Quite frankly, Korean hip-hop and R&B have gotten a bit stagnant, coasting on the talents and at times genius of its leading proponents Zion.T, Dean, and Crush. There are few outliers, those singers who take the foundation of R&B and add to it their own voices. Rheehab is one of them. When deciding the direction of this interview, it only made sense that the focal point be the music.
In The Beginning…
As far as first impressions go, Rheehab is something of a rarity. His keen sense of self shines brightest when explaining his musical vision. It all starts with a soft hello.
“Hi, everyone. My name is Rheehab. I’m an R&B and hip-hop artist in Korea. In my music I put my own story, like real story, also of course love story. Thank you very much.”
This self-awareness manifests in a refreshing honesty that doesn’t necessarily always come naturally for those attempting to make a big noise in Korea’s music industry. But even when explaining the origins of his stage name, he’s unafraid to delve a bit deeper.
“First,” he says, “‘rehab’ means ‘rehabilitation,’ which means, like, a cure.” Simple enough. However, after what most would consider an easy answer to an easier question, he adds, “Plus it’s my mother’s family name. ‘Lee.’ I used the word ‘rehabilitation’ because I had a hard time in my life, so I want to use this word. Plus, I liked my mother more than my father.” He adds a somewhat shy but full laugh. “So that’s where that name came from, those two things.”
At first the answer gives even his interpreter pause, but Rheehab doesn’t take it back, and we all have ourselves a good chuckle. After all, it’s not often that someone, musician or otherwise, would actually answer the proverbial “Mom or Dad” question. It’s this frankness that endears him to me. It doesn’t always extend to topics outside his personal life, but more on that later.
It does bring to mind a question: these hard times he references. Does he put aspects of that in his art?
“I already overcame those hard times when I started making music,” he says without hesitation. “So I didn’t put the hard story in my music. My music is kind of lovely or bright.”
Though many might believe this a means to dodge the question, all one has to do is look in his eyes. Yes, he’s smart. He’s not new to the industry — his experiences with record companies and his successes attest to that. However, really looking at him it’s obvious that those hardships never stopped him. There’s unwavering positivity in the way he answers his questions — posture straight but relaxed, voice bright. “Positive mind,” he says, another one of his full laughs punctuating the point.
Circle of Influence
Rheehab began his music education early. As a high schooler, he was mesmerized by the potential he saw in creating his own music. Citing Korean hip-hop crew Soul Company (whose alumni includes legend The Quiett), he found himself wanting to learn more about the creative process.
“Those artists, they were writing their own lyrics on their own beat. So that’s why I got interested in it.”
Rheehab knows his stuff. He seems to have an intrinsic curiosity. It’s a trait that’s allowed him to dig deeper into his craft to truly find what makes him an artist. Believe it or not, his first forays into music were in the more traditional hip-hop styles of the early ’80s.
“Three years ago I tried boom-bap style. Now I’ve changed.” That draws a surprised exclamation. You wouldn’t know it from the work he’s been putting out, but Rheehab has a fondness for old-school hip-hop that’s really quite astonishing. “I love to listen to the melodic style more than the old-school hip-hop, but I wanted to try the old-school hip-hop, but many people said ‘You don’t fit that.’”
Well, at least his friends are honest. It’s clear the further we get into our conversation that finding his voice has been a practice in patience and an ability to embrace his failures to push until he finds success. Still, it’s astounding to find someone seemingly rooted in the current trends of Korean R&B so knowledgeable about the roots of the genre.
“Nas, of course. ‘Illmatic.’ I love it. KRS One.” At this point, everything around us comes to a pause. I have yet to hear that name dropped so casually in discussion with some of the artist I’ve talked to. We share this moment of solidarity, the almost cliché adage that music is universal. Even above the café’s radio, which plays ballads and K-pop, everyone can hear our enthusiasm. We go back a bit into the annals of hip-hop’s legacy: as he mentioned, KRS One, Afrika Bambaataa, etc. Beyond hip-hop heads who are noticeably older, not many of the younger school of R&B has that much history.
“Like most people,” he begins after we calm from our shared excitement, “I think all people know Biggie and Tupac as their start. So I started with those two artists’ songs, and then I kept searching about different artists. So that’s why I can listen to different styles. I searched past artists like Biggie and Tupac and future artists.”
Of course, I have to ask him what’s become one of hip-hop’s most, let’s say, interesting questions: East Coast or West Coast? This is where he sort of draws back. It’s all fun and games when it’s two music fans talking to each other. But there’s a limit to how much he’s willing to put himself out there, especially if a question may seem to toe the line between acceptable and controversial.
“That could be a little bit dangerous,” he says with a nervous laugh. “I like both?” I let him have it. After all, I’m not here to put him in an awkward spot, but he does admit to preferring Biggie over Tupac.
