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Beenzino’s ‘Up All Night’ Party in Los Angeles

December 10, 2014/in Events /by Alexis Hodoyan-Gastelum

Korean rapper Beenzino brought the house down with his Up All Night party in Los Angeles on December 6th at 333 Live. The crowd fully embraced Zino, as everyone sang and rapped as loud as his mic to all 14 of the songs performed throughout the night. After making his rounds in Korea and New […]

Artist Spotlight: Yoon Mirae

December 9, 2014/in Artist Spotlight, Entertainment /by Tamar Herman

When it comes to talented women in South Korea, Yoon Mirae is on, if not at the top, of the list. Singer, rapper, dancer, mc, mother, wife, activist—there’s hardly a title that Yoon Mirae hasn’t held since the 1990’s when she entered the Korean music scene. As one of the first rap and R&B singers […]

Beenzino’s ‘Up All Night’ Party in Los Angeles

December 10, 2014/in Events /by Alexis Hodoyan-Gastelum

Artist Spotlight: Yoon Mirae

December 9, 2014/in Artist Spotlight, Entertainment /by Tamar Herman

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Beenzino’s ‘Up All Night’ Party in Los Angeles

December 10, 2014/in Events /by Alexis Hodoyan-Gastelum

Korean rapper Beenzino brought the house down with his Up All Night party in Los Angeles on December 6^th at 333 Live. The crowd fully embraced Zino, as everyone sang and rapped as loud as his mic to all 14 of the songs performed throughout the night.

After making his rounds in Korea and New York with his Up All Night parties, the rapper brought his show to the city of Angels. This marked his second performance of the year in the city, the previous being the Asian Music Festival back in May. But rather than coming as part of a roster of rappers, Beenzino was the headliner and only artist at the full-house event.

The venue, being large and club-like, gave off a House of Blues concert vibe, as the dance floor was spacious and allowed for over a thousand people to stand, being the perfect setting for the Up All Night party. And even though doors opened at 10:30 p.m. and the DJ played a variety of hip hop and EDM music, the crowd did not turn up until around midnight when Zino finally came out.

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As soon as the lights went out and the DJ played the beat of I Don’t Have to Work, the crowd ignited. Beenzino, behind the scenes, teased the audience to make some noise. But with a quick, “What’s up L.A,” he jumped into Jackson Pollock D*ck decked out in a blue Adidas track jacket, tight, skinny black jeans, and black wayfarers, which he threw out to the audience.

As mentioned before, the crowd was crazy receptive of the rapper. Since the audience was mostly comprised of Korean speakers who rapped every word, Zino only addressed them in Korean and used no English. Some of the tracks that pumped up the crowd the most included How Do I Look?, I’m Ill, and YGGR. But the one that got everyone turnt up the most was definitely Boogie On and On, with a fan even throwing her bra on stage, which he laughed off and gave to a roadie.

Beenzino performed with such high energy and boss attitude that you wouldn’t have imagined he held the same show in NYC a day prior. He jumped and danced all over the stage, jamming to Profile, Mitch As F*ck, and Nike Shoes, swooning all the female attendees. The men in the audience (which was sizeable compared to a K-Pop show) for their part bobbed their heads and sang along to the punchlines.

But not everything was all play and no emotion. Zino slowed it down with Dali, Van, Picasso, Up All Night, and Aqua Man, which the fans sang in unison waving their hands side to side. The set, however short, didn’t disappoint attendees one bit. And even though he killed track after track, he took some breaks to talk to the audience and thanked them for coming out.

At around 1 a.m, the rapper sang his last song for the night Always Awake. Having taken off his jacket and pullover before to perform in a white T-shirt, Zino took off his black beanie as he finished, thanked everyone, threw it out to the crowd, and disappeared to the back stage.

Having now properly been pumped up by Beenzino, some of the attendees stuck around to continue drinking and dancing to the hip hop mix the DJ played. However, Zino hung out for a bit in the smokers’ lounge before meeting a mob of fans wanting to take pictures with him and was then moved to a VIP area where he chilled with a few people.

Beenzino surpassed expectations and then some. It was amazing how he made the crowd go from zero to one hundred (queue Drake) with a beat and a “what’s up.” Everyone was lit the whole time he was onstage and definitely went home with the adrenaline still pumping.

