Reviews

Off Folks

Discovering Odd Folks at KCON LA 2017

One thing that anyone who attends KCON can attest to is there are surprises lurking around every corner. The first of many for me this weekend was the discovery of group Odd Folks (Dr. Mumen, As If, and Slez). I’m never ashamed to admit when I’ve been out of the loop when it comes to new talent making a name for itself. This collective of rappers, though not out in full force, certainly grabbed my attention from first note to last.

Apollo and Gemini

Apollo and Gemini perform at KCON LA 2017

The first day of KCON LA is off and running almost as soon as one enters the LA Convention Center. Truly, there isn’t a moment to catch one’s breath once the weekend begins in earnest. In the early evening on Friday, August 18, the folks of MACG Productions present the ASSA Awards, a ceremony derived from their brilliant minds to recognize the content creators that have kept the fervor for Korean culture alive and relevant in an ever-widening audience’s consciousness.

Dumbfoundead - Foreigner (album cover)

Dumbfoundead: Foreigner EP Album Review

There’s nothing pretty or soft about Foreigner. Dumbfoundead is savage in a way that will have those with weak constitutions clutching their pearls. No one would ever accuse the artist of being anything but raw and honest. But Foreigner finds him at his most vicious and impassioned. There’s a distinct bite and snarl across these five tracks, something that’s a sharper at the edges than much that’s come out South Korea this year. He claws his way into the listener’s psyche. You must deal with him. We have no room here for the narrow- and frail-minded. There’s obviously something to going back to one’s ancestral homeland to create.