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bewhy korean rap los angeles la the blind star tour

6 Highlights from BewhY’s ‘The Blind Star’ Los Angeles stop

November 16, 2017/in Events /by Alexis Hodoyan-Gastelum

After blowing up thanks to his win on the Korean rap competition show Show Me the Money and a couple of appearances in Los Angeles since then, the rapper BewhY embarked on an ambitious six stop tour earlier this month. Titled after his recent album, “The Blind Star” tour kicked off in LA on Nov. […]

The story of LOONA: ODD EYE CIRCLE

November 14, 2017/in Features /by Joe Palmer

As the final bars of LOONA ⅓’s “Sonatine” slowly faded out, the digital effects opened a new door for LOONA. On the other side of it are Kim Lip, Jinsoul, and Choerry. As a trio they are ODD EYE CIRCLE, a name that necessitates capital letters thanks to the moon-evoking imagery of the word “odd.” […]

6 Highlights from BewhY’s ‘The Blind Star’ Los Angeles stop

November 16, 2017/in Events /by Alexis Hodoyan-Gastelum

The story of LOONA: ODD EYE CIRCLE

November 14, 2017/in Features /by Joe Palmer

Full Sized Blog Element (Big Preview Pic)

6 Highlights from BewhY’s ‘The Blind Star’ Los Angeles stop

November 16, 2017/in Events /by Alexis Hodoyan-Gastelum

by Mineui Kim

After blowing up thanks to his win on the Korean rap competition show Show Me the Money and a couple of appearances in Los Angeles since then, the rapper BewhY embarked on an ambitious six stop tour earlier this month. Titled after his recent album, “The Blind Star” tour kicked off in LA on Nov. 1 at the Belasco Theatre to a jam-packed crowd.

Both expectations and trepidation were high with this BewhY tour — could he pull it off? Not even Illionaire fills up venues, and AOMG had to bring out their entire artist roster to sell tickets. However, the rapper went big on his first American tour, showing US audiences in person exactly why he’s the hottest rap act in Korea. Here are some of the highlights.

by Mineui Kim

1. Club Turned Up On A Wednesday

Though a weird choice to start a tour on, BewhY kicked off “The Blind Star” tour on a Wednesday. Not to mention on a night when LA’s baseball team, the Dodgers, were playing a World Series game, which he later thanked fans for coming out despite. And while it took up until the few minutes before the rapper finally came on stage to fill up, The Belasco was, what it seemed like, up to full capacity by the time we heard the first bars from “Curtain Call.”

by Mineui Kim

Regardless of the show being held on a weekday and amid the locally-affected World Series, the crowd sang along, cheered, and chanted for BewhY. Most notably, fans sang the chorus most ardently to “Forever,” and got rowdy with “9ucci Bank.”

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2. Rapped Verses In Acapella

During “Red Carpet,” BewhY cut the music and put his index finger to his lips, instructing people to quiet down. He then proceeded to deliver one of the verses acapella, which showcased and highlighted his lyricism and the prowess with which he delivers it. For “Bichael Yackson,” BewhY also cut the beat and dropped some heavy bars.

by Mineui Kim

3. He Was Real

Unless rappers speak fluent English, it’s uncommon for them to take the time on their setlist to chat with the audience. But judging for the predominantly Korean audience in attendance, BewhY took the time to address a few topics in between songs.

by Mineui Kim

To prelude “Hewgeso,” BewhY got really deep with the audience. He recounted a story of how he got lost while going to a university show and drove around in circles, which allowed him to look back at what was happening in his life in that moment. The “Shalom” rapper shared that after winning Show Me The Money he was very materialistic and lost his way. He realized that driving in circles was the perfect analogy to what he was going through, which made it all click for him.

by Mineui Kim

On a more cheesy note, before delving into “My Star,” the rapper told the audience “You are my star.” Also, with his Christianity being a key theme in his music and overall self, BewhY started borderline preaching to the crowd about his religious beliefs.

4. Performed His Notable Songs Twice For The Encore

BewhY covered all the basics during the show, performing all the Show Me The Money favorites like “XamBaqJa” and “Who You?,” The Blind Star b-sides like “Temptation,” and other one-offs like “The Time Goes On” and “Namaste.” And given his discography isn’t as big as other Korean rappers who go on tour in the States, BewhY resorted to performing his hit songs again — and saving the most known for last.

by Mineui Kim

The rapper revisited “Bichael Yackson,” “Who You?,” and his collaboration song with C Jamm “puzzle.” He, of course, closed with “Day Day.”

