Epik High Talks Latest Album & Gives Fans The Inside Scoop On The YG Family During Photo Shoot & Interview With KpopStarz Japan [EXCLUSIVE]

Korean hip-hop trio Epik High recently made their official Japanese debut with the release of their latest album Shoebox in the country on December 24.

Members Tablo, Mithra Jin, and DJ Tukutz recently sat down with KpopStarz Japan to discuss their critically acclaimed new album and give fans insight into working under one of Korea's most respected record labels, YG Entertainment.

Check out the exclusive interview below!

◆We hadn't expected EPIK HIGH to start working in Japan for real!

TABLO: We also didn't imagine it at all. The reaction after the YG Family's concert in spring was powerful, and fans sent many requests saying, "Please hold an EPIK HIGH solo concert! Our Twitter was overwhelmed! Hahaha! No it wasn't funny, when we announced our Twitter account during the concert, 30,000 more fans were added in one day after the concert. So, we could not help but ... [debut]

◆Huh? "Could not help but"!? (Laughter)

TABLO:Since fans are asking for it, we have to do it! (Laughter)

◆With 30,000 new followers in one day, Were you shocked?

TABLO: Somehow we managed to follow back 45,000 within a few days, but conclusively, my Twitter followers exceeded one million by now. And most of the followers are Japanese fans. So EPIK HIGH has no other choice but to go forward (Laughter)

◆ Among YG Family, what kind of existence has EPIK HIGH experienced?

TABLO:DJ TUKUTZ will answer this question.

DJ TUKUTZ:Yes. EPIK HIGH is like an independent castle. Younger brothers like BIGBANG and younger sisters like 2NE1 are impacted a lot by us.

All members: (Laughter)

DJ TUKUTZ:We give a lot of advice to them about what to do when they go up on the stage or receive interview. (*TABLE&MITHRA are holding back laughter) Recently we are giving advice to WINNER.

◆  What kind of advice do the younger brothers heed to?

DJ TUKUTZ:There was not even once they heeded to our advice!

All members: (Laughter)

TABLO:When I advised G-DRAGON, "When you sing next time, please smile while singing," G-DRAGON smiled a lot from the next stage. The skill of smiling while singing is a difficult one that I learned from 11 years of singing, but Japanese fans also loved it.

◆So it's a difficult skill! (Laughter)

TABLO:Well, it's not as difficult as you think.

All members: (Laughter)

◆What kind of advice does MITHRA give?

MITHRA: I am not so close with the juniors.

TABLO:Haha!

MITHRA: I haven't talked with them a lot. I am not in the position to give advice. (Smiles gently)

◆MITHRA, you are very humble.

TABLO:Then, the two of us are conceited!? (Laughter)

DJ TUKUTZ:They are joking!

CONTINUE TO PART 2

[Text: Kiyori Matsumoto / Photo:Akiya Uchida]

 

Tags
Epik High
YG Entertainment
Big Bang
G-Dragon
Tablo
Mithra Jin
DJ Tukutz
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