#deegie

The LP is a brutally honest collection of 10 songsall about the exploration of dating.Sonically daring, the music serves as both a time capsule of contemporary romantic struggles and a cathartic scream into the void for anyone who’s ever navigated the treacherous waters of modern relationships. The idea for the EXES  was sparked when deegie stumbled upon her online journals spanning nearly a…

It's time for that post! CLASH is coming up in about a week and I'm getting into that frame of mind where I nervous, stressed and super excited all at the same time. This show is going to be awesome with the talent we have coming in...

The show is on Dec. 7 and we're raising money for Angel House. Started in 1993, Angel House is a community for disabled people who have no where else to go. The founder, Jang Soon-ok, suffers from a physical disability herself, and started the home as a sanctuary for her children, one of whom has a developmental disability. Angel House is currently at capacity with about 50 residents ranging from 1 year old to 70. They operate on a miniscule budget and greatly need not only the donations from the show, but the kindness of people willing to volunteer at the house and help with chores or just spend time with the residents.

CLASH 7.0, sponsored by arts school Korea Conservatory, is looking to be one of the biggest shows we’ve put on to date, with greats in the Korean hip-hop community stepping in to help. Infamous rapper and producer Insane Deegie (김디지) will take to the stage and bring a few friends along. Known as the “grandfather of the diss battle,” Deegie has been in the industry for more than 15 years and is a member of Drunken Tiger’s Movement Crew. Joining him on the turntables is DJ IT, who was the exclusive DJ for Trabler and DJ DOC, and has worked with many a big name including Psy, Rain, Big Bang, Mighty Mouth, Beenzino, DOK2 and more. His latest project was with Skull & Haha on their EP “REGGAErilla.”

Other main acts include up and coming Korean hip-hop trio Black Tree who is known for putting on 100 percent live shows; the ever talented hip-hop violinist Lux Luther; band New Blue Death which performed at this year’s Pentaport Rock Festival; and street punk band Chanter’s Alley. Opening acts are Korean hip-hop duo Datura, Korean-American R&B singer Chris Cho, winner of Top Talent Korea singer Sonya-Marie and singer Gina Liscano. Hosting the show are TV personalities Jesse Day and Bronwyn Mullen.

CLASH 7.0 will take place on Dec. 7 at Freebird in Hongdae. Doors open at 7:30 p.m. and the show will begin at 8 p.m. Tickets are 10,000 won and available on Interpark or at the door. CLASH organizers and volunteers with Angel House will also be selling tickets. All proceeds from ticket sales and donations at the event will go to Angel House.

I just want to share the lineup of CLASH 7.0 so far!!!

Just thought I would go ahead and post some info about our performers for the upcoming CLASH 7.0 on Dec. 7! We’ve already mentioned most of these guys on our CLASH page, but time to give them a proper intro, right?

안녕! 12월7일CLASH 무대에 설 공연자들에 대한 정보를 줄까 해서요! CLASH 페이지에 벌써 몇 명에 대한 정보가 대충 올라오긴 했는데, 더 제대로 된 소개가 필요하시죠?

First up are our opening acts! This CLASH we’ve got some great singers and rappers coming to grace the stage. We have the winner of this year’s Top Talent competition, Sonya Carrasquillo; Korean hip-hop artist Datura; smooth crooner Chris Cho from D.C.; and power vocalist Gina Liscano.

오프닝 무대는 실력 있는 가수들과 랩퍼들이 열겠습니다! 올해 Top Talent의 우승자 Sonya Carrasquillo, 한국 힙합 아티스트 다듀, 그리고 워시턴D.C>에서 온 크리스 초 그리고 파워 보컬리스트 Gina Liscano가 무대에 섭니다.

On to our main acts… Representing foreign hip-hop, we have the ever talented, one and only hip-hop violinist Lux Luther who can not only play some amazing tunes, but beat boxes and dances while playing violin. Have you ever heard a violin rap? You will with Lux Luther.

본 무대에서는 랩, 비트박스 춤을 바이올린 연주와 함께 할 수 있는 힙합 바이올리니스트 Lux Luther가 외국인 힙합 맴버로 섭니다. 바이올린이 랩을 하는 것을 본적이 있나요? 없다면, Lux Luther를 보세요!

For Korean hip-hop, we have not one, but two great acts taking the stage representing the foundations of Korean hip-hop and the new, up-and-coming artists. Rap trio Black Tree will bring their unique, 100% live and ever so energetic color to the stage. Representing for the guys who brought and built up hip-hop culture in Korea in the late 90s is none other than Deegie, also known as Insane Deegie by some. Dubbed the “grandfather of the diss battle” in Korea, Deegie just recently released the third volume in his “2 Jazzy 4 Hiphop” series. He’s bringing some guests to the stage with him, so it’s definitely an act you do not want to miss.

한국 힙합으론 두 개의 무대가 준비되어 있습니다. 랩 트리오 블랙 트리가 100% 라이브 무대를 보여 줄 것이며 90년대를 대표하는 한국 힙합의 원조 Insane Deegie (김디지)가 무대에 섭니다. “한국 디스 배틀의 원조”로 알려진 김디지는 최근 세 번 째 앨범 “2 Jazzy 4 HipHop”을 발매 했으며 여러분이 절대로 놓치기 싫은 무대가 될 것 입니다.

