Here comes SCV’s third interview of the Mineral Excavation series, this time with Konsoul.
Note by SCV: we both arrived late so the interview took place in the evening. As we are of the same age, Konsoul coolly suggested to speak informally. He gave off a serious impression and looked cautios, but actually he has an outgoing personality and seems to have the power to make people feel at ease. As I interviewed him slightly late, the other staff had already gone home, so only Konsoul and I went through with it in the quiet office.
SCV: First of all, thank you for agreeing to this interview so readily. Please introduce yourself.
Konsoul: Nice to meet you. My name is Konsoul. I am 24 years old and live in Bucheon. I’ve always liked StarCraft, that this interview is called ‘Mineral Excavation Interview’ is quite interesting.
How did you get your current nickname, ‘Konsoul’?
I got the name while playing a console game. It started from the well-known term ‘console’. I was using ‘Konsole’ as a nickname, but every time I introduced that nickname to other people, many misunderstood it as ‘Konsoul’ since the term ‘soul’ is often used in relation to black music. So I got used to it and naturally started using ‘Konsoul’.
In last week’s interview with Simba Zawadi, he called you the master of trap music. Do you agree?
I read that interview. I think the title of trap master is still a bit embarrassing for me. There is a lot more I have to show and do. In other communities, many people call me and Holyday trap masters so I feel good but I am not used to titles like that yet. I just hope to be seen as a musician.
You recently released a single together with Dope’Doug. Please introduce it.
We are both working on our own albums at the moment. I have been working a lot with Dope’Doug-hyung, and as we both had time because of our albums, we decided to release the songs we had worked on as a project [album]. We didn’t care a lot for the album. It just naturally came out since we work together a lot.
How did your friends and family react to the single?
Actually, as it was a really simple release, there were no huge reactions. However, my person album ‘6Track’ which I released the other day garnered good responses. After its release I got a lot of featuring requests and feedback on the album, so I was happy.
In that case, please introduce that album too.
The album is made up of six tracks and was released in June, so it is called ‘6Track’. You can think of it as a preview of the full-length album I am working on at the moment.
You have released a lot of albums, also compared to other rookies. You must be a relatively fast worker?
I try to work fast. Because if I keep working on something, I let go of it [at one point]. If possible, I try to finish work [on a song] right away. I also try to work a lot. It is not that I have made more music than other rookies, it is rather that many of the songs I have been making have piled up. From them, I pick out the ones of good quality. Every time I release an album, I aim for it to be better than the last one, so I try to release music continuously.
Do you compose as well?
My song ‘Aloha’ is the first and probably will be the last beat I’ve ever made. I haven’t done any beatmaking after that song. It somehow doesn’t seem to be my style. (laughs) I now work in tune with producers to make songs. Let’s say, it’s as if I’m producing the music itself.
Quantity or quality?
I think that quantity is the basis and it is important to raise the quality of it. Before, I cared more for quantity, but recently I worry more about quality. Of course, I have always cared a lot for the quality [of my music], but as I am preparing my full-length album recently, I can’t help but think more about quality. Anyway, quantity is needed for sure.
Your low-pitched vibe is charming, how did your music style change compared to when you first started to make hiphop?
That is a difficult question since that was nearly seven or eight years ago … I don’t really remember the songs I made back in the day, but roughly I’d say that it [my music style] has changed greatly compared to when I first started. These days I concentrate a lot on the sound, and I always look at the song as a whole, trying to make it a good one. Everything just flew by like water so I don’t really know what and how it changed. ^^;
Then I’ll change my question. Did you start off with trap or dirty south in the beginning? Were those the first genres you tackled?
It’s a bit difficult to say. Because when I first started, there was no trap music. However, what I do remember is that the songs I have been making from the start until now have been a lot more special than any other artist’s at the time. I’ve always liked things like that, I also liked it when dirty south and southern hiphop were a trend. Of course I also liked boom bap. I was not into south music from the very beginning, but I naturally made the transition to trap music since I’ve always liked it.
Going back to the beginning, which rapper made you start hiphop?
When I started, I listened a lot to Biggie (Notorious B.I.G.). And I really like Lil Wayne and Kanye West.
You seem to have been influenced a lot by rappers like Chief Keef or Ace Hood. How is it?
Ace Hood?? I don’t know why you’d name him. I have never felt that way when I listen to my music …. I did listen to Chief Keef a lot. However, I don’t think I’ve been influenced much by those two. The ones I have been influenced by when making songs are Kanye or Travis Scott.
Do you like listening to any different kind of genre?
I quite like M.I.A, also Major Lazer. As a child, I liked Michael Jackson a lot.
What do you think is your personal charm?
What do I say? I don’t think it’s my looks. (laughs) I think my strength is my positivity. And … ah, what else .. It’s a difficult question.
What is your lifestyle like? Do you have an average every-day life? Or is there anything special to it? What part does music play in it?
First of all, I don’t know if there is anything special about my every-day life. Because it is every-day life to me. As for music, I usually concentrate on the things I’d like to express with my music. Things that I imagine or think of at the moment, things like that.
When expressing every-day events, there are some people who decide on, for example, the concept that they are crazy, but their actual lifestyle is very normal. You can call it inconsistent, what do you think of such peculiarities?
