Jerry.k has released a new full-length album today, ‘감정노동’ (Emotional Labor), and the music video for the track ‘Call Center (feat. Oohyo)’.
Jerry.k is special. This description is already enough to explain him. His career is over ten years old and he has established his own label, in the hiphop scene he is the one who is the most interested in society and politics, one of the rappers who carefully include important messages in their lyrics, and finally he is an excellent writer who can very clearly unravel the many sides of the man Kim Jin-il (Jerry.k’s real name). He does not only write about topics that he knows about from personal experience, but he also has a universally critical mind that he has been speaking with an honest voice, “never in a roundabout way,” and this has granted him a special position in the scene, making him irreplaceable. His latest album ‘감정노동’ (Emotional Labor) is staying true to all of this.
In the album, Jerry.k talks in a very blunt way about the feelings he has experienced. Most are feelings like anger, exhaustion, loneliness, doubts, or scorn that he naturally has as a person, and he concentrates on the energy that one has to summon up due to those feelings, in other words: emotional labor. Even tracks that at first glance seem critical of society actually contain a lot of his subjectivity and philosophy, possibly making this album even more personal than his previous work ‘True Self‘.
The most intense and destructive track of the whole album, ‘No Role Models’, opens the fire. Using different means, five different MCs corner the listener on the common topic ‘No Role Models’ with Jerry.k spearheading. As there is no hook but only the verses of five MCs, the track reminds of a competition or a rap battle, its highlight being the contrast between Loopy and Sleeq’s distinctive rhythms. Jerry.k has constantly been raising his voice about the methods used in competition programs like Show Me The Money, and in this track you can get a glimpse of his answer which makes the track interesting. He expresses his critical thoughts on the Korean hiphop scene and competition programs more clearly in ‘축지법’ (CZB) and ‘Studio Gangstas’. Especially ‘축지법’ (CZB) is an exciting track as it goes back and forth between a faster and a looser tempo, a seesaw of anger and sarcasm. The series of critical ideas he brings up is rather impressive for his position as a musician, and the messages he tries to convey are ultimately neither simple nor conventional, not to mention that listeners will easily be able to share his ‘Emotional Labor’ thansk to his uniquely straightforward way of speech.
‘#MixTwitter’ not only includes the anguish, and conclusions thereof, that a musician undergoes, but also those of a social and political human. It is one of the most distinctive tracks of the album as it is made up to look like a thread of seven tweets limited to 140 characters. On this track, the artist personally confesses “This is total emotional labor,” but nevertheless testifies that “It is the strength that will set me free even more.”
Warmly supported by a voluminous bassline and a melody lead by bright-sounding synthesizers, the track ‘기립박수’ (Standing Ovation) that is the center of the album continues the artist’s line of argument by talking about his agony with an at first glance seemingly self-mocking attitude that at the same time conveys his satisfaction about his current life as well as his hopes.
While the life of musician Jerry.k was the main point of interest in the album’s first half, its latter half gradually gives insight into the man Kim Jin-il. Like a revolutionist, he instructs, “Let’s raise our voices!” (‘Louder’), and he gives strong advice to the man who “still seems like a child” (‘You’re Not A Man’), broadening the narration from me to you and us. Next up comes the album’s title track ‘Call Center’ that can be connected to the album’s overall theme the most intuitively, but at the same time it is also the track the most different from it. Jerry.k who has been appearing as the main character in most of the previous songs takes a step back to objectively observe someone else’s life. Oohyo’s strengthless vocals add to the track’s futility.
Whereas the first half of the album was dominated by anger, the two tracks ‘Life Changes’ and ‘No More Heroes’ that serve as the album’s outro pick up the subject of a chronic pain, excluding anger. In ‘No Role Models’ Jerry.k uses anger as a source of energy that is evident throughout the whole track. In ‘No More Heroes’ however, it sounds like he cannot hide his disappointment, interrupting it only here and there by rapping in a furious tone. Leading the sound that is dominated by a piano and somewhat dead-sounding drums, Jerry.k ceaselessly branches out his loneliness on the beat that delicately intensifies, and the outro that announces that on top of that loneliness and disappointment “I will go my way,” is not only this track’s but the whole album’s highlight. Also, after the outro is over, the instrumental of ‘No Role Models’ makes another appearance, as if suggesting that the emotional labor that has changed throughout the album has been activated as a new source of energy.
Musically, ‘Emotional Labor’ makes you have fun, sympathize, and it comforts you, but there definitely is even more to it. No matter what you are expecting as a listener, Jerry.k is certainly responding to it in his own unique way. The album that started off with pain due to many different kinds of emotional labor brilliantly pinpoints that pain as the starting point of many changes and repetitions. Through this album, Jerry.k who has already confessed to various kinds of emotional pains also emphasizes a new way of formulating them. It is not the most catchy or trendy, but if anyone asked for the reason why Jerry.k is still standing at the very front line of the Korean hiphop scene, this album will surely be a good answer.
