyrics and tracks. Thereās a set topic though and I remember clearly what I was going for when I made the tracks/wrote the lyrics, so I think it will come out sooner than thought.
So the album I released is kind of monumental. I couldnāt release [ėģ ģ£¼ģķģ¬ źø] because I was scared and I thought it had to be perfect. But this album isnāt perfect. It isnāt perfect at all. However, it became my foundation. By foundation, I mean someone that couldnāt even write a first word for lyrics and spent days writing a 4-measure hook, releasing an album without anyone being featured.
Hipple: This album, itās not perfect, but received a sensational reaction. I wonder if it encouraged you in any way?
Nochang: I received the nickname 'hook addictā from 'Donā or 'Rain Showerā and people always have said, 'the hook is so niceā. But to be honest, even writing a single hook made me scared. But now I can write lyrics and get tons of hate comments and still can say, 'so what, imbecilesā (laughs).
The point is not that the people are imbeciles, but now I have the mindset to say that. My mindset is hardening as an artist, which is what an artist needs, and Iām in the process of devloping such a mindset right now. So I think it is the right time to make my album.
So the reason why this album is an extended playlist and not an official album even though it has 10 tracks, is because itās not a story I originally wanted to tell and I didnāt find the right mindset before making the album. I didnāt even spend that much time on it. I just wanted to show my emotions that I have right now, thatās why I made the album.
Hipple: Youāve recently launched a brand called 'Won I Closedā with photographer Koo Youngjun recently. Are you expanding your territory? I think all the Just Music members are trying to as well.
Nochang: Their hairā¦ I want them to stop messing around with itā¦ (laugh) (this is a line from one of his songs I donāt remember lol). Theyāre all like maniacs and they scare me. When weāre walking in a group, thereās one yellow hair, one curly, and one sharp haired oneā¦ Jeez. That was a joke, I think all the members are dreaming of something and going their ways, whether it is their personality, music, or their actions.
Koo Youngjun hyung is a world-wide known street photographer. 'Won I Closedā is a great brand and I launched it with him who leads a very cool life. The brand started with me doing graphic design of pictures of street fashion he took.
Hipple: When will the new music of Just Music be revealed? Swings mentioned something about him before he went to the army.
Nochang: I think heās there, he might be thereā¦ we all have to agree for him to join Just Music. But the top head of us is far away from us, and we canāt contact him so much, so we donāt know yet. And the members all started something new, so we have to focus on that for now.
For example, Vasco hyung just opened a club called 'Secret Societyā. C Jamm is working on his album. Giri is also busy with featuring, being on music programs, and working with new people, Iām working on my album, and Daewoong hyung is on Show Me The Money right now. Weāre all going our ways and not focusing on one single thing. I think it is the right time to do our own sutff.
Hipple: How is the label without Swings?
Nochang: Nothing much? If I say itās doing better, then it would be like saing that weāre better off without Swings hyung, but I donāt mean that. Weāre really doing fine.
Hipple: You said that you guys are all releasing albums. There is also an compilation album to come out. How is it progressing so far?
Nochang: I already made the beats for the compilation album. But, I think the producer might change. Because I was supposed to start doing my own music starting this year (January), but itās been dragging for 4 months. To tell something that happened between those monthsā¦
The double singleĀ that Black Nut hyung released recently, that was decided abruptly in like 3 or 4 days before it was to be released. There was a reason that he had to release those and we had to release them. So he asked me for a beat that I treasured a lot. I was angryā¦ (laugh) I was finally done with all the other membersā stuff, and was working on my EP and it hasnāt been long since the 'incidentā happened, so I got really mad.
And one of the members said, 'Hey just sacrifice today for him, it has to be released in a few daysā¦ā without even thinking about me. That really got me mad. Iām a really sensitive baldyā¦ (reference to his song āėģ±ź²©ģ“ėė¹ ā) I thought, 'Wow Iām really a slaveā¦ā (laughs) 'Iām a dirty piece of shit in hereā¦ā.
To summarize, the whole label knows me as a slave. I just finished the work as soon as possible. I was still mad, but I was done editing my beat for Black Nutās song and I also finished the process of mixing Giriās beat. I didnāt have time to do any of my stuff, I just came home that day and drank and lied down.
And when I was about to sleep, I got a kakaotalk message from Daewoong hyung. Saying, 'Yo man, I want to fix this part, can you help meā¦?ā I just started crying. I was really tired mentally and physically. I wrote a long paragraph to him and I looked to see if he read it. When it showed that he read it, I called him after 30 seconds waiting for a reply. Crying and screaming (laughs). I put out my anger at him and lamented saying, 'I really want to do this!! I want to do my stuff!!ā He was probably shocked.. (laugh) I shouldnāt have done that to him. I let my anger out so much that I donāt remember what happened after that. Anyway, there was something that happened like that. (laugh)
Hipple: (laugh) what happened after that?
Nochang: Everyone respects me now. (laugh) You have to let them know how angry can you get once in a whileā¦
People will probably like this interview because it made all of Just Music sound like mean bitches.
Hipple: (laugh) Thatās a nice touch for the ending. Do you have anything to say or any future plans?
Nochang: I have a lot I want to talk about, but donāt say things like 'Do things this wayā to me. Iām going to make another album and keep doing music and Iāll try to release the other album as soon as possible.
'Guys donāt fall into the dark pits. Everyone have a happy and nice day.ā
