K-Pop Double Take: Yankie, Zion.T, Loco And Epik High's Tablo Set It Off Over A Bombastically Classic Beat On 'Sold Out' [VIDEO]

K-Pop Double Take is a weekly review column highlighting recent releases that have yet to receive the attention we feel they deserve.

As anyone who was old enough to be cognizant in the 1990s will recall, there was a time when you couldn't avoid being a hip-hop fan.

If you had a pulse and no major hang-ups, how could you not start moving when you heard artists like Wu-Tang Clan or The Pharcyde, from Dr. Dre to Digable Planets at the top of their game, delivering material that seemed to make your head shake without your control.

It was that powerful.

Not say great hip-hop hasn't been made since then, but as the genre becomes increasingly denser in the age of digital homogenization, the immediacy, the universal pull of a more organic groove is lost.

That's why it's exciting to hear South Korean rapper Yankie channeling the same undeniable rush of those crushing classic rap beats on his single "Sold Out" featuring Zion.T, Loco and Epik High's Tablo, released on May 25.

South Korea's exploding hip-hop scene is filled with artist who, admirably I might add, push the limits of what they can rap over, surpassing even Kanye West for pushing the limits of the genre. Raps are in folk songs, string-laden pop ballads along with the high-speed electro pop that has become the norm for most MCs in the country.

But there is something about that classic hip-hop beat.

And it certainly helps as well that Yankie assembled some of South Korea's heaviest hip-hop talent on the mic. Just like on those timeless jams that many rap fans refer to as the Golden Age of the genre, these MCs don't disappoint.

Any song that can work in the line "pass the prosciutto," has at the very least already gotten my attention.

Watch the music video for the Yankie single "Sold Out," featuring Zion.T, Loco and Epik High's Tablo RIGHT HERE

Tags
Yankie
Loco
zion.t
ziont
Tablo
tablo epik high
Join the Discussion

Latest Photo Gallery

Real Time Analytics