In honor of Tiger JK's upcoming ninth album as Drunken Tiger on Friday, this edition of K-Pop Rewind will take you back to the group's early beginnings with their second single "Do You Know Hip-Hop?"

Drunken Tiger formed in 1998 when Korean-American rapper Tiger JK teamed up with DJ Shine in an effort to bring the newly emerging Korean hip-hop scene into the forefront of mainstream music.

The pair released their debut album Year of the Tiger in 1999 with the two lead singles "I Want You" and "Do You Know Hip-Hop?"

Immediately following the album's release, they gained recognition for their original verses and coverage of taboo topics.

Because Tiger JK and DJ Shine were some of the few mainstream artists at the time to write their own lyrics and because they valued creative expression above all else, very early on Drunken Tiger's music style has been described as "energetic, and very natural."

"Do You Know Hip-Hop" is a quintessential Drunken Tiger track and helped lay the foundation of the group's distinctive style and the international success that soon followed.

The song shows off Tiger JK's own personal rap style which includes influences of American West Coast hip-hop and reggae (although the latter is not as apparent in this song as it is in singles to follow).

Also worth noting, the synthesized beat that first appears in the chorus and continues throughout the entire track is actually a sped-up sampling from Sting's 1993 hit song "Shape of My Heart," a point that further exemplifies Drunken Tiger's ability to seamlessly meld different stylistic influences together in hip-hop harmony.

Drunken Tiger - Do You Know Hip Hop by riem2k

Even though DJ Shine officially left the group in 2005, Tiger JK has continued under the name Drunken Tiger with others stepping in to add depth and dimension to the songs including Micki Eyes, DJ Jhig, and Roscoe Umali.

The most recent project, The Cure, comes four years after Tiger JK's last release and is a collaborative effort with the rapper's own wife Yoon Mirae and Bizzy.

The Cure is scheduled for release on September 13.