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Intro to BlackPink

August 12, 2016/in Entertainment /by Kushal Dev

It’s been years in the making, but YG Entertainment’s newest girl group is finally here! And only days into their debut, BlackPink is already proving to be a formidable force in the world of Korean girl groups. As fans swarm to YouTube and other media to watch the videos and listen to the music, let’s […]

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Fave songs performed at Dok2 & The Quiett’s NO RE$T Los Angeles stop

August 11, 2016/in Events /by Alexis Hodoyan-Gastelum

For the second time this year, Illionaire Records CEOs and rappers Dok2 and The Quiett got Los Angeles lit with their NO RE$T tour on July 29. Set at Koreatown’s staple The Wiltern, the rappers performed almost 30 of their most popular and recent hits after being introduced by their friend, the jeweler Ben Baller. […]

Intro to BlackPink

August 12, 2016/in Entertainment /by Kushal Dev

Fave songs performed at Dok2 & The Quiett’s NO RE$T Los Angeles stop

August 11, 2016/in Events /by Alexis Hodoyan-Gastelum

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Intro to BlackPink

August 12, 2016/in Entertainment /by Kushal Dev

It’s been years in the making, but YG Entertainment’s newest girl group is finally here! And only days into their debut, BlackPink is already proving to be a formidable force in the world of Korean girl groups. As fans swarm to YouTube and other media to watch the videos and listen to the music, let’s go into the basics of BlackPink’s history, formation, and members. If you didn’t know much about the girls before the release of their songs “Whistle” and “Boombayah” a few days ago, you’re in the right place to learn more.

The announcement of a new group from YG dates as back as far as 2011, when the label announced that a girl group reminiscent of Girls’ Generation would debut in the following year. In 2012, YG Entertainment began teasing the possibility of not one, but multiple girl groups debuting under the agency, becoming sister groups to the explosively successful 2NE1 and BIGBANG. It came down to two groups, the first being SuPearls, which was composed of four strong singers aiming to release vocal-oriented music instead of the typical K-pop sound and singing skills. This group was supposed to have current YG soloist Lee Hi as a member, among three other vocalists from “K-pop Star 2.” Without much more detail, YG revealed plans to debut another girl group before 2012’s end alongside SuPearls. The stage was set for these girls about four years ago, but as we can see, they didn’t take the stage until much later.

Also on KultScene: Fave songs performed at Dok2 & The Quiett’s NO RE$T Los Angeles stop

Clearly, YG faltered on its 2012 plans — SuPearls was disbanded before debut, leaving Lee Hi to take the stage on her own, and the other new girl group was nowhere else to be seen. That is, until CEO Yang Hyun Suk reopened the possibility of the girl group debuting in 2013, but failed to happen as well. 2014 saw another such announcement, and more discussion of the girl group resembling SNSD, only to let fans down once again as both 2014 and 2015 passed with no formal debut.

But as the years went on, we weren’t entirely clueless about the girl group. If there was one person a YG fan could have guessed would be a BlackPink member, it’s Jennie Kim. Her name was all over YG releases between late 2012 and early 2013, when she featured on G-Dragon’s “Black,” Seungri’s “GG Be,” and Lee Hi’s “Special.” Whether it was rapping or singing, it was pretty clear that Jennie Kim was being prepared for debut, no matter how long it would take. Member Rosé underwent similar preparations, even though she wasn’t directly named in her feature on G-Dragon’s “Without You,” (instead, she was called “? of YG New Girl Group” for the better part of four years). As this was happening, members were being repeatedly added to the girl group and cut. It seems that, considering the intended connection to Girls’ Generation, that YG desired to debut a girl group much larger than 2NE1, probably closer to GG’s nine members than 2NE1’s four.

As time went on, however, Yang Hyun Suk and the rest of YG management must have changed their minds, because BlackPink in its final form consists of only four members. Only two months ago, YG reported that a fifth member would be revealed, only to later take back that announcement and go forward with a four-member girl group. What prompted the last-minute switch? We don’t know for sure, but recent trends in girl group debuts might have played a role in the decision. Given that TWICE, Gugudan, DIA, and I.O.I, among other girl group debuts these past two years, contain in excess of seven members, going with only four members gives the girl group an immediate edge — they stand out simply because they’re different in size. And, of course, it gives YG room to plan another girl group in the near future.

And finally, we have BlackPink. It took five years since the initial announcement, but YG’s next girl group is finally here. To go on further, let’s discuss the four members.

