We continue our Korean Music Awards 2013 nominee introduction series while waiting to find out who will actually be the winners. We kicked off the week with a look at the nominations for Best Dance & Electronic yesterday and today we proceed with the albums and songs nominated in the Best Rap & Hip-Hop category.
Best Rap & Hip-Hop Album
Jerry.K – True Self
Known as a strong lyricist, Soul Company founder Jerry.K released his first EP in 2004 with the first album following in 2008. After an impressive number of digital singles, in November four years later second full-length album True Self was released. Featuring many of Korea’s best underground rappers, the album was mainly produced by Cam Bluff – known as one of Australia’s most exciting hip hop producers.
Read Chris’ review of True Self.
Noise Mob – M.O.B
Minos and Rhyme-A- debuted their joint project Noise Mob with single Go MOBday in April 2012, just a couple of weeks before the release of first EP M.O.B. Boasting eight tracks in total, six of them have been slapped with a 19+ rating. The KMA takes Noise Mob’s music as hip-pop rather than hip-hop because of the characters and concepts offered by the duo, owning to a mix of rap and comics with a bit of kitsch.
In addition to M.O.B getting a nomination for Best Rap & Hip-Hop Album, lead track “Mob 맘이야” is nominated for Best Rap & Hip-Hop Song.
Beenzino – 2 4 : 2 6
Frequently featured on the tracks of others since 2009, there among a couple of songs on Primary’s Primary And The Messengers LP, it was only in June 2012 that Beenzino released his first couple of singles. First EP 2 4 : 2 6 was released in July with a number of summery tracks with a laid-back delivery telling everyday stories from the life of a 20-something rapper in Korea as well as “Profile” showing a more hardcore side of rap .
While 2 4 : 2 6 is nominated for Best Rap & Hip-Hop Album, lead track “Aqua Man” is nominated for Best Rap & Hip-Hop Song.
Read Ranya’s review of 2 4 : 2 6.
Soriheda – Soriheda 2
Hip-hop producer Soriheda released his first album in 2011 and was awarded Producer of the Year at the 2nd Rhythmer Awards for the effort. Late November 2012 came sophomore album Soriheda 2 which flaunted a ‘deeper sound’, said to be more sophisticated, compact and detailed while sticking with Soriheda’s jazzy beats.
As Soriheda 2 competes for the title of Best Rap & Hip-Hop Album, album lead track “설흔 (雪痕)” is up for Best Rap & Hip-Hop Song.
Primary – Primary and the Messengers LP
In April 2011 hip-hop producer Primary launched a collaborative series under the name Primary And The Messengers. The fourth and final part was released end of May 2012, and all came together alongside a full disc of new tracks under Primary And The Messengers LP by the end of October. Featuring several of Korea’s top rappers, from underground to more well established names, the songs and music videos have enjoyed plenty of popularity.
Primary And The Messengera LP is nominated also for Album of the Year whereas album tracks “독 (Poison)” and “See Through” were nominated for Best Rap & Hip Hop Song and Best R&B & Soul Song respectively.
Best Rap & Hip-Hop Song
Noise Mob – “MOB 맘이야”
When Noise Mob released album M.O.B in April, “MOB 맘이야” was the lead track. As one of the many 19+ rated tracks on the album, the KMA compliments it for having tough lyrics with a typical ‘I Don’t Give A Fuck!’ hip-hop mindset, yet being accessible with a funky sound and light melody giving the song a unique energy.
In addition to “Mob 맘이야” getting a nomination for Best Rap & Hip-Hop Song, M.O.B got a nomination for Best Rap & Hip-Hop Album.
Beenzino – “Aqua Man”
Beenzino released his first solo EP last summer, leading with the song “Aqua Man”. Produced by Jinbo, the KMA praises the song as joyful, attributing it to Beenzino’s fun flow and the catchy refrain. Meanwhile the narrative of the song is what made it the most interesting to the selection committee.
Soriheda – “설흔”
Soriheda released his second full-length Soriheda 2 in November with “설흔 (雪痕)” as the lead track. Featuring Soulman, Minos and Soul Fish, Soulman’s vocals lends a soul flavor to Soriheda’s otherwise jazzy beats, in this song partially constructed by Soul Fish’s keyboard play. Meanwhile Minos contributed some of his story-telling rap to the song.
While “설흔 (雪痕)” is nominated for Best Rap & Hip-Hop Song Soriheda 2 is nominated for Best Rap & Hip-Hop Album.
G-Dragon – “One of a Kind”
Big Bang’s G-Dragon released his first mini album One of a Kind in September. Prior to the release it was promoted with a couple of music videos, the second the song with the same name that turned out to be the album opening track. “One of a Kind” is written by G-Dragon himself in collaboration with YG producer Choice37, complimented for its original hip hop groove sound and G-Dragon’s rap delivery.
“One of a Kind” is nominated also for Best Rap & Hip Hop Song of the year whereas the the mini album is nominated for Best Dance & Electronic Album.
Primary – “독 (Poison)”
When hip-hop producer Primary released his Primary And The Messengers LP, in addition to the lead track, “독 (Poison)” was promoted with a music video. The song features Supreme Team‘s E-Sens, whose long rap expresses his feelings and reflections since his marijuana incident in 2011. As the music starts it’s just a piano backing the rap, but strings and more are added to the mix as the song progresses, enhancing E-Sens’ message.