5. “9ucci Bank” For The Encore Decked In The Music Video’s Gucci Ensemble

As aforementioned, the rapper performed some of the same songs he had already done for the encore. So after wrapping up the first and second portion of the show and an interlude with singer Justin Park, BewhY returned to the stage for the encore decked out in all Gucci gear — fanny pack across the chest included— to parody himself and every other Korean rapper at the moment who are always decked out on the luxury brand. For this performance, the rapper went into the crowd and engaged a lot more. He channeled the same vibe from the song’s music video, with an added tinge of comedy of the ridiculousness of it all.

by Mineui Kim

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6. He Is, Indeed, The Best Korean Rapper

With only a few years into his career, BewhY managed to hold an entire tour Stateside — an accomplishment that not even some of the biggest names in K-pop have reached. (And charging as if he were, mind you).

by Mineui Kim

Being an independent Korean rapper, it’s unheard of that an act would be able to do this so early on into his career. This makes sense though when considering that BewhY really is all that.

by Mineui Kim

While being the best a term that’s thrown around a lot and is a sensitive topic to some when considering just how much Korean rap draws from American hip-hop as a genre and culture, “The Blind Star” stop in Los Angeles further cemented why BewhY is the best Korean lyricist and rapper. Not only did he carry out an entire show on his own, but he also rapped all the features on his songs, and dropped some freestyle on the spot, all while showing innate humbleness despite all the praise and success. He even asked the audience for a picture at the end to commemorate what was surely also a milestone in his career.

by Mineui Kim

What’s your favorite BewhY song? Do you agree that he’s the best Korean rapper in the game right now? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below. Be sure to subscribe to the site and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Tumblr to keep up with all of our posts.

The story of LOONA: ODD EYE CIRCLE

November 14, 2017/in Features /by Joe Palmer

As the final bars of LOONA ⅓’s “Sonatine” slowly faded out, the digital effects opened a new door for LOONA. On the other side of it are Kim Lip, Jinsoul, and Choerry. As a trio they are ODD EYE CIRCLE, a name that necessitates capital letters thanks to the moon-evoking imagery of the word “odd.” These three represent the next chapter of the LOONA story.

Writing the previous entry to this series on LOONA was a much easier task than this addition. With the added benefit of hindsight, I knew what had come after the first five girls of LOONA so could more easily chart their progression and what that meant in contrast to the three girls who would become ODD EYE CIRCLE. When the three of them did finally come together though, there was a whole new clarity to the ideas behind LOONA. Whereas the first five girls’ were moving towards a group identity as a whole, ODD EYE CIRCLE traces individuals.

The musical timeline of this trio’s solo singles are sort of backwards. You could probably look at them in forwards or backwards chronological order but for me going from Choerry to Kim Lip makes the most narrative sense. Choerry’s solo single, “Love Cherry Motion” acts as a bridge between ODD EYE CIRCLE and the previous girls. She moves away from the physical sound to something a bit more modern but with such a classic pop sound that it isn’t immediately obvious. The bubbly synths are helped by drum samples and wonderful slap bass straight from Girls’ Generation’s “Party.” Of course, it becomes quickly obvious that LOONA are moving in a new direction when the post-chorus breaks hits. The first break comes with no notice and overflows with heavy bassy electro. It’s the darkest moment of LOONA’s entire discography without going too deep into seriousness.

By itself the sudden genre change isn’t exactly a shock in K-pop anymore. As the song progresses, the break changes though. Middle Eastern sounding synths are added to the second chorus, galvanizing the second half of the song into a major change. From that break it turns into a bridge in a similar style, but not quite as heavy as before. The song slowly adds the brighter elements of the beginning before finally transitioning back into the original sound. As the bridge between both groups of girls, Choerry simultaneously shows both styles in contrast and in unison. Moving from an abrupt transition to a smooth one, she starts to bring the pop and EDM sounds together in search of a synthesis.

The lyrics mirror this as they tell the story of a girl falling in love. Similar to the previous girls she’s shy and naive, “Though I don’t know from A to Z, what love really is, The tips of my ears are tingling.” LOONA 1/3 were almost fearful of the mystery of possible love but Choerry is excited, similar to Yeojin, not a surprise given she’s the second youngest. She’s the continuation of the maknae’s (youngest’s) story; the sustained excitement about the future of LOONA lies with the youngest girls. She starts off nervous but right at end sings that “Our special days start today.”

