cohort

Okasian & B-Free - London concert poster

[Review] Currency Exchange Show #1: Okasian and B-Free

On Tuesday, November 17, the global city of London was the place to be for European fans of Korean hiphop. Hi-Lite Records’ Okasian and B-Free had come for a visit, joined by a “Very Special Guest” in their quest to “spread peace and love,” as B-Free put it.
Read on for a detailed review of the Currency Exchange Show #1 organized by Cult of Ya which I attended as part of the press.

TakeOne - Come Back Home (cover)

TakeOne – Come Back Home

 

  • Title: [types field=”song-title” output=”raw”][/types]
  • Artist: [types field=”artist” separator=”, “][/types]
  • [types field=”year” format=”FIELD_NAME: FIELD_VALUE”][/types]
  • [types field=”original-lyrics” title=”Original lyrics” target=”_blank” separator=”, “][/types]

 

 

Intro)((As the title suggests, the intro (and the hook) is from Seo Taiji and the Boys’ ‘Come Back Home’, a classic and a ‘gangster rap’ song that changed Korean pop music.))
What am I working hard for to find right now?
Where am I flowing to without a break right now?

Verse 1)
This is the reason why I have to say this
The reason why I always was alone in my school days
The reason why I do not fit into Itaewon((Note: area in Seoul where there are lots of foreigners.))
The reason why I am writing this in Korean

The reason why I do not go to Korean churches
The reason why I do not speak English with you
The reason why the gazes on me being like this are different
The reason why I am writing this in Korean

The same skin, the same hair color
How are we different? Still, they want to be different
Actually, they want to hide it, the yellow skin is a weakness
The place where my bones will be buried: the USA

Hook x4)
You must come back home

Verse 2)
The reason why they curse Korean rap, saying it sucks((Reference to what Keith Ape said in a recent interview with Complex (also on this track’s cover): “IN KOREA, THERE WAS NO CREW I’D WANT TO BE IN BESIDES THE COHORT. BECAUSE YOU KNOW, KOREAN RAP, IT SUCKS. BAD.”
—KEITH APE))
The reason why the other rappers all have their mouths closed
That is probably the reason why you mix in English((Reference to how Korean rappers tend to mix a lot of English into their lyrics))
The reason why I am writing this in Korean

Toadyism
Money does not determine who of us is superior to the other
Like out of habit we are still dividing ourselves into classes
As if it was human nature, we repeat mistakes of the past
and start to resemble [the people back then]

History repeats itself
To stand on top, we pull the fingernails of friends
We wanted to become Japanese,
our current goal are the USA

Hook x4)

Verse 3)
Korean hiphop! Korean hiphop!

Where did the rappers go who shouted “Korean hiphop”?
And Jay Allday who’s been talking about Korean hiphop all the time
This time he’s quiet, somehow I don’t know
These days, silence means admitting

B-Free who has been enjoying Instagram
is also keeping silent unlike usually((He refers to B-Free usually expressing his opinion on Instagram about any incidents in the scene.))
I saw it, the reality of kimchi rappers((= Korean rappers))
Not all of them are real, they are doing politics

The other rappers are silent
The other rappers are silent
The other rappers are silent

CB Mass - Whistle MV screenshot

K-Fan News

The third K-Fan News coming your way with Squidzino, album rumors (?), and lots of videos of Hi-Lite, Cohort and CB Mass.

B-Free - Korean Dream (cover)

B-Free – Feel It (Feat. Keith Ape)

 

  • Title: [types field=”song-title” output=”raw”][/types]
  • Artists: [types field=”artist” index=”0″][/types], [types field=”artist” index=”1″][/types]
  • Album: [types field=”album-title” separator=”, ” output=”raw”][/types]
  • [types field=”year” format=”FIELD_NAME: FIELD_VALUE”][/types]
  • [types field=”original-lyrics” title=”Original lyrics” target=”_blank” separator=”, “][/types]

 

https://soundcloud.com/hiliterecords/b-free-feel-it-feat-kid-ash-single-ver

 

Hook: B-Free)
Your head bobs back and forth
Feel my rhyme and rhythm right now
The atmosphere in the club is steamy before we know it
Everyone dances to the kick and snare

Can you feel it? Can you feel it?
Can you feel it? Can you feel it?
Can you feel it? Can you feel it?
Can you feel it? Can you feel it?

Verse 1: B-Free)
My lyrics come from the life that I live, they’re poems
Just like we all bleed when we are stabbed by a knife
Although we have different colored eyes, noses, and mouths
Our insides are all the same

We overcome the barriers of different languages and cultures
It’s not at all important, the ages of you and me
If you feel like this, just keep bobbing your head
We all connect through music

Keith Ape)
Through music, let the universe know about me, my existence
Through third-person perspectives, I am guided to the next level
A psychological vacation, I feel semiconscious
My ninjas and I move into another dimension

The particles of my sound spread
Outstretch far and spread into people’s ears
Infect brains, our movements become greater
New Seoul, rescue Seoul from banality

Hook: B-Free)

Verse 2: B-Free)
You feel it too, the class of my music
Refreshing beats, rhymes, attacking your brain
From Tokyo to New Seoul
Wherever we go we crush all stages

It’s hard to stop my determination and stubbornness, like Godzilla
No matter how refreshing, people eventually get tired
Within the television where there’s only lies
Only dogs bark instead of humans

Keith Ape)
Rip apart the mouths of the dogs
Remove the bullshit from your ears
I keep going up
But I honestly don’t know where I’m going

Life is a maze pulled by gravity
What I want is an exit, wealth
The magic of making my skills into money
You sigh after facing failure
I get applause even without changing

Verse 3: Keith Ape)
You’re funny, complain about my music
Country hicks try to analyze with their narrow-minded knowledge
My lyrics are full of class
I’m a hole that only gets bigger the more you try to cut me down
Focus on me

B-Free)
Yeah, focus on us
Regardless of the day of the week, we work everyday
Hi-lite, literally a bright future
Open a new generation
Sweep in the cash

Bridge: Keith Ape & B-Free)
Cash rules the world
If I don’t want to be ruled, I need wisdom
If we fail, we’ll all be spiritless machines
Hand over good music and knowledge to everybody

Hook: B-Free)

+ More