Also on KultScene: Inside KCON 16 LA

Jisoo is 21 years old, and is the only member of BlackPink to have been both born and raised in South Korea. After training for over five years, she takes her place as the main visual and a vocalist in the group. Before BlackPink, she appeared in multiple CFs in addition to Epik High’s music videos for “Spoiler” and “Happen Ending.” With a pretty face, she serves as the group’s face, a role very important to the popularity of some K-pop groups (see: Yoona of Girls’ Generation, Nayeon and Tzuyu of TWICE, Suzy of Miss A, etc.).

At 20 years old, Jennie Kim is the member we all expected to see among BlackPink’s final lineup. She serves as the group’s main rapper, while also covering vocal and dance sections as well. As previously stated, she has demonstrated her talents in previous YG releases leading up to her debut. She boasts experience with English and foreign cultures, as she is from the Netherlands and has studied abroad in New Zealand.

Rosé is the group’s main vocal, another English-speaker who comes from Australia. At 19 years old, she shows strength in both her dance and singing, which is not surprising given her four years (at least) of training at YG. As previously stated, her feature in G-Dragon’s “Without You” served as the main precursor to her group activities.

Last but certainly not least is maknae Lisa, who comes from Thailand. At 19 years old, she is the group’s main dancer, second rapper, and vocal. Her Thai ethnicity makes her the first YG idol to be entirely non-Korean, and her exposure to different cultures has clearly benefitted her understanding of language, as she can speak English, Korean, and Japanese in addition to her mother tongue. Prior to her five year training period in YG, she was part of the Thai dance crew “We Zaa Cool” alongside GOT7’s BamBam. She made appearances with YG’s NONA9GON brand in the years before her debut.

What do you think of BlackPink? Share your thoughts in the comment section below and be sure to subscribe to the site and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Tumblr to keep up with all of our posts.

Fave songs performed at Dok2 & The Quiett’s NO RE$T Los Angeles stop

August 11, 2016/in Events /by Alexis Hodoyan-Gastelum

by Jean Libert

For the second time this year, Illionaire Records CEOs and rappers Dok2 and The Quiett got Los Angeles lit with their NO RE$T tour on July 29. Set at Koreatown’s staple The Wiltern, the rappers performed almost 30 of their most popular and recent hits after being introduced by their friend, the jeweler Ben Baller.

But before the show, Dok2 and The Quiett gave a quaint press conference and gave their curt yet solid input. On the state of K-hip-hop’s globalizations, The Quiett, in English, said they felt good about it. Dok2 resonated the sentiment, “We feel good, we feel thankful, it will get better and better. I don’t know, we don’t think that deep. We’re just enjoying it,” he said with a laugh. The Quiett shared he’s working on his new LP, which will come out later this year. When asked to describe their music, “I don’t know, it’s up to [the listener],” Dok2 answered a bit dismissively. However, The Quiett jumped in and called it “positive hip-hop.” At this, Dok2 added, “we don’t do negative shit, we only do positive shit.”

Dok2 said he wasn’t working on collabs with anyone while in LA, “only food [and] shopping.” Moreover, he shared he didn’t have anyone in mind from Korea he wanted to collaborate with or plan on bringing anyone new into Illionaire. However, when asked about the possibility of releasing a collab album with AOMG Records, Dok2 said: “… Jay, we grew up together. Since 2010, we’ve been doing a lot of shit together. So AOMG and Illionaire is like a family. We’re not like business partners or nothing, we just [collab together]. But an album — when it comes to an album, it’s a business, so, we don’t know.” He said he’d be down to work with anyone in the US though, but shared he doesn’t know yet if he’d try to break the market here. “It’s hard to discuss it, when we’re talking about marketing, it’s just different,” explained The Quiett. Dok2 stated they weren’t going to rush.

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by Jean Libert

Another topic of interest was the fact that they were playing at an iconic Los Angeles venue. Dok2, true to brand, commented on their performance: “We don’t do nothing special. Just, you know, feel some LA vibes. Connect with each other.” A terse response, but a true one nonetheless. Without any gimmicks or even long talks with the audience, Dok2 and The Quiett put out a fun yet casual show, in the sense that it felt as if you were turnin’ up at a club with your favorite songs. And as previously mentioned, the rappers performed well over 25 songs, so here’s a recap of our faves.

