Check out Beenzino’s mini interview with Naver Music about his album ‘Up All Night’.
Beenzino – B Magazine Interview
Read Beenzino‘s interview with B Magazine about toys and games from the February 2013 issue.
Beenzino – Memories of My Bed
Read what Beenzino personally wrote about his bed in Bazaar‘s February 2013 issue.
Beenzino – Dazed & Confused Interview
Read Dazed & Confused‘s interview with Beenzino about his album “2 4 : 2 6” from their September 2012 issue.
Beenzino – The bling Interview
Check out Beenzino’s interview with The bling magazine that was published November 2012.
Beenzino – North Face Interview (2011)
Read the interview of the Korean North Face Blog with Beenzino from 2011.
NO SURPRISES! The underground rapper Beenzino of Jazzyfact meets the Original Pack.
Jazzyfact? Beenzino? He raps, paints and sings? Although there are people who are unfamiliar with him and wonder who he is, I think there are many who happily say “Oh, it’s Beenzino!”
The person I meet today is the underground musician Beenzino.
Hello. I am from the North Face blog. Please introduce yourself.
Yes, hello! I am underground musician Beenzino. And Jazzyfact’s Beenzino (laughs).
Wow! You’re quite manly. You are keener than I thought, how should I say this, you look docile. It’s nice to meet you!
The team Jazzyfact is made up of you, Beenzino, and Shimmy Twice, correct? As it’s evident in the team’s name Jazzyfact, I heard your genre is jazz-hip hop but honestly I’m a bit unfamiliar with jazz-hip hop. Could you briefly introduce Jazzyfact’s jazz-hip hop? :)
In jazz-hip hop, hip hop and soft jazz meet. Listeners who usually don’t enjoy hip hop can listen to the genre comparatively easily and comfortably. The musician representing jazz-hip hop is Nujabes. And Jazzyfact (laughs)!
I think Jazzyfact’s jazz-hip hop is the most refined and human, warm jazz-hip hop possible in Korea. As I see it, the willing ability of being able to also approach people who don’t know hip hop is Jazzyfact’s forte.
Wow, Nujabes and Jazzyfact ..
Ah that was a joke, a joke! Nujabes is a musician I sincerely respect. I heard there was a commemoration concert with the title “Luv Luv Nujabes” last month.
There is this question I’ve always wanted to ask a musician when I met one. I’m curious about this: you wrote lots of songs and they’re all yours but I’m sure there are some you like more and others you like less, so which song of yours do you treasure the most?
Of course as I am human too, there are those I like more and others I feel regret for among my songs. There are also those songs I feel a bit embarrassed about when I listen to them after a long time. The song which remains in my memory the most is Jazzyfact’s title song “아까워” [It’s A Waste] but lately I often listen to “Vibra.”
We’ve taken a photo of you working, seeing the Original Pack inside of a studio feels fresh. Can you tell us something about the Original Pack by North Face?
Personally, I don’t like the feeling of excess or forced coolness but the Original Pack by North Face’s simple design appealed to me the most. Backpacks these days are all trying to stand out with a special design or are just crude, so I liked this clean design with nothing superfluous. It also goes well with anything else. I’m going to school lately and I’m taking it there almost every day!
Wow! So you’re a student. I envy you :)
Yes, I’m going back to school and my major is sclupture .. Lately, I’m doing assignments and I work at the same time, so my days are stressful.
So the Original Pack is accompanying you with your assignments and work! You said you liked the simple design, what do you think about its usability?
If you look inside the bag, there’s a small pocket with little things inside, do you see it? It’s convenient to keep those [little] things separate. The best thing is, I originally thought if you open the zip fastener on the front of the bag there would be an extra pocket but it turned out to be an opening to the bag’s inside. At first I was a bit taken aback by that but after using it for a while I liked it, as the things inside the bag can be taken out fast and easily.
Since you’re a musician and student, I’m curious what’s inside your bag.
There’s actually not much inside. I listen to music on my cellphone, so the things I carry in my bag are my drawing book as well as material and books on plastic art. Honestly, I’m not the type who extremely cherishes and loves objects.
So you’re as simple as the Original Pack by North Face (laughs)!
I think the simpleness of the Original Pack’s black color seems to fit you well :)
Then let’s talk about music again. Could you recommend a song by Jazzyfact for everyone reading this interview who doesn’t know about Jazzyfact? A song which clearly shows Jazzyfact’s sensitivity?
We have a song called “Addicted 2,” it’s the first we worked on as Jazzyfact. It was made in 2009, at the time I recorded the vocals for it at home. When you listen to it, it becomes obvious that the beats and the lyrics were made and written recklessly with just a lot of eagerness. It’s an instinctive song we just made among ourselves because we wanted to do music. Of course we have a variety of songs, but I’d like to greet everyone who’s getting to know Jazzyfact with that song.
I’ll definitely buy the album and listen to the song you recommended! When you’re working on music, when do you feel the most strained and when the most satisfied?