Also on KultScene: Artist Spotlight: Yoon Mirae

Check out more pictures from the Up All Night party:

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KultScene recorded great footage from the show, take a look below!

What’s your favorite Beenzino song? Share your picks 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.

Artist Spotlight: Yoon Mirae

December 9, 2014/in Artist Spotlight, Entertainment /by Tamar Herman

When it comes to talented women in South Korea, Yoon Mirae is on, if not at the top, of the list. Singer, rapper, dancer, mc, mother, wife, activist—there’s hardly a title that Yoon Mirae hasn’t held since the 1990’s when she entered the Korean music scene. As one of the first rap and R&B singers in Korea, Yoon Mirae set, and continues to influence, the tone for the future of Korean music.

Born in the United States to a Korean mother and an African American father, Natasha Reid debuted in Korea under the name T, sometimes Tasha, as part of the original line up Uptown. Since then, along with being a talented solo artist, Yoon Mirae has been associated with various hip-hop crews in South Korea, including The Movement, Drunken Tiger, and MFBTY (short for My Fans Are Better Than Yours.) Each of these crews includes both Tasha and her husband, Tiger JK of the group Drunken Tiger.

Also on KultScene: Artist Spotlight: Beenzino

Yoon Mirae appears to thrive on collaborating with others, and her solo songs are nothing to scoff at. Nowadays, she’s been gaining a lot of attention for her soulful songs for the soundtracks of dramas like The Master’s Sun and It’s Okay, That’s Love. Such a prolific artist is hard to summarize in a few songs, but here are several songs that paint a picture of Yoon Mirae’s talent and her typical style.

Memories (Smiling Tears) came out in 2002, and is an early song that highlights Yoon Mirae’s rapid-fire rap skills and her R&B style that is reminiscent of some famous singers, particularly Lauryn Hill. Yoon Mirae’s songs are almost always inspiring, and Memories is one of her iconic songs with lyrics like “all the hopes and the dreams will survive.” It also has an example of numbers, which appear in several of Yoon Mirae’s songs.

Next up is Black Happiness, from Yoon Mirae’s 2007 album T3 – Yoon Mi Rae. This is one of Yoon Mirae’s most iconic songs about her heritage as a biracial artist in Korea who was met with racism since a young age, but turned to music to find refuge. Even though her father’s skin color was the “problem,” Yoon Mirae sings that her connection to music is thanks to him, and that music has gotten her through everything. Her aggressive rap complements her inspirational lyrics, depicting the struggle that Yoon Mirae went through while growing up.

They told me to wear a mask
They said my mom’s race was okay
But not my dad’s

I felt like I was in jail
And I leaned on myself
I spent endless, painful days
I ignored their warnings
And because I missed music
I tried to escape

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Get It In was the start of a new sound for Yoon Mirae. Mixing her traditional hip-hop sound with electronic music. Get It In, featuring Tiger JK and solo singer Jung In, has a club feel to it and ends with a pounding beat that Yoon Mirae rarely utilized in her earlier iconic songs. Released in 2011, the song is about someone searching for their own place in the world– continuing Yoon Mirae’s philosophical style. Personally, I interpreted the battle scene in the music video as the singer’s fight with the world around her to continuously improve.

2013 brought a new, more popular version of Yoon Mirae with the song Touch Love from The Master’s Sun soundtrack. Without her usual rap, the song doesn’t really feel like it’s Yoon Mirae’s style, but Touch Love just shows another side to Yoon Mirae’s talent, where she goes the typical Korean ballad route rather than sticking to a more Western-influenced style. The song won multiple awards, and Yoon Mirae also sang I Love You for It’s Okay, That’s Love OST.

And, finally, Yoon Mirae’s latest song Angel. Not only does she look fantastic in the music video, but Yoon Mirae’s powerful singing appears in a mature, heartfelt way. The song isn’t about a lover in specific, but the people who support you when you’re having a hard time. Yoon Mirae released the song after a year where she lost her father-in law (This article had previously said her father), was betrayed by someone she trusted, and started a new company, but even so she has people around her who help her keep faith during hard times. Angel’s meaning led it to reaching the number one spot of multiple Korean music charts shortly after being released this month.

Do you like Yoon Mirae’s style? What’s your favorite song. 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.