I don’t really like stuff like that. It is in the lyrics of my song ‘Man In The Mirror’ too, I don’t like exaggerated concepts, I don’t think much of forced scenarios. Because if that person would act that same way in reality, you’d think, “Ah … that’s the kind of [strange] person he was …”
True, who would like that. Anyway, you seem to change your hairstyle often, is it one of your hobbies?
Since childhood I could never leave my hair just the way it was. In high school, my hair was quite bad for a long while so I just shaved it off. In college, I had a pretentious calm hairstyle for a bit but I took a leave of absence and my hair was back to how it was before. I only went to college one semester anyway. I just tend to change my hair with my mood.
Nevertheless, your fashion style seems extraordinary. Are you interested in fashion?
I’m always interested. There’s a designer called Deezy in my crew who influenced me a lot. At the time when I was less interested in fashion than I am now, I often went eye-shopping with him and when I had money I bought a lot of clothes, so I naturally became more interested in it. Ah, recently that hyung has launched the brand ‘I AM NOT A HUMAN BEING’.
We heard about it. Please introduce designer Deezy’s brand ‘I AM NOT A HUMAN BEING’.
My crew’s designer Deezy launched the brand. I have seen all the clothes he has made until now, and the brand he has launched is going well as expected. That is needless to say. If I had to introduce it, I’d just say, “The clothes are f*cking nice.”
Did the Moneyflex Show go well? Do you have any other upcoming concerts?
The Moneyflex Show went well, but personally I find my performance there a bit lacking in comparison with other performances I did. Maybe because I didn’t care well enough for my throat due to me preparing my full-length album. Already at the rehearsal I realized that my throat wasn’t in its best condition. I was taken aback by that and I’m a bit disappointed I couldn’t care for it better. Besides that, it was fun as it was my first performance at a big concert in a long time. I don’t know where I’ll perform next. I am preparing many things but they’re all not ready yet or still in the planning stage.
You are a rookie, but you seem to have many connections. Has that ever caused misunderstandings?
First, I don’t know that many people. I simply worked together with some while releasing albums and got to know them that way. Because of that I have often been misunderstood in the beginning. When I released my first EP ‘Nobody Knows’, it featured The Quiett, Loco, Crucial Star, and D.meanor. At the time, many said “It’s ‘connection hiphop'”, “Why did they feature on his songs?” When I work, I personally contact the people I want to work with. That is how I contacted all of them and of course we ended up working together because they liked the songs, there was no other reason.
That is true. I think that Fetty Wap of 1738 who rapped ‘Trap Queen’ has come this far only due to his particular looks and music. However, here in the country I think that a few people are biased [towards an artist] even before listening to his music. I’d say that your first album was such a case too. How did you end up participating in Cjamm’s album afterwards? Did you get to know him through others?
Cjamm contacted me, so I participated. We didn’t really know each other before, but we got to know each other through that collaboration. Afterwards, we met by chance in Hongdae, at concerts, and at Vasco-hyung’s club Secret Society. I think that’s mostly how we met a few times.
Any artist you’d like to work with?
I’d like to work with Nochang. He is really talented so I absolutely want to work with him once. His latest album was dope too. I just think that he’s very good.
If you could work with a foreign rapper, who would you choose?
Definitely Kanye. I think that’s any hiphop artist’s dream. There are a lot of musicians I’d like to work with but if I had to choose one, it’s Kanye.
Are you part of a team at the moment?
I am in the team ‘MOD’ together with Holyday. ‘MOD’ is short for modification. In the gaming community, modding is when a user changes a game’s system. This interview is called Mineral Excavation Interview, so if I had to compare it to StarCraft (I don’t know if it can be modified or not though) it would be like a custom map. We chose that name with the goal to make our own new game within the hiphop game.
Thank you for making a connection to this interview. What is the biggist difficulty you are facing at the moment?
As for my music, there is no problem. However, as I am independent and don’t have a label, I have to care for everything else that doesn’t have to do with music, like the process until an album is released, and that is a bit difficult. Because to make better music I have to invest more in music, and I care a lot for it in that sense.
Have you been contacted by a label before? Or is there any label you’d like to join?
A long time ago, I was once contacted by a label. I had already expected it, but it didn’t seem to fit me well musically, so, well, that somehow didn’t work out. Right now I do not want to join any label. If I were to, I would not care which label as long as they only take care of the non-musical process and do not mess with even 1% of my music.
I have not been contacted from many places currently, and I don’t think I have the right to choose a label. I am getting used to working independently, so I do not feel the need for a label at the moment [anyway]. Of course, I am inclinced to think about it though.
I think you would fit well in Illionaire.
I’d like that.
Haha. Are you working on any songs these days?
I am preparing a full-length album called ‘Konscious’. To explain the concept: about two or three times a year, I collapse. And a few hours later, I have memory loss too. I collapsed once while preparing my full-length album, and the album is about that day, the whole process of me losing consciousness and waking up again.
Last but not least, please say a few words to ROKHipHop’s readers.
https://youtu.be/WS8d19Gkxfk
Video: Hello. First of all, my name is Konsoul. I often went on ROKHipHop when I started making music, doing this interview is fun. I am currently preparing my full-length album which will probably come out this year. When it comes out, I hope that many of you listen to it. Also, support ROKHipHop!
Interview by SCV
Original interview on ROKHipHop
Translator’s note: a big shout-out to SCV for not only allowing me to translate his interviews, but also especially creating the English version of the banner which you see above, and even checking the finished translation! Also many thanks to ROKHIPHOP’s head who made all of this possible.