In my case, I actually feel strained more often. The more I rap, the more I discover my shortcomings. The hardest time is when I worry about music all day, feel irritated and can’t think of anything else. On the other hand, that kind of everyday life also makes me happy. Others are passing their time aimlessly, I think compared to that, having a hard time because of music is a blessing. I suppose I feel satisfied when I sometimes find myself suddenly on the verge of tears while singing along to my honest lyrics.
Wow! Because you’ve filled those intact emotions into the song, you can feel them again and nearly cry when you listen to it, right? I think that when I’ll listen to your songs from now on, I’ll concentrate even more on the lyrics. I’ll probably listen to the songs you’ve recommended today in another light, too.
Is the album you’re working at the moment Jazzyfact’s next album? Could you tell us a tiny bit about it? :)
It’s not Jazzyfact’s next album, it’s my solo album! The theme of my solo album which is scheduled to be released in summer is “Beenzino who you absolutely cannot hate” (laughs). I actually don’t have a specific frame yet. I definitely want to take the feelings I recently have in everyday life and put them into the album the way they are.
(Laughs) I’ll be looking forward to the solo album of Beenzino, who you absolutely cannot hate! Whether you can be hated or not will be judged in summer :)
I had a good time meeting the versatile underground musician Beenzino with a major in plastic art. Time went by really quickly while talking about this or that interest. I convey my thanks to Beenzino, who wittily and kindly replied to my continuous questions!
While awaiting the solo album of Beenzino who you absolutely cannot hate, I’ll listen to “Addicted 2” which Beenzino recommended as the song which represents him and Jazzyfact best. I’ve kept my promise to buy the album and listen to the song! :)
Well, anticipate the next interview for the Original Pack by North Face. Which awesome person will we meet, what interesting stories will be told …
—
[ SOURCE | NORTH FACE BLOG KR ]
Please note that the blog with the original post no longer exists.
Beenzino – Vogue Girl Interview (2012)
Read Beenzino’s interview from Vogue Girl’s December 2012 issue.
From one point on, I kept hearing his name everywhere around me. I filmed in the studio while it was filled with his voice and I searched his name as if bewitched. That moment, a young boy with a mischievous gaze stuck right to my heart.
In middle school, I added my name’s syllable “-bin” [/-been] to the American rapper Benzino‘s name and created the stage name Beenzino. Before that, I actually had the pioneering stage name Cypher but changed it after realizing that serious things aren’t cool. I am currently enrolled in Seoul National University’s Department of Sculpture, so people saying I have academic ability simply makes my life easier. There’s nothing about my looks I’m particularly fond of since my face isn’t the type I like. I prefer narrow and nimble faces, like Jonathan Rhys Meyers’ from “August Rush.”
Lately, my gaze keeps getting drawn to expensive things. Among them, I tried on a biker jacket from Balmain in select stores and department stores several times. Then, at one point I just bought it. How can I say it, since I had seen me wearing it so often, it felt like I had already bought it. Like the song “Aqua Man,” which is about the anguish a man faces when a woman plays him, I receive ideas for my lyrics in [every-day] life. I also wrote the song “Nike Shoes” after walking past a girl wearing Oreo-colored Air Jordan 5, I liked the feeling of them so I wrote the lyrics (Oreo Nike Shoes sounds strange, therefore I changed it to mint color). You ask if she was close to my ideal type of woman? No, she was small. I like tall women, I don’t care if they weigh more than me.
My girlfriend of seven years, who calls me “Lim-sugar” (but it absolutely doesn’t have that sweet meaning you’re all imagining right now!), was a friend of my [older female] relative. She saw me on the cover of a magazine for entering college called “College of Fine Arts Entrance Examination” and was the one who shouted the loudest [among other girls at my relative] that she wants to get to know me. What made me fall for her is that she isn’t pretending to be pretty. Above all, it is really fun to be with her. One fan I remember is a girl that pierced through the crowd when I came down from the stage after a concert and she gave me a kiss. If she had kissed my lips I would have really chased after her and confront her, but at that time I was sweating a lot so it must have been nasty and salty, that’s why I wonder why she did that. Editor Hyemin Lee
—
[ SOURCE | VOGUE GIRL ]
Beenzino – Musinsa Interview (2012)
Read Musinsa‘s short but sweet interview with Beenzino from 2012.
Musinsa, meeting Beenzino.
This year, Beenzino released a new album and time for him just flies by. And meeting him, time flew by as we talked. We asked everything, not only the important questions. Of course, all the questions he had received several times before as well. Because we thought that way, Beenzino would become tired and a dead body on the sofa((Reference to the lyrics of Beenzino’s Boogie On & On)) and be here tomorrow as well.
This year, we’ve seen you in Carhartt’s last season’s collection Lookbook and through the release of your album “2 4 : 2 6.” But an interview is a first.
That’s right, it’s the first time Musinsa is interviewing me as the rapper Beenzino.
Please introduce yourself first.
