Carlos Galvan has a new interview out with HalfKorean.com, as they go indepth about what he’s been up to and what has happened since the last time they spoke. It’s a thorough read but explains how so much has happened in the past year including his linking of with the Jiggy Fellaz crew and his thoughts on the new Uptown. He also talks about his recently released effort South Cide. Check out the full read after the break or head on over to HK!
How many of you all remember Carlos? The part Mexican, part Korean American MC that is most well known for his work with the Korean Hip-Hop group Uptown. Well whether or not you’ve been keeping up with his rise and fall and subsequent efforts to climb back into the musical limelight, just know that he’s back with a new group called South Cide. Peculiar spelling aside, they’ve got a new single called “Hustle” along with DJ Tom Hustle, featuring Lita on the hook and Pinnacle and Vasco on verses. This one has a throwback feel to it and its honestly the strongest I’ve heard Carlos in years. Lita was kinda meh but she didn’t ruin the track either.
So some of you may remember earlier this year when we reported Chan had joined the new reincarnation of the Korean group Uptown. They’ve dropped a couple singles and released some MV’s but a new fact was recently revealed last week about the MV for their debut single Black Knight.
In an interview, Christina Chung (who has worked with Chan in the past) revealed that she had an uncredited, impromptu cameo in the video. She stated that while visiting Korea, Chan asked her to come through the video set and hang out, but when she arrived she was immediately cast into one of the scenes of the video. Of course we had to watch the video back and look for her and guess what? Here she is:
It’s a humerous story but great to see friends helping each other out!
So for this Week’s Thursday Freebie we present you with the music video for download. Link is after the jump!
New Uptown members, korean american MC’s Chan, Maniac, and Swings, along with veteran member Chris Jung released a repackaged version of their album last month. This went completely under the radar for me but our good friends at ARW posted up the music video today.
The song is entitled ‘Baby Baby’.
Honestly I think it’s just aight. It was kinda interesting to hear Chan on auto-tune a little bit. The two featuring female vocals are kinda forgettable. It’s stuff like this that makes me miss Tasha. She needs to drop another album. Also, I’m not completely hating on their new direction, cause their album really wasnt that bad… but in a recent article they were quoted as saying the following:
“We are basically different people and different style from the old group,” said Maniac, the 28-year-old rapper from Georgia, adding that the members do not feel like they are being influenced by the previous members’ somewhat negative images. Instead of West Coast hip-hop – which is more about “partying,” represented by artists like Usher and Lil Jon and is usually more popular in Korea – UPT said they aim to “stick to the roots of hip-hop,” explained Chan, 29, from New Jersey.
And based on what they’ve released so far, I’m not really sure they are doing that. What do you think?
The video for Uptown’s latest reincarnation (now featuring Maniac, Chan, and Swings along with long standing member Chris Jung) was released last week.
It’s a pretty standard video really. Although I was somewhat impressed with Chan’s ability to flow in Korea. Although I’ll be 100% honest and say I felt his stateside releases a lot more. This just seems too… polished and commercial. But I know he’s never had such mainstream backing before with a wide-scale launch and video to boot so I dunno if I can blame the guy for just tryna make it out there.
But Maniac and Swings got a nice flow. And why the heck does Chris look like he’s 80 and about to die? I know he’s older but still. Does not look healthy.
The video also features some krump dancers that have been floating around the KPOP industry. I think I’ve seen them in Clazziquai and Masta Wu videos and in some live performances.
And just a random thought, this is an above average sized group. Not number wise, just purely physically. They look like they could murder any other scrawny KPOP group out there HAHA. Put Maniac and Chan next to G-Dragon and TOP and tell me who you think would win in a scrap.
Chan, one of the first Asian-American hip hop artists to get some decent exposure has seemingly did a reverse cross over and is now pursuing a career in Korea. It looks like he has joined the reincarnation of classic hip-hop group Uptown, with their album set to drop March 12th.
I heard it as a rumor a while back but was sworn to secrecy. But big chan himself has announced it on his myspace complete with pictures.
The group includes MCs Swings and Maniac. Both whom I know very little about. All I know about Maniac is he featured in Solbi’s last single “Do it, Do it” and even then he was name dropping UPT. And based on their cover there may be a fourth member. Perhaps one of the old members decided to come back? Carlos? Stevie Gunz?
All I know is Uptown has never quite been the same since Tasha left. They’ve had their ups and downs but this reboot could be a good thing.
For more media on some of the members check after the jump. But remember, you heard it hear at aTunes first (probably)!
I can’t vouch for the validity of this news, but word is two of Korea’s most influential Hip-Hop musicians, Tiger JK and Tasha, got married over a year ago and have already had their first child, a son, earlier this year.
Rumors of their relationship had been swirling around for quite some time now but nothing was ever concrete.
Given, they aren’t exactly A-List celebrities in Korea but how they managed to keep this under wraps for such a long time is a mystery.
Regardless, congrats are in order, and aTunes wishes them the best.
Anyone who is a fan of K-HipHop should know about this album. It was the highly influental debut of a series that would launch hip-hop as a legitimate genre/culture in Korea for the first time. As the culture and music rose to the forefront of the public eye, the DaeHanMinGuk series of hip-hop compilation albums launched and showcased many acts still in the industry today.
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