#GDA Artiste Profile: Epik High

Their comeback has made it seem like they’re a whole new group but, in actual fact, Epik High has been around for as long as we can remember. Epik High, an alternative hip hop group from South Korea, was formed in 2003. The group consists of members Tablo, Mithra Jin, and DJ Tukutz.

They were relatively unknown in the early years because the hip hop genre had close to zero popularity in Korea. As a matter of fact, there was almost no buzz about Epik High’s debut album, “Map of the Human Soul” when it was released in 2003. However, they bounced back with their second album, “High Society” and their third album, “Swan Songs”. It was those two notable records that made Epik High one of the most popular hip hop groups in Korea.

In August 2009, Tablo announced that Epik High was working on their sixth album, “(e)” – it was perhaps one of their most “epic” ones, containing 30 tracks in two CDs and a 74-page mini book which has interviews of each member as well as pictures. Two months later, DJ Tukutz was enlisted for Korea’s mandatory military service. In 2010, Mithra Jin was also enlisted for the same service. The group then went into hiatus. It was during then that “Epilogue” was released, dedicated to all of Epik High’s fans.

Then came one day in September 2012 when YG Entertainment posted a teaser image suggesting that Epik High will be making a comeback. A month later, the group released their first song in three years entitled, “It’s Cold” featuring YG Entertainment’s new “baby idol”, Lee Hi. A few days later, they released two new music videos for two other songs, “Don’t Hate Me” and “Up”:

[youtube id=”9EIYWmRkeRE” width=”600″ height=”350″]

To say that their comeback shook the K-Pop music industry would be a sore understatement. Following the success of their three new songs, Epik High then released “99”, their seventh studio album. They are currently in the running to bag the “Best Hip Hop” award for “Up” at “Samsung GALAXY The 27^th Golden Disk Awards in Kuala Lumpur”!

Other facts about Epik High as follows:

1. All three members can sing, rap, write lyrics, and compose/arrange music.
2. Before Epik High, Mithra Jin was originally a poet. In the past, he did poetry readings.
3. DJ Tukutz started out DJing at illegal raves and warehouse parties.
4. Tablo has a Bachelor’s Degree and Master’s Degree in English Literature and Creative Writing from Stanford University, California, USA
5. In 2010, “TaJinYo” (Tablo’s anti-fan club) accused Tablo of forging his papers and made malicious claims about the validity of his degree. It was one of Korea’s biggest scandals.
   The eight people behind “TaJinYo” have since been  sentenced to jail and probation terms at various lengths of time.
6. Tablo, on the other hand, is still deeply scarred and shaken from the incident.
7. On 14th December 2012, DJ Tukutz posted up a picture of baby’s feet on his Instagram – he’s now a father to a baby boy.