The return of Seo Taiji

36 November 6, 2007March 13, 2009

by javabeans

Seo Taiji‘s back in the news, and as far as Korean pop music is concerned, it’s a pretty big fucking deal. If you aren’t familiar with Seo Taiji, you might not get why he’s considered important, but the guy’s practically a legend. He had a strong, lasting effect on Korean pop music; he wasn’t just popular, he was influential.

And now he’s back. This time it’s something of an event, with an album to commemorate the 15th year since his debut. The album has already sold out in preorders, within four days of the November 2 announcement of its sale, and will need to go into additional pressings.

The frenzy of preordering was set off by the announcement that the album would be a limited edition — a monster 7-disc CD set with an additional two DVDs containing every song from his seven-album discography, all his music videos, unreleased footage, live clips, etc. Demand continues unabated even in the face of the rather high price, which is a bit over $100 (close to 100,000 won). The production company had wanted to only print 15,000 copies (15 being a special number as it’s the 15th anniversary), although a representative from Yedang Entertainment admits that it might prove difficult.

What I find cool about these copies is the care being taken to make it a special item — each copy from 1 to 15,000 will come with its own number, and the first 15 have been reserved for people at Seo Taiji’s company. The copies for sale will begin with #16, and — get this — even some of the other numbers are considered extra-special, i.e. 221 because February 21 is Seo Taiji’s birthday.

Whether or not you like his music, Seo Taiji injected a much-needed jolt of energy into the direction and sound of the music industry back in the early 1990s, when the kpop landscape was lots of trot music and pretty ballads sung by people like Cho Yong Pil, Shin Seung Hoon, Lee Seung Chul. Remember Kang Suji? Innocuous, simple, safe. When he started the group Seo Taiji & Boys, their first breakout hit (Nahn Arayo / I Know) was the first time rap had been introduced in Korean music. Sure, it was more DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince rap than Tupac rap, but it was novel, and it was edgy for the times. Ask any pop singer today who was an early influence; Seo Taiji’s probably somewhere in the mix.

He was also controversial, not just for the sound of his music but its content, which was critical and provocative — in that way, I almost see him as a precursor to groups like Epik High. He was purported to be extremely intelligent but eschewed formal higher schooling, being disillusioned about the educational system.

SONG(s) OF THE DAY

The thing I remember most about Seo Taiji is how he changed with the times, constantly bringing in new sounds. Yes, he was criticized for ripping off Western sounds too closely. I tend to see it as experimenting with different influences rather than lazy copying, though, because he continued to evolve and work those sounds into his own.

The group broke up after four albums, each one progressively edgier than the last, and afterward Seo Taiji (who was always the main songwriter and musician) took a step back, resurfacing every now and again to release a solo album.

First album:
The first album was a bit old-school rap, a bit dance, a bit pop. It was a bunch of things mixed together, with a few filler ballads thrown in.

“난 알아요” (Nahn arayo / I know) :: The first smash hit by Seo Taiji & Boys. Everyone knows this song. EVERYONE. It was a noraebang staple for me as a kid, even though I didn’t understand the lyrics and mostly memorized them phonetically. It sounds kind of cheesy now (and it was kinda cheesy then too), but it was a huge song. And it still is.
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