I recently had the opportunity to talk with Chillin Ovatime, a Korean hiphop artist recognized by fans for his lyrical coherence and rhythmic creativity. During the past week, he agreed to answer fans’ questions about his career and the overall state of Korean hiphop in an exclusive interview with HiphopKR.
Exclusive Q&A with Sleeq
Read the exclusive Q&A with Sleeq from June 2014 where she answered questions by fans. The original post can be found here.
Hello. I am Sleeq. I am a hip hop artist with daze alive music. Through this interview, I hope to be able to communicate closer with listeners from outside of Korea. I sincerely thank everyone who sent in questions.
- @swirlsof asked: What and who inspired you to join the khiphop scene and be a rapper?
In middle school, I received an mp3 player for my birthday. Back then, around 30 songs could fit on the small mp3 player but I found fun in filling it with songs and then removing them again. I wanted to listen to songs that were far from mainstream and started to search the internet. The album I got at that time was Soul Company’s The Bangerz and the moment I listened to it, I fell for the rap genre. So I searched for more hip hop music to listen to, tried writing similar rap lyrics and that is how I ended up here. Out of Soul Company’s artists, I listened a lot to Loquence and Choijeokhwa’s((Choijeokhwa (최적화) was a rap duo consisting of Fana and Kalnal.)) music so the lyrics I wrote at that time are extremely dark and full of rhymes. The rapper I listened to the most is, as expected, Jerry.k and now I am making music together with him!
- arbeloaman asked: What’s it like being a girl in a primarily male-dominated scene? @swirlsof asked: Have you ever felt intimidated?
Instead of feeling intimidated, it is quite difficult to be tender and affectionate. Many people are more at ease with people of the same gender than of the other gender and can communicate closer with them. That goes for me too, so I think I cannot get closer to male rappers than being their colleague, if I do not purposely act friendly and close to them. I rather stand more on ceremony when talking to them and treat them as colleagues. However, when I meet a female rapper, I am happy and try to get close to her.
- arbeloaman asked: Do people tend to treat you differently for being a girl?
I think that is something that cannot be avoided. Since I am a woman, male rappers cannot treat me like their ‘brother’. However, in a way, my unsociable personality is one reason too. If I am more successful in the future, I want to have the courage to approach and greet them first.
- @swirlsof asked: Do you feel pressured to perform better in order to succeed as a female rapper?
I always try hard to overcome the weaknesses I have because I am a woman. It is a huge burden and, just like anyone else, I feel uneasy about the future everyday so I am concerned about trying to do better. Nevertheless, on the other hand there are not many female rappers in Korea, which is why I also think that if I just do my best, I can very well be successful.
- @bangnimed asked: Do people ever underestimate you as a female artist?
I am not sure. That might happen after my full-length album and a lot more of my music has been released for people to judge me by, but I do not think I have been underestimated until now. Since there are not many female rappers in the Korean hip hop scene, I think I rather get overestimated(?).
- arbeloaman asked: Who are some of your favorite hip hop artists (American or Korean)?
There are countless. I like nearly all the artists that you like.
- @SeraPJFR asked: Are there any plans to make a music video?
Yes. I want to shoot a music video one day. I am working hard on my full-length album at the moment and I want to shoot music videos for a couple of its songs. However, I do not know yet when exactly it will be released, so I want to take my time thinking about music videos.
- @SeraPJFR asked: Are there any plans to make a collab with a rapper, like with Ugly Duck before?
I have never featured on one of Ugly Duck’s songs but he featured on my mixtape before. I like featuring very much and I hope many people will contact me [to ask me to feature on their songs]! As long as it is not inevitable, I am doing all [the collaborations] I can.
- sugamoanster asked: What are your TOP 5 favorite songs of the moment please?
- The Weeknd – Adaptation
- Christon Gray – Roses 101 After All
- HS87 – Grindin’ My Whole Life (feat. nNo, B. Carr, Hit-Boy, Big Hit, Audio Push, Bmacthequeen & Kent M$ney)
- Conner Reeves – Ordinary People
- Bruno Pelletier – Le Temps des Cathédrales
And the songs of my full-length album that I am working on!!
- @itsmydari asked: How do you normally write lyrics and where do you get your inspiration?
It happens so often that I get inspired to write lyrics, that there is no “normally”. Sometimes I suddenly think of a first line, sometimes of the hook first, sometimes of the subject … I am making great efforts to get inspiration by all imaginable means. And when I write the lyrics after having been inspired like that, I place the greatest importance on the sense of rhythm.
Note: We would like to thank everyone who sent in questions and of course we also thank Sleeq for taking her time to answer the questions and even write her own introduction! We wish Sleeq all the best and we are looking forward to her full-length album!