Jerry.k – Emotional Labor is available on iTunes.
Credits
- No Role Models (feat. Nafla, Don Malik, Loopy, Sleeq, DJ Dolphin)
Produced by Humbert
Lyrics by Jerry.k, Nafla, Don Malik, Loopy, Sleeq
Scratch by DJ Dolphin
All instruments by Humbert
Recorded by Jerry.k at daze alive studio, Lee Taeho at Black Mirror Theory, Loopy & Nafla at MKIT RAIN Studio
Mixed by Nahzam Sue at 쑥고개III Studio - #MicTwitter
Produced by Humbert
Lyrics by Jerry.k
All instruments by Humbert
Recorded by Jerry.k at daze alive studio
Mixed by Nahzam Sue at 쑥고개III Studiohttps://youtu.be/hs-zj6ifteQ
- 축지법 / CZB (Seven-league Boots)
Produced by Humbert
Lyrics by Jerry.k
All instruments by Humbert
Recorded by Jerry.k at daze alive studio
Mixed by Nahzam Sue at 쑥고개III Studio
Lyric Videos: Korean (Directed by Mozii) / English - 모두의 마이크 (Everyone’s Mic) 151018 (Skit)
Recorded by Bora Pictures at Club Cream, Everyone’s Mic Season 3 Episode 6 (2015.10.18) - Studio Gangstas
Produced by Humbert & Nooheat
All instruments by Humbert & Nooheat
Lyrics by Jerry.k
Recorded by Jerry.k at daze alive studio
Mixed by Park Kyungsun at BoostKnob - 기립박수 (Standing Ovation)
Produced by Humbert
Lyrics by Jerry.k
Drum by Kang Junho
Guitar by Moodin’
Recorded by Jerry.k at daze alive studio, Choi Wooje at Studio AMPIA (Shin-gwan)
Additional instruments by Humbert
Mixed by Nahzam Sue at 쑥고개III Studio - UH!TV 160214 (Skit)
Recorded by JJK, UH!TV ep.2 (2016.02.14) - Louder
Produced by Humbert
Lyrics by Jerry.k
All instruments by Humbert
Recorded by Jerry.k at daze alive studio
Additional voices recorded by EtchForte at Club Cream, kick&snap 2nd Anniversary Party (2016.02.20)
Mixed by Nahzam Sue at 쑥고개III Studio - You’re Not a Man (feat. Rico)
Produced by Humbert
Lyrics by Jerry.k & Rico
Vocal inspired by ‘Jerry.k – You’re Not a Lady (feat. Zion.T)’
Vocal arrangement by Jerry.k, Rico
Recorded by Goo Jahoon at 109 SOUND, Jerry.k at daze alive studio
Mixed by Park Kyungsun at Boostknob - 콜센터 (Call Center) (feat. Oohyo)
Produced by Humbert
Lyrics by Jerry.k
Vocal arrangement by Jerry.k, Oohyo, EachONE
Background vocal by Sura, EachONE
All instruments by Humbert
Recorded by Jerry.k at daze alive studio, EachONE at EachONE Studio
Mixed by Go Hyunjung at Musicabel Studio
MV Directed by FLEV
MV Starring Kim Jungyoon (Reina Kim)
https://youtu.be/3TRp2ZYDPgg - Life Changes (feat. Deepflow, This Is Manner)
Produced by Humbert
Lyrics by Jerry.k, Deepflow, This Is Manner
Vocal arrangement by This Is Manner
All instruments by Humbert
Recorded by Jerry.k at daze alive studio, Deepflow at 불가마 (Bulgama) Studio
Mixed by Nahzam Sue at 쑥고개III Studio - No More Heroes (feat. Hong Hyojin of Room306)
Produced by Humbert
Lyrics by Jerry.k
Vocal arrangement by Jerry.k, Hong Hyojin, Humbert
All instruments by Humbert
Recorded by Goo Jahoon at 109 SOUND, Jerry.k at daze alive studio
Mixed by Nahzam Sue at 쑥고개III Studio
Executive Producer: STONESHIP
Album Producers: Jerry.k & Humbert
A&R Director: Suk Chanwoo
A&R Management: Lim Heejung, Lee Gwanbok
A&R Assistant: Kim Heesun, Ahn Sohyun
Mastered by Nahzam Sue at 쑥고개III Studio
Artwork by Kim Kijo
Related links:
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Source: Naver Music