Also on KultScene: Inside KCON 16 LA [PHOTOS]

“Beverly 1lls”

Kicking off things quite appropriately given the locale, the rappers started out their show with the newly dropped “Beverly 1lls.” Echoing from a darkened stage, Dok2’s omnipresent voice boomed from the speakers before diving into the chorus and before he came out on stage with The Quiett. Even if the audience didn’t know the verse (though doubtful since it was filled with fans), the repetitiveness made it easy to sing along to — just like everyone seemed to be doing, which prompted Dok2 to point his microphone at the audience. This tracked also marked the first dab of the night by The Quiett.

dok2 the quiett illionaire no rest tour los angeles 2016

by Jean Libert

“2 Chainz & Rollies”

This classic Illionaire song got even Dok2 dancing early on in their set. Not The Quiett though. He was more into stuntin’ and spitting his verses. As for the crowd, however, hands and glow sticks went up in the air as soon as the first beat dropped.

the quiett illionaire no rest tour 2016 los angeles

by Jean Libert

“Profile”

Even without frontman Beenzino, the Illionaire CEOs delivered a lit performance of “Profile.” And given the fervor with which the crowd sang the chorus, it’s no surprise that they keep this track in their set list.

dok2 the quiett no rest tour 2016 illionaire

by Jean Libert

“1 Life 2 Live”

“Put your motherfucking hands in the air,” commanded The Quiett before delving into “1 Life 2 Live.” After mostly delivering Dok2’s punch lines or choruses, this song marked the moment when The Quiett became fiercer than in the previous songs.

the quiett no re$t tour los angeles 2016 no rest

by Jean Libert

“Future Flame”

For the first few bars on “Future Flame,” Dok2 spit acapella before the beat kicked in and further proved why the snapback that read “Rapstar” was well suited for him. The Quiett, of course, sat this one out and uttered an “aye” and “yeah” here and there and repeated punch lines and hooks.

dok2 no rest tour 2016 los angeles illionaire

by Jean Libert

“Rocking with the Best”

Like many of the songs that feature all three Illionaire Records artists, the performance of “Rocking with the Best” was cut short given Beenzino wasn’t around for his part. And even if his presence would’ve been nice (hint, hint future production companies), Dok2 and The Quiett, with their signature blase demeanors, carried the track on their own.

dok2 the quiett illionaire no rest tour 2016 los angeles

by Jean Libert

“YGGR”

One of the –if not the most — most hyped songs of the night was another Illionaire classic and fan fave, “YGGR.” Typically, English hooks and choruses are what get the most response from the audience. Not this track though. From the pit all the way to the second story terrace, everyone was singing the famous hook and jumping around as it gained momentum. The crowd was so loud that Dok2 and The Quiett largely let them sing the hook and they just went about the stage doing their own thing.

the quiett illionaire no ret tour 2016 los angeles

by Jean Libert

Also on KultScene: KCON 2016 LA’s M! Countdown Day 2 Concert Recap

“1LLUSION”

As one of Dok2’s most recent releases, the crowd received it with hands in the hair and intense vibing. At the hook, when the rapper asks “Is it ill?” fans replied with a roaring “Yeah,” showing just how intense the connection was between them and the performers.

dok2 no rest tour los angeles 2016 illionaire

by Jean Libert

“L4L”

Another song missing its main attraction (cough, Zino, cough) that was a surprising addition to the setlist but much appreciated was “L4L.” You know, that one song that helped Bobby win Show Me the Money 3 under Dok2 and The Quiett’s wings. Just like with “Profile,” “L4L” takes on a new form performed just by these two rappers becoming more hard hitting and, well, even more swagged out.

dok2 illionaire no rest tour 2016 los angeles

by Jean Libert

“I’m 1LL”

Announcing it was the last song of the night, Dok2 gave shout outs to openers Junoflo and KillaGramz, before they came on stage to join them for “I’m Ill.” For this performance, the pit turned out to be the soak zone, since many water bottles were thrown throughout the whole song, especially during the hook. At one point, rapper Dumbfounded also made his way onto the stage to dance and vibe around with the rest. And after making the crowd sing out the lyric, motherfucker I’m illlllllllllllll, as everyone was wilding out, Dok2 and The Quiett, with Illionaire hands, bowed out the stage (after taking the mandatory selfie with the audience, of course).

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by Jean Libert

Just as “Beverly 1lls” had been the perfect opener, “I’m 1ll” was the most appropriate closing track because a) it resumed what the rappers and the performances were like and b) it left everyone with an adrenaline rush.

Honorable Mention

This one’s neither a Dok2 nor The Quiett song. The bonus song on this list goes to Junoflo, who opened the show with a few of his tracks. Despite him premiering a couple of songs at NO RE$T, his performance of “Flo” was a highlight. He commanded that stage like if he were part of the Illionaire crew — plus the crowd received him with arms open. It was a cool contrast to see Junoflo all smiles and thankful for the opportunity to play The Wiltern while Dok2 and The Quiett were their nonchalant selves. Junoflo’s positive energy was infectious and set everyone in high spirits for the main show.

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by Jean Libert

What are your favorite songs by Dok2 and The QUiett? Share your picks and thoughts with us in the comment section below and be sure to subscribe to the site and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Tumblr to keep up with all of our posts.