“The reason why I picked Biggie Smalls is because at the time I saw ‘Notorious,’ then I saw ‘All Eyez On Me.’” Fair enough. Honestly, the fact that he delved so deeply into hip-hop’s past boosts my respect for him tenfold.
Finding His Voice
But as we all know, influences get you only so far. There comes a point when you have to find your own path, create your own music. Doing so with his wide hip-hop knowledge has its risks. At best, his music could sound generic, at worst, a poor attempt at mimicking true legends. However, Rheehab is intent on creating music with his own color. At the end of the day, he’s a storyteller. The stories he wants to tell require a deft hand and a sharp eye for observation.
“I really get influence from outside environment: the couple who’s fighting in the street, those kind of outside stories. People’s lives in the outside world.
“Not my own story, well…” He pauses for only a moment, trying to find the right words. From the way he searches for what to say — head slightly cocked to the side, hands clasped together, eyes sort of adrift as if physically searching for the words — this is something habitual. He knows how to choose his words carefully, if only to be able to fully explain himself. “Of course my own story,” he continues. “But I also care about and get influences from other people’s lives.
“My writing of lyrics and music is kind of like literature. But I skipped the real facts. I don’t want to just write my own story. I really want to write other people’s story.”
He opts for the concrete instead of the abstract. Not an easy thing to do when you want to give poetry to the mundane. However, as with most everything, this is something that’s taken him much practice. With his initial steps into music, he admits he didn’t pay as much attention to lyricism.
“At first I only really focused on the music. If it sounds good, it is good. But now I think of other people. For example, my friends said to me, ‘I listen to your music because of your lyrics.’ So now I’m trying to focus on the lyrics and music.”
When I ask if writing lyrics poses a bigger challenge for him, the answer is instantaneous. “Yes,” he says with a somewhat self-effacing laugh. “Right now I’m focused on lyrics,” he says more earnestly. “When I saw my past music, I can see I only focused on music. I can see the difference. So I think that music that I made a few years ago, I think of it as a clothing brand.”
It’s an interesting comparison: his earlier music did the job of establishing “Rheehab, the musician.” However, there wasn’t as much structure or even substance. It had a brand, a specific market, and he was going in that direction. Like I said: bright. With as much work as he’s had to do to get the hang of storytelling, one would forgive him moments where he was unsure of himself. But Rheehab takes to a writer’s block as he does everything else: with ease.
“My message is really simple: when I got a block, I didn’t do it.” Again he gifts us with another one of his full and open laughs. But it’s clear he’s completely serious. “If I think I can make it, I don’t have to try to make it. I think of another way.
“I don’t wanna get stressed,” he says simply. “I just think of new things and try to find a new way to write the lyrics. Or try to write another song.”
Rheehab has a great deal of confidence in himself, insofar as he knows what he has to do to create music that he’s truly satisfied with. He creates music that’s easy. That is to say, even in terms of his process, he works to create music that he can vibe with, music that’s as honest and true to himself as possible. It’s clear in the variety of producers he’s worked with — perusal of his SoundCloud will attest to that.
“I listen to a lot of producers’ beats, and I make a list of what’s my favorite beat or sound. I start each song and freestyle over it, and if I can make it I choose that beat. If it sounds good I try to contact that producer.”
Rheehab isn’t interested in a “specific sound.” Rather he’s looking for what speaks to him. Even when considering other genres, he says he wants to try for something a bit further left than even his current style. “Music like Oasis,” he says. “Acoustic.”
When asked about potential collaborations he instantly mentions Beenzino, awe touching his voice as if he’s discovered a new way to create music. Then, as with many artists, he almost sheepishly admits to wanting to work with Drake. “A dream,” he says almost in a whisper, like if he says it too loudly the Canadian superstar himself will hear clear across the ocean.
But it’s his awe-stricken admission of wanting to work with Beenzino that intrigues me.
“Because he started with the jazzy, boom-bap type of hip-hop style. I think those types of styles are really hard to get famous in Korea. But he made it, so I really respect that. After his jazzy hip-hop style in the future he kept making his own style. So his fans know Beenzino’s color. So I really respect that.”
Beenzino seems to be Rheehab’s barometer of how to successfully create a signature without compromising who he is. Of how to navigate a business that can be unforgiving of those who buck the trends.
“I, of course, respect Beenzino’s style. That he keeps making his own style in his way. But I wanna try to respect the audience, people who listen to my songs. I want to communicate with them. I’m watching their reactions or comments. I want to keep making my own style for the people who listen to my songs.”
