Personally I think Tablo is just doing what he thinks needs to be done in a society that needs change. I think it’s good they have the freedom of working without a boss or someone looking over their shoulder telling them what they can or can’t do. Now about the music, like Tablo said, the only ones that put a genre into their music are the audience. They just wanna make music that expresses themselves, but can be enjoyed by people. They love making MUSIC, not just hip hop or mainstream or pop, but whatever they wanna feel like making and it’s just the viewers that don’t understand that. Not all their music is gonna be straight hip hop, some are gonna be mainstream like love,love,love, one, etc. Personally, I like all their music mainstream and hip hop, and I feel what Tablo is trying to say.

You mention two of my all time favorite groups in one breath. I have to say I never expected to hear Fugazi on a kdrama site. The funny thing is the more I see and know about Tablo the more he reminds me of de la Rocha. The idealism, the us against them mentality, loners who witnessed injustice that simmered into a boil that was captured into lyrics. In Tablo’s case I get the sense he does have a lot to prove to the world and he is one feisty mofo who has a bit of chip on his shoulder. (not a bad thing if it makes you a better musician and more dynamic performer)

@Belleza
“Now, having said all that, I love this kind of contradiction. I love that Tablo can go on Nonstop 5, Love Letter, or Ya Shim Man . . . and then he can spit venom in his records or on his radio show. Embracing contradiction or apparent hypocrisy is part of what makes a pop culture figure relevant.

I have to agree with this. I love the contradiction as well but than again I’m a weirdo. I’m not sure if I would necessarily want to be around his contradictions if I was a friend of his since I get a sense Tablo is the type who can go on and on about a subject but as a fan from afar I have no problems with what may appear to hypocrisy.

@Kei
The “conflicting image” of him being silly in variety shows and seriously performing just shows me he’s a quirky, real person, not a one-dimensional “hardcore” rapper.

I also sense these different fronts are actually all real pieces of him. However, when I watched Nonstop 5 and other variety shows I couldn’t help but think that he must be making fun of himself, the audience and the producers of the show. He is much too aware to be thinking that his pollyanna character can go over without some irony.

“they’re not as cool as they think they are”
^ I saw a lot of mentions of this all through the comments but I’ve never once gotten the vibe that they think they’re cool. Watching clips where they aren’t performing, they don’t take themselves seriously at all. Their music though, yes, they definitely take that seriously and are passionate about what they’re doing. Tablo (and in a more laid back, subtle way, Mithra and Tukutz also) is completely goofy a large percentage of the time… but I really don’t need him to be a super stoic, serious rapper intellectual to respect his music. The “conflicting image” of him being silly in variety shows and seriously performing just shows me he’s a quirky, real person, not a one-dimensional “hardcore” rapper.

People who want change tend to see things differently and react to something that is changing, differently (if that makes any sense). His philosophy and ideals are definitely different because of how he grew up, where he is from, where he has been and where he is now. Obviously, in some interpretations, ppl can either feel he is arrogant/ haughty/ condescending. Yet, others’ interpretations may feel that he isn’t trying to portray that image, rather he’s just telling it as it is.

For Epik High to break out of the system is something to be applauded. More over, the strength Epik HIgh has displayed is worth commending. To stay so strong, you’ve got to have great convictions and confidence, including a strong ego. Why Tablo keeps emphasizing the reasons why Epik High decided to be independent is because people will always twist things around. The media is much more powerful than he is, and I think that reiterating everything is one way to fight against it. It gets tiring… But the person who didn’t hear it the first time can hear it the second time, the third time or the 100000th time.

His ideals about achieving dreams can be… Questionable as to whether he was privileged or not. For one thing, dreams and realities are two different things. I can dream to be an actor, but the reality of being one is harder than it seems. To clear up the misconception that anything can be achieved if you put your mind to it, there are the realistic dreams and dreams that people will never achieve. I think this is what he means by “People who really love music don’t have to say they want to become singers. Someday, they’ll be one.” This quote actually sounds more like “if you love it so much, it’ll come to you.” I guess, in love there’s hardship and with hardship comes the fruits of it. In that sense, for him, becoming an artist was a realistic dream because he created a plan and followed it. In other cases, people dreaming of becoming artists do very little to follow their plan and end up saying goodbye to their dreams. It makes his quote a bit more realistic and bit less cliche.

well, here are my ten min. of typing.

But for me, I like Epik High, (and not just Tablo). I think they complement each other well, especially since Mithra Jin and DJ Tukutz are more laid back. Personality quirks make them more endearing to me. I absolutely agree that Epik High isn’t all that hardcore, and maybe they’re not as cool as they think they are, and sometimes they’re overly emo, but I’m ready to accept that.

There is a certain hubris for people who go independent. You gotta have balls if you go against the labels/management companies, especially in Korea, no? I think it is the right approach insofar as it gives musicians more control over their careers and product as well as direct interaction with fans. To be honest, I don’t think Tablo is being purely idealistic/romantic. No one is really going to want to hear Tablo talk about how he’s trying to avoid the massive cut taken out by record labels/management in record sales, or the costs of distribution. (I’m assuming that the Korean industry is sort of similar US industry.) I’m curious to see how he does and if there will be any media coverage. Knowing the mainstream media, they’ll likely want to downplay any success. But you know, I’m sort of a conspiracy theorist, so.

However, I love Map the Soul, song and MV. Thank you javabeans. I enjoy the link (and translation).

Yes! Great post Dramabeans – thanks for translating the article. It’s hard to take Tablo seriously, especially about revolutionizing music, when I see him prancing around on variety shows making an ass out of himself. If his music speaks for itself, why does he have to go on corny love matching programs and terrible sitcoms which has nothing to do with his message? He’s bought into “the system” and its shameless and commerical, and I find it ridiculous. Love the music, not so much a big fan of the musician.

I’m totally on that “thought tablo was arrogant but loved him anyway so tried to ignore it” train. i think he has faults but it sort of makes him more… real? unlike a lot of other kpop entertainers who have this bright, happy image they have to maintain and you can never be sure what they’re REALLY like.

he’s obviously part of the intellectual elite and i think that makes it really hard to balance being commercially successful and true to oneself… because his true self does not equate to mass appeal (which is totally okay in real life)

anyway, even though i have qualms with his views and sometimes his lyrics (because they represent those views), i am still 100% an epik high fan~ they’re the only korean music act i’ve actually bought cds from.

p.s. thanks for the great post!!! your blog is awesome.
and i’m glad to see a lot of the readers have such insightful comments! seriously, sometimes the comments are the reason to read this blog alone~

Epik High´s awesome, unique and avatngard. Simply, one of the best (music) artists ever.