Recently, in a tear induced frenzy from both watching my copy of Hunger Games for the 3rd time this month, re-reading Catching Fire for the 2nd time, and making a whole lot of hoopla about the cast of Hunger Games returning to set this past Tuesday to start the filming of Catching Fire, I tweeted through my excitement, as I’m known to do, only to be thwarted with mention after mention.
So you’ve heard about Big Bang. I’ve told you plenty of times. Super cool, super fresh KPop group signed with YG Entertainment? Ah, you remember, great!
If you HAVE forgotten about them, maybe you remember that post on World Star Hip Hop about the Korean Bloods?
Either way, a year or so back I introduced them to you through a wildly popular video that the subgroup GD & TOP did called “KnockOut” that was vivid and creative and kept you busy the entire video. Especially TOP’s Harlem Shake at the end.
The one cool thing about Big Bang is the way they give all the members of the group shine. Most of them have solo LP’s and projects, and that also includes the leader of the group, G-Dragon. Known for his insane talent at producing, on top of being one of Korea’s most famous singers and rappers, G-Dragon has done it again. The song is a lot less ‘poppy’ than their other projects, but Big Bang is known to throw in [and I hate to use this word] swag into the game where everyone else is totting off about love and bubblegum. This electro hip hop beat, fast rap, highly addictive song is off G-Dragon’s latest project “One of A Kind” and toots guest stars such as Lydia Paek from Quest Crew and fellow Big Banger’s Taeyang.
Even if you turn the volume all the way down [which you shouldn’t do] the video itself is so visually simulating that you’ll want to watch the whole thing despite the language barrier; from G-Dragon’s bright cornrows, the ADORABLE kids, the dancers working all their jelly, this video has enough umph behind it to make it a favorite.
It’s hard breaking into and breaking down American’s strong sense of pop culture and inclusivity. While other countries are embracing our artist and the phrase “World Tour” actually means a world tour, for international artist looking to make a home on American radios and televisions it may be a harder thing to do.
Take the Wonder Girls. They toured with Justin Bieber, Earth Wind and Fire, and The Jonas Brothers. Had their own television movie on Nickelodean and I bet not one person can name any of their English language songs.
JYJ managed to get KANYE FUCKING WEST to produce and feature on one of their songs, Malik Yosef spit a whole poem on the intro and they had Darkchild’s entire production team easing them into the language differences and again, unless you’re a K-POP fan, you wouldn’t know that KANYE WEST was a JYJ fanboy.
2NE1 has Will. I. Am in their back pockets. He has flown to Korea so many times for their American langauge LP, you’d think it’d be hard to notice. But it was.
G-Dragon of Big Bang had a callabo with Flo-Rida and Laurie Anne from Diddy’s Making the Band is the executive creative director of Big Bang’s ALIVE tour. Who has heard a song?
I could keep going; Common, Kid Cudi, Tyga Quincy Jones…all of them.
But after all of the collaborations and traveling and collective culture sharing, guess who finally got the American’s attention?
PSY a rapper signed with YG entertainment -tooted as the urban home of the mainstream BIG THREE companies- has managed to take the world by storm with his newest single “OPPA GANGNAM STYLE.” The video has gone viral, reaching 12 million views in less than two weeks.
It has also captured the attention of a lot of big name celebrity who have flown to Twitter to rant and rave about it. Mainly. T-Pain.
Even CNN picked up on the noise PSY was making in waves.
Simply stating, PSY ability to make light of his art, be GOOD at it, and at the same time STYLE on you about the amount of money he makes and the amount of money YOU DON’t…well he deserves all the craziness.
I’m outtie. If you haven’t seen it, watch it. You’ll enjoy. Trust. (Gallops out of the post)
Power ‘Ship, because what is a powerful drama without powerful relationship? Now many of you are asking, “What is a Ship?” Most of you reading this are of fandom lore, and understand fandom terminology (Hey Tumblrverse!). See there are those who are fans of a show and then there are those who live in it’s fandom.Where you might discuss the show for a few minutes after the season finale, the fanatics of a fandom will discuss a show for YEARS after it goes off the air, ad naseum.