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#HappyJayParkDay: Things you should know about the Asian American rapper who’s redefining hip hop in Korea
Take a deep-dive with us as we talk about the all-rounder who is bridging the gaps between Korean hip hop and Western music culture, Jay Park.
Who knew a boy born in Washington will travel to South Korea, become an idol, get embroiled in a controversy, come back, be an entrepreneur, start his own hip-hop label and be considered one of the major path breakers seen in the K-Pop industry? Born as Park Jae Beom on April 25, 1987, the singer, actor, entrepreneur and dancer has turned 33 years old today and we’re going to take a look at his incredible journey, by giving you fans some details about his life!
Jay Park is known in the industry as the one who made bold statements and broke down multiple barriers for people in the music industry. From changing multiple labels to creating his own indie hip-hop label to expand the underground hip-hop culture in South Korea - the 33-year-old singer has had an incredible journey so far. He is also one of the very few artists to be recognised for his work towards making Korean hip hop known to the world and be commercially accepted. He’s been described as “born entertainer”, “scene stalwart”, “not just an artist but also his own PR agent, fan club, president and TV network” and much more.
Take a look at some things you should know as a Jay Park fan!
Awarded the Game Changer Award by a major event in 2019
The Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center awarded the ‘Game Changer Award’ to Jay Park in 2019 for his contribution to the Asian music industry. It is one of the biggest recognition awards that hold a lot of impact and power. Jay Park’s contribution and expansion of the Korean hip-hop culture even in the US, holds high value. Especially when he started as a K-Pop idol in the boyband, 2PM.
Debuted as a K-Pop idol, shot to recognition as a Korean solo artist
Jay Park loved hip-hop since he was a child. After auditioning for JYPE thinking that it was a competition, he was eventually selected as a member of the K-Pop group 2PM. His stint in 2PM was cut short when he got embroiled in a controversy for making insensitive tweets about Korea in the past. He left the group, went to Seattle and joined the AOM (Art of Movement) b-boy group, taking part in dance battles. He then came back to Korea to re debut as a solo artist and fans who had been waiting for him, left no stone unturned when he released his music as they all made either sales records or charted on top numbers on music charts.
The solo artist became a skilled entrepreneur and CEO of AOMG and H1GHR MUSIC
Going back to his first love, Jay founded a national indie hip-hop label named AOMG featuring many talented and famous artists like Loco, Gray, DeVita, among others in 2013. AOMG has been nominated for Label of The Year multiple times in Korean Hip Hop and Elle Style Awards. It is also one of the preferred labels for other artists, such as recently, it was revealed that GOT7’s Yugyeom has signed with AOMG after leaving JYP.
Internationally, he founded H1GHR MUSIC a hip hop and R&B record label with his friend and AOM-member ChaCha Malone in 2017. It aims and boasts of bridging the gap between Korean and American hip hop artists - which it has been successful so far in managing. It represents talented rappers like Ted Park, pH-1, Haon, Trade L and others. The company has even won the Label of The Year and Music Video of The Year at the Korean Hip Hop Award 2021.
AOMG and H1GHR MUSIC were created to let the artists break free from industry rules
In an interview conducted by Forbes in 2019, the singer shed some insight in the way his company treats artists and their missions. For him, he has noticed that bigger companies tend to control their artists in whichever manner they can - from their clothes to the music they put out. But for him, what matters are the artists. He said, “I want them to win. I want them to do well genuinely. I want them to make their families proud.” He also added that there’s no “control” as such with them because he wants the artists to feel comfortable.
Well, BTS and BLACKPINK aren’t the only ones paving ways for Korean music to be recognised worldwide. Jay Park, with his army of hip-hop artists and friends is doing the same, which doesn’t worry him. As he said in an interview, “Even if I come up short, I tried to pave the way a bit more for the next guy, right?”
Here’s wishing the super talented all-rounder Jay Park, a very happy birthday!
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Tell us your favourite Jay Park songs in the comments below and drop some birthday wishes!