Also on KultScene: The story of LOONA: The first five girls

Jinsoul preceded chronologically Choerry with her tumultuous future bass track “Singing in the Rain,” but her song propels ODD EYE CIRCLE’s mythos. Completely shedding any memory of the first five girls, she moves into an edgy digital space. The sawtooth synths and explosive percussion of her song have a dangerous unpredictability to them. Jinsoul is experimenting in the grey area between Choerry and Kim Lip. She’s the first to rap and does so with relish, adding ad libs to pre-choruses. That pre-chorus changes for the second chorus as well. “Singing in the Rain” is what happens when a group is trying to figure itself out. It’s not as experimental as “Love Cherry Motion” but it’s still not a completely polished product.

Jinsoul is much more direct as well, “For the sin of swallowing, up the afternoon sun, I’m right here, so hot,” she coos in the chorus. It’s a forwardness unknown to the other girls. She’s a girl in love, not waiting for someone but taking the lead to the point where she sings loudly about it in the rain.

The actual first girl of ODD EYE CIRCLE to debut was Kim Lip. It was quite a jump from the emotional orchestra of LOONA ⅓’s “Sonatine” to the sci-fi R&B of “Eclipse.” Compared to “Love Cherry Motion” and “Singing in the Rain,” “Eclipse” is stunningly simple. Kim Lip rides the beat with ease, her voice restrained but with a deceptive range. It has none of the eccentricities of Choerry and Jinsoul’s tracks, but feels at home beside them. As soon as she opened the song with “This is our fantasy,” it was obvious a new era had begun. Kim Lip represented a clean break for LOONA, one of sensuality and maturity.

Despite progressing LOONA’s sound, the three girls didn’t have too much in common apart from a sense of modernity. So instead of coming up with a single style that compliments them all, ODD EYE CIRCLE mashed all three separate sounds together. Their debut single, “Girl Front” has the propulsive percussion and sawtooth synths of “Singing in the Rain,” the pop sheen and slap bass of “Love Cherry Motion,” and the vocal details and oh-so-smooth bridge of “Eclipse.” Thanks to its sheer peppiness and strong chorus, “Girl Front” doesn’t buckle under the pressure of those three tracks but instead the hyperkinetic vocals carry it to a euphoric climax.

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“Girl Front” is miraculous not just for putting these songs together but for incorporating them so wholly. It works to highlight the trio as individuals before bringing them all into one. Each girl sings a line from her solo track and has a part of her choreography at the beginning of the the collaborative song, making it clear that their identities are not totally defined by the group that is LOONA or even ODD EYE CIRCLE. This entire project is clearly not just an extremely long teaser for a 12 member girl group but promotion for soloists and all manner of units.

As the centrepiece of ODD EYE CIRCLE, it is also the exact opposite to what the LOONA 1/3 did lyrically. It’s a song about the girl confessing first. ODD EYE CIRCLE are similar to the other girls in that the waiting is making them anxious but for completely different reasons. They are not concerned with big questions of what love might be for them, they just want to fall in love.

Naturally LOONA are attracted to moon symbols, so finishing off the ODD EYE CIRCLE era with something cyclical made perfect sense. The final single “Sweet Crazy Love” is positioned by its video as the prequel to ODD EYE CIRCLE. The music as well puts it closer to the first five girls than anything else ODD EYE CIRCLE did by incorporating some string work. The strings open the song but are immediately obvious as not real but rather digital violins and are soon joined by an electric drum beat. Its moody R&B atmosphere is closest to “Eclipse” in sound but doesn’t have the definite stamps of each girl. There are short references in the lyrics but no direct lifts like in “Girl Front.” “Sweet Crazy Love” is caught right between the first two eras, melding ideas and sounds from both while obviously steering closer to ODD EYE CIRCLE.

It brought this LOONA cycle to a definite close but left no hints for what is to come next. ODD EYE CIRCLE took LOONA into modernity with not just their sound but with their attitudes towards love. There are plenty of genres left for them to explore, but not as many broad themes for the last four girls to live in. Regardless of how they sound, the sense of finality is going to be a major idea. They are likely to cycle back around to the very beginning, creating an ultimate group in which the individuals are all connected but more than capable of standing on their own. Which means that the last four girls are the most important. Everything has been great and extremely well planned but it will be for nothing without an ending. Or, in this case, a whole new beginning.

What’s do you think of the ODD EYE CIRCLE era? What do you think is next for LOONA? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below. Be sure to subscribe to the site and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Tumblr to keep up with all of our posts.