Being only slightly selfish, I admit to wanting to see him collaborate with vocalists Hoody and SAAY. Their sounds may be a bit dissimilar, but really that’s the sort of thing that could make such collaborations memorable and unique. “I wish,” he says. Yes, there’s playfulness there. But more than anything there’s a glistening in his eyes at the very potential.
Potential is something Rheehab thrives on. He references Kid Cudi’s collaboration with Pharrell Wililams, “Surfin’,” as where he wants to try to take his music next.
“I want to try those kind of beats, like hard style. Actually I do like that lovely kind of sound, but I want to try the hardcore rap sound. In the guitar sound, I want to try the lo-fi sound.”
“Sort of Kid Cudi meets Childish Gambino,” I say.
“Ya.. nan” & Anotherview
“Perfect!” he exclaims. It’s easy to get wrapped up in his enthusiasm. If for nothing else, his smile. His devotion to his craft shines so brightly. There’s a purity in his excitement when talking about music, his influences, his lyricism. This sort of desire to get to the heart of a story makes for some truly incredible, really personal music. One of his most recent singles, “Ya nan,” is a closer look at the turmoil that has built up his determination to create his own lane.
“My first album ‘Rehab.’ When I was trying to connect with the big company CJ E&M, I wanted to release that song through them. I started connecting with the people who could help me in CJ E&M, but they said I don’t relate to any company, so it’s really hard to release my music with CJ E&M. That’s why I want to show my feelings: sadness, hard times for artists. So I’m writing lyrics and making those songs after getting the news from the company that I couldn’t release the song through that company.
“’Hey’ just means ‘hey.’ But in Korean, ‘Ya, nan’ means, ‘Hey, actually I….’ So I want to put my own story, just kind of like talking to my really close friend, ‘Hey, I really wanna get famous. Or I really wanna make money in the music industry. But why can’t I?’ It’s a really sad story.”
Even his interpreter has to take a moment to really ruminate in the slight tragedy of the song’s lyrics. It’s hard not to feel a tinge of pain course through the heart at hearing this young man’s story. There’s both a resignation and desperation in the lyric itself, one that many people can relate to.
“Thank you!” he says, again a laugh adding brightness to an otherwise heady atmosphere. It’s clear Rheehab uses his storytelling in a way that allows him to explore human emotion. He reiterates that he doesn’t want to focus on just his story, but sometimes he can’t help himself. Case in point, “Ya.. nan.”
The story behind “Ya.. nan” ties into his joining label Anotherview.
“At first I got a lot of messages from a lot of companies. But I denied everything because at the time I was really scared,” he admits. “One artist told me about Anotherview. Like, ‘You should really join this company.’ And at the time I was really a huge fan of that artist. After that, I met the company people. I felt at the time that these people are really honest about the company and what they were going to do for me. I got really impressed, ‘Oh they’re really honest.’ That’s why I chose Anotherview. I chose this company because my favorite artist trusts this company, and I felt like they were really honest.”
Who is “Rheehab”?
We’ve explored his journey form boom-bap to more melodic hip-hop and R&B. We’ve gone into what he looks for musically when he collaborates and even dream collaborations. But what sound exemplifies “Rheehab”? What songs truly define who he is and what he brings to the table?
“‘Everywhere’,” he says. “It shows my transition from boom-bap style to singing. Because that song, my following got really big. It went from 10 to 10K.”
As far as the song that’s most personal to him, “‘Fish.’ I made the song really fast. I wrote the lyrics in 30 minutes and tried to record. But I really put my effort into that song. Even if it only took 30 minutes, I put my own energy into that song. And I think I put my real personality into that song.”
Again, he gives in to the passion of his words. His work ethic, his desire to improve, his drive to create his own style and color. It’s all a part of who he is as an artist.
“I want to give the identity of my own voice to my audience through my music. So when people hear my songs they’ll say, ‘Hey, yeah, that’s a Rheehab song.’”
Rheehab’s future is bright. Along with the release of his latest single, the aforementioned “Fish,” he has big plans. “I’ll release a lot of songs. Then I release the album really soon. I’ll be doing lots of shows and festivals to show a better performance than in the past.”
Fond Farewell
As our conversation comes to an end, I can’t help but feel an overwhelming sense of pride. Rheehab’s growth, his journey, is to be commended. His earnestness is obvious even in his goodbye message:
“Really thankful to meet you and do an interview with you. I will try my best in my music and every work in the future. I want to make you proud. My journey just started.”
Rheehab, as with most artists I have the honor of speaking with, is very much attuned to his musical senses. He’s remarkably self-aware, taking note of his strengths, weaknesses, and where he can improve. All of this, of course, for the sake of creating art that challenges both himself and the status quo. With an eye searching for what’s next, there’s no doubt in my mind he has the makings of a true R&B heavyweight.
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