Drunken Tiger

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Drunken Tiger
Origin South Korea
Genre(s) Rap, Hip Hop
Years active 1998-present
Label(s) Jungle Entertainment
Website http://www.drunkencamp.com
Members
Tiger JK, DJ Jhig, Micki Eyes, Roscoe Umali
Former members
DJ Shine

Drunken Tiger is given credit for being South Korea's greatest hip-hop pioneers. In 1999, when packaged pop and redundant ballads dominated Korea's music industry, Drunken Tiger debuted and challenged the system with their unique hip-hop sound and realistic lyrics. Although their straightforward attitude made them one of the most controversial figures in Korea's conservative media, without their willingness to challenge musical and societal conventions, Korean hip-hop would not be where it is today. They are also one of the very few Korean hip-hop artists able to appeal to people on an international level, making them key pioneers for the entire Korean music industry. After eight years, seven albums, and many obstacles, Drunken Tiger still reigns as Korea's most respected hip-hop figures.

Drunken Tiger originally consisted of five members, with members DJ Shine and Tiger JK being the forefront members. DJ Jhig, Micki Eyes, and Roscoe Umali are also consisted members of Drunken Tiger, although it was mainly DJ Shine and Tiger JK performing live shows. At the dawn of the 6th album in 2005, DJ Shine officially left the group, leaving JK as the main front man of Drunken Tiger.

Contents

[edit] Tiger JK

Tiger JK, deriving from his birth name, Jung-Kwon Suh (서정권, 徐廷權) was born into a traditional martial-arts family on June 11, 1974 in Seoul, Korea and brought up in Los Angeles, California. After earning his junior USA TKD champion title in 1990 Florida all-American championships, he made his first appearance on the hip-hop scene when he was sixteen in a major Los Angeles hip-hop festival in 1990 and with Drunken Tiger member, Micki Eyes. Among the predominantly African-American audience, Tiger JK was the only Kid from Korea and his performance with TKD martial arts stances was well received in the festival.

He later released his first solo, "Enter the Tiger" in 1992, along with Sucram(aka Staimey) of The Wascals. However, due to censorship and restrictions put on the song, the song received limited radio play and publicity.

JK felt the necessity of "educating, enlightening, and enhancing Korean music scene since hip-hop was the emerging genre", and he made his comeback with partner DJ Shine in 1998 with the release of Drunken Tiger's very controversial and successful ensuing albums, [Year of the Tiger]. But shortly after the release of the sophomore hit album, The Great Rebirth, Tiger JK was charged with diverse charges stemming from both the chauvinistic Korean hometown music industry and politics.

The act Drunken Tiger was also banned from all mainstream television and radio for 2 years, but as Korean hip-hop listeners and fans who appreciate his music increased, JK was able to overcome all the obstacles facing politics in the music industry. Tiger JK went on to become one of Korean hip-hop's most influential figures.

As of 2006, JK was diagnosed with myelitis. JK first learned of his myelitis in March 2005. Although his affliction threatened to hold him back, he was chosen as the first Korean spokesman for Reebok along the line of 50cent and Jay-Z. He also launched his own record imprint Jungle Entertainment and fashion brand, Lungta, which showed his extreme dedication to his work. He also lent his helping hand to Rain in the song "Friends" off of Rain's new CD Rain's World.

Tiger JK also recently released a new album titled "Sky is the Limit" (September 2007). It features multiple Korean artists including Ann, T, Double K, DOK 2, Bizzy (not the same person as Bizzy Bone from Bone Thugs N Harmony), and TBNY. The Intro track is titled Sky is the Limit and is a remix of clips from multiple songs that were successful in his career. Differing from his 6th album which had strong influences from reggae and African music, in his 7th album, it seems that he has gone back to his original hip hop roots a bit.

He states that he wanted to make his 7th album as if he was writing a book about his life, as the tracks contain many references to his life, making the album very personal compared to his other work. Wanting to make this album a story-telling-like album that is very personal, couple of the songs have longer verses with less hooks, and one of the tracks titled "Hollyhood" does not have a hook, but is just a straight forward story-telling until the end of the track, with a similar feels to it like Nas' "New York State Of Mind". His rhyming style seems to have become more stylish and the production quality seems to be one of his best yet. The album's first title song, "8:45 Heaven," was inspired by the death of his late grandmother, who passed during the recording of the 7th album.

[edit] Discography

  • Enter the Tiger (1995)
  • Year of the Tiger (1999)
    • Notable Songs: "I Want You" (난 널 원해) "Do You Know Hiphop?"
  • The Great Rebirth (2000)
    • Notable Songs: "Great Rebirth",
  • The Legend Of... (2001)
    • Notable Songs: "Good Life", "Is Ack Hizay?", "뽕짝이야기", Mixed by: Carlos Ariel
  • Foundation (2003)
    • Notable Songs: "뿌리 [Foundation]", "남자기 때문에", "엄지 손가락", "One 한", "슬픈 기타줄", "우리 그리고 너 하나 (Us And Me One)"
  • One is not a Lonely Word (2004)
    • Notable Songs: "긴급상황", "편의점", "이놈의 Shake It", "가수지망생 1. (5,000원)(Skit)", "Liquor Shots (술병에 숟가락)", "하나하면 너와 나", "Symphony III", "고집쟁이", "Once Upon A Time (나의 어리석은 방황)", "백만인의 콘서트 (노래방 Rap)", "내 인생의 반의 반"
  • 1945 Liberation (2005)
    • Notable Songs: "음주Rapping(취중푸념)", "죽지 않는 영혼 (Found You)", "소외된 모두, 왼발을 한 보 앞으로!", "진정한 美는 마음 안에", "심의에 안 걸리는 사랑노래", "손들어! (Here!)", "60 Percenta Zen"
  • Sky Is The Limit (2007)
    • Notable Songs: "8:45 Heaven", "Die Legend", "Hollywood", "내가 싫다", "부활큰 타이거", "TV 속에 나", "매일 밤01"

Several of their songs are featured in Pump It Up, a Korean music video game. The song Betrayer was made by BanYa, Pump It Up's in-house group, and features Drunken Tiger as vocals, and I Want You from their first album is also used. Later in the game's series "Emergency Situation" from their fifth album was used.

Their lyrics often mix English with Korean, and sometimes they record a song in two different versions, one in Korean and one in English. Recent albums were recorded mostly in Korean. A very prolific and talented lyricist, Tiger JK is responsible for writing all the rhymes recorded on the seven albums and for other established artists of many genres as rock, for YB band(most famous Korean rock group), R&B/Soul for T, and Pop for Eun Ji Won, M, et al.

[edit] Collaborations

Drunken Tiger is part of Movement, a Korean hip-hop crew, which includes several other well-known hip-hop artists:

Many view Tiger JK as the leader of Movement, but this is incorrect since Movement is merely an association of hip-hop artists with similar interests. For example Tiger JK is not the leader of Movement, much like Eminem is not the leader of D-12.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links