And bringing up the rock side, we have New Blue Death, a band from all over the world with members hailing from Canada, America and North Ireland. They’ve rocked the stage at FF and at this summer’s Pentaport Rock Festival.

락 무대는 FF와 팬타포트 락 페스티벌에서 공연한 캐나다, 미국, 북 아일랜드인 들로 구성 된 New Blue Death (뉴 블루 데스)가 장식 할 것 입니다.

Providing some background music for CLASH 7.0 is none other than DJ IT. Known most recently for working with reggae duo Skull & Haha, DJ IT puts on a lively act that will definitely have you on your feet.

CLASH 7.0는DJ IT가 배경 음악을 깔아 줄 것 입니다. 최근 하하와 Skull (스컬)과 함께 작업한 DJ IT는 분명히 당신을 흥분 시킬 것 입니다.

To round off this lineup announcement, we have two familiar faces hosting the event. Bronwyn Mullen and Jesse Day, common images on Korean TV, will be emceeing CLASH 7.0 and we’re definitely excited about having both of them on board!

이번 라인업 발표 마지막으론 한국 티비 방송에 출연한 경험이 있는 진행자들 Bronwyn Mullen과Jesse Day 입니다.

We do have one more spot to fill in our lineup for a Korean band, so stay tuned for that. But, in the meantime, we hope to see you all at CLASH 7.0 on Dec. 7. Keep watching the page for the link to Interpark where you can get tickets. This is definitely a show you’ll want to see, so make sure you get them in advance!

한국 밴드를 위한 자리가 한자리가 남아 있으므로 기대 해주세요. 티켓을 구할 수 있는 링크를 기대해 주세요. 기대하셔도 좋을 공연이 될 것 입니다, 꼭 예매를 해주세요.

Lastly, we owe a huge shoutout to Korea Conservatory, our sponsor for CLASH 7.0!

마지막으로 CLASH 7.0를 스폰서 해주시는 한국콘서바토리에게 박수를 주세요! 

This is the seventh in a series on producers, MCs, DJs and artists working in the Korean underground hip-hop scene. ― E...

What to be said about Deegie?

This interview was definitely way more laid back than my previous ones and felt more like a conversation rather than a back-and-forth Q&A. He is another first generation Korean hip-hop artist, granted one of the younger if not the youngest of the bunch, so it was fun to get more background into the scene and hear his personal story of how he started out and then became what he is.

With each interview I do with first generation guys here in Korea, the more respect I have for them. These guys not only started the movement in Korea, but pretty much taught themselves everything they know. Not only that, but 15 years later, they are still making music, doing shows and selling albums. And then taking the time to teach up-and-coming artists or help them out. Guys like Deegie, Artisan Beats, MC Meta, Naachal, Nuck, Jason Park and more all teach classes at the Korea Conservatory and are helping train the next generation of hip-hop artists and producers in Korea. All because there was no one there to teach them, so they want to give back. I think that’s pretty cool. Deegie spoke a lot about the crew culture in Korean hip-hop as well, and how they are tight knit and one of the reasons the hip-hop industry has grown the way it has and had the success its had. That if the music is good and lyrics are good, your crew will help build you up. He also talked a lot about the strong brothership among the crews – he’s personally a part of two, Master Plan crew and Movement crew.

But anyway, back to the interview…

Deegie definitely had stories to tell. He was a very angry rapper when he first started out at the age of 17, and is the first to admit that all he wanted was to just spit everything out that was on his mind. He said his first jazz hip-hop album in 2004 sounded great, until he started rapping. The music was "luxurious," but the lyrics were “trash,” and an onslaught of curse words, covering every topic under the sun from sex to alcohol and so on.

He said his first experience in producing and arranging was making suggestions to classmates on how to play electric guitar in high school. But what I found interesting was how he makes his personal albums. He’s been doing a jazz hip-hop series called “2 Jazzy for Hip-hop” since 2004. He said that he always goes abroad to record and make the albums (so far in Malaysia, Bali, Singapore and Europe), and uses a lot of foreign jazz artists, since they are more open to crossovers than Korean jazz artists. He records jams sessions, or improv sessions, then resamples the recordings until they are something completely different. He said he also plays piano which helps in writing. 

The first album was produced by him and features his rap and other featured artists. The second (2011), he didn't perform on at all and instead it is just songs he wrote and are either instrumental or feature other artists. I've listened to the second album, and it is definitely something different. I really enjoy it. He has found a way to marry jazz with a hip-hop beat that is smooth and just great to listen to. Which makes me really interested in another project he’s working on – classical music with a hip-hop beat.

This new album, the third in the series coming out on Oct. 4, will have him performing, though it marks a change in Deegie. He said that now that he’s older, he doesn’t just want to spit out words. He wants to communicate with listeners, which makes writing lyrics more difficult.

He said now that he’s professional and older, he’s not angry anymore or angry at anyone, which cuts out the diss tracks that helped garnered him the name “Insane Deegie.” And he would actually like at least one of his songs to play on TV, since none have been allowed on air so far due to their explicit nature. He said he’s done interviews, but they never play his music.

However, there will be one diss track on the new album as it probably wouldn't be a Deegie album without it. He didn't tell me who or what it was about, so I guess we’ll all just have to wait until next month and see. Granted, I’ll have to get someone to translate for me…