Timothy
Dang
Link
to “Question Mark” – Primary [ft. Zion T. and Choiza]
(there are english subs on the video)
Hip Hop Blog Assignment #2: Multi-Ethnicity and Multi-Culturality
Hip-hop was born through the hardships
of black people living in the Bronx. It didn’t stop growing there though; Hip-hop
traveled to all around the country and eventually to the many parts of the
world. Around the early 1990s especially
was when Hip-hop first starting to make its way into Korea’s music scene. In the present now, Hip-hop is widely used in
K-Pop culture; although they don’t share the same experiences/hardships of the
people back in the Bronx had to go through, the Korean hip-hop artists
incorporate their own personal hardships in the context of their own culture
(each culture in the world has its own hardships to take care of. None is
perfect).
For this assignment, I’ve chosen a song within the Korean Hip-hop scene created by Primary, Zion T., and Choiza of the Hip-hop duo Dynamic Duo (I’ll be analyzing the music video and lyrics). The title of the song is “Question Mark” which causes the viewer to create a question mark of his/her own upon first look because he/she would immediately be questioning what could the title be referring to. As soon as the first visual images come out of the music video, we see a bunch of men here and there dressed in black, white, gray, and are wearing black sunglasses. What we can also see in the music video is that there are rooms, buildings, and objects that are black spaces being acknowledged only through the writing that distinguishes them from the rest. If we take a look at Korea economy-wise, we would know that the citizens there live a very strict culture that puts society before them. The similar black colors for every prop contextualizes the idea that even though Korea’s society is better off, all the buildings, accessories and objects set an idea that they represent what kind of conditions their Hip-hop takes place in. Like I mentioned before, all the people there (with the exception of the woman not wearing black) wear dark colored clothing; almost as if they’re part of the setting and “invisible.” In Jeff Chang’s book Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop, he stated that the youth “were invisible. But invisibility was its own kind of reward; it meant you had to answer to no one except the others who shared your condition.” (Chang, Pg. 111). All the people in the music video are somewhat blending in with the black surroundings, but they are either dancing, or rapping to the music. It’s almost as if they know what their status is in terms of how the environment around them: they all share the same colors indicating their similar troubles, but they do their own kind of art form that is unique to them.
For this assignment, I’ve chosen a song within the Korean Hip-hop scene created by Primary, Zion T., and Choiza of the Hip-hop duo Dynamic Duo (I’ll be analyzing the music video and lyrics). The title of the song is “Question Mark” which causes the viewer to create a question mark of his/her own upon first look because he/she would immediately be questioning what could the title be referring to. As soon as the first visual images come out of the music video, we see a bunch of men here and there dressed in black, white, gray, and are wearing black sunglasses. What we can also see in the music video is that there are rooms, buildings, and objects that are black spaces being acknowledged only through the writing that distinguishes them from the rest. If we take a look at Korea economy-wise, we would know that the citizens there live a very strict culture that puts society before them. The similar black colors for every prop contextualizes the idea that even though Korea’s society is better off, all the buildings, accessories and objects set an idea that they represent what kind of conditions their Hip-hop takes place in. Like I mentioned before, all the people there (with the exception of the woman not wearing black) wear dark colored clothing; almost as if they’re part of the setting and “invisible.” In Jeff Chang’s book Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop, he stated that the youth “were invisible. But invisibility was its own kind of reward; it meant you had to answer to no one except the others who shared your condition.” (Chang, Pg. 111). All the people in the music video are somewhat blending in with the black surroundings, but they are either dancing, or rapping to the music. It’s almost as if they know what their status is in terms of how the environment around them: they all share the same colors indicating their similar troubles, but they do their own kind of art form that is unique to them.
In terms of the lyrics that are
provided for this song, there are both Korean and English words. The first couple lines are questions that
Choiza asks (in Korean). “Should I call you or not? Should I
just text? Is it too late? Will she already be
sleeping?” You
can immediately tell that this song is referring to some of the frustrating
things referring to girls that guys in Korea go through. I know it may not seem
like such a bad thing compared to stuff in the Bronx, but in this upper level
of society, even the lowest of troubles couldn’t compare to the poverty. However, the concept of Hip-hop was based on
the idea of creating something out of nothing.
Through the everyday problems having to do with strict dating culture as
well as cultural expectations found in Korea, Primary, Zion T., and Choiza are
able to create a music video that grasps the idea of trying to break out of the
similar hardships among everyday interactions.
Hey Timothy,
ReplyDeleteYou made some interesting and intuitive points in this blog. I really think it's awesome that you took the time to analyze Primary's "? (물음표) " and bring it to everyone's attention. You also made some really insightful remarks regarding the visual message in the MV.
However, I want to point out that your comparison of modern Korean restrictions on self-representation, identity, and dating practices to the hardships faced by 1970's, 1980s Black and Latino youths in the Bronx is inappropriate in the context of your analysis. Not only are the historical positions of both subjects so different that a legitimate comparison between the two is not viable, but in saying "it may not seem like such a bad thing compared to stuff in the Bronx" you are also ignoring the very real and crushing history of South Korea during the 70s and 80s that helped to shape the culture that is seen in present day South Korea. Even kids in the Bronx today don't have it "as bad" as they did twenty or thirty years ago. And when you mention the Bronx's poverty, you neglect the reasons behind their poverty which was institutionally structured because of their racial minority standing. Furthermore, 21st century frustrations, like dating, are not the only topics covered by Korean rap as we know from the work of MC Sniper, Epik High, Tablo, Tiger JK, and more. Leaving out these facts that were critical in the shaping of today's culture in both environments does everyone a great disservice.
And while the dating culture in Korea is very different from what many "Western" countries are familiar with, you give very little evidence as to why that is, which would make your argument a lot stronger.
When making your comparisons, please be mindful of the contexts that your subjects are situated in; and please also take into consideration that this is a live blog that has the potential to reach a massive online audience. Sometimes you have to be real and raw even if it hurts some people's feelings, but being lazy is never acceptable nor is belittling the struggle and work of others.
-SV