I’m the rapper Beenzino who is active under Illionaire Records.
I want to make you say things you’ve said several times before. I’m curious about the meaning behind your name.
As often as I get that question, I’ve answered it, but people still ask it a lot. In America, there’s a rapper called Benzino. I don’t like him. There was a lot of fuss about him because he dissed Eminem. In middle school, my friends and I parodied names of rappers. The parody of Benzino was Beenzino. That’s how the name was made. My friend’s name was Doctor Crab and mine was Beenzino. I didn’t know I’d use it for such a long time (laughs).
Benzino, I mean Beenzino is a rapper. How did you start with hip hop?
The first time I became interested in hip hop was when I lived in New Zealand, I was about 11-12 years old. Since then I’ve been interested in hip hop. I somehow had lots of interest in rap. I rapped along to songs and I was very interested in it. No matter if it was Tony Ahn’s rap in a song by H.O.T or an English rap, I rapped along to all of them. In sixth grade of elementary school, I started writing lyrics. I think that was the beginning.
Which musician do you like best?
I like Wiz Khalifa, Kendrick Lamar and Franc Ocean, he’s not a rapper though.
You normally work with musicians you’re close with but this time you only worked a lot with your Illionaire label mates.
I think that’s because we have lots in common regarding the style of our music.
There’s a rumor saying you personally painted the camel on the album jacket of your album “2 4 : 2 6.”
I didn’t paint it myself. The illustrator Cha Inchul who designed Jazzyfact’s album covers painted it. I told him that I’d release and album and he produced the painting. If I had painted it, the album might have not come out ……
How are you working that it’s possible the album might not have come out?
That’s different from season to season. These days, I first search for a beat I like. After thinking of what I’d like to do with that beat, I think of a theme and approach it. The lyrics I want to express are mostly written at home but I also go out or to a book store to read books [to get ideas for the lyrics].
What books do you mainly read?
I’m the type who reads books that catch my eye. I don’t read that much but I definitely know which books I like: Alain de Botton’s “Status Anxiety” and Lee Sukwon’s “Ordinary Existence.” They left a deep impression and remain long in my memories.
From where else do you get inspiration for your lyrics, other than from books?
Sometimes I think of lyrics while watching movies. I’m the type to feel a lot when reading books or watching movies. If something comes to me that way, I try to get home as fast as possible and work.
Other than books and movies, which person has the most influence on you?
The most influence on my producing has Jazzyfact’s producer Shimmy Twice. I’ve been friends with him since high school, so we both know what the other likes and get along well. The music we listen to isn’t similar but we understand each other.
You’ve already worked with him; is there anyone else you’d like to work with?
I don’t know at the moment. There isn’t anyone I especially want to work with. If I have to pick someone, I’d say Yang Donggeun, with whom I’ve never worked with until now.
You were quite famous as part of Jazzyfact. What kind of music is Jazzyfact making?
It’s been 2 years since Jazzyfact has released an album. But I’m always thankful for fans who still remember it (laughs). It’s a funny fact, but Jazzyfact’s music is based on jazz rap. But it’s not different from the music I’m making now. I think the basic sample is a bit more plain.
You’ve done a lot during your twenties. Now that you’re drawing near their end, what do you think is different from their beginning?
That I’m making more money (laughs)? It’s changed a lot to the better. Of course there are also things which got worse. In the beginning of the twenties, my brain worked fast and no matter what I did, it went well. I didn’t hesitate, no matter what it was. But now that time’s passing, I think my brain is also getting old. Maybe it’s because I’m only working. Before, when I wanted to go to college, I went, and when I didn’t want to go, I didn’t go. What I mean is, now it feels like I’m aging because I’m doing the things I have to do, instead of living the way I want to. I absolutely have to take a break. I want to take a break and gain experience by doing the things I want to do in that time. So my goal for November is to take a break and to concentrate on myself as much as possible during that time.
Now that you’ve mentioned school, has the title “student of Seoul National University” ever burdened you?
It doesn’t burden me a lot. I think if people like it [that I’m a student of Seoul National University], then it’s good, and if they don’t like it, they don’t. I don’t care a lot about it.
Those are true words, what is your dream as a musician from now on?
In the end, the life I want is to make the music I like and do arts as well, while earning lots of money. Instead of living life the way others tell me to, I’d like to live my life the way I want.
That’s good to hear, anything else you’d like to say in the end?
I’m having a solo concert soon. The hip hop label “Illionaire” (www.illionaire.kr) which I’m signed to is also going to have a concert. I’d like for many to come. Dok2 and The Quiett will also release new stuff, it would be great if you show lots of interest in our activities. Last but not least, thank you!
Editor: Kim Bo-eun | Photo: Jun Sungsoo
Published: 09/28/2012, 9:08 p.m.
—
[ SOURCE | MUSINSA ]
Beenzino – Young Samsung Interview (2012)
Read Young Samsung‘s interview with Beenzino back in September 2012 about music, life, and dreams.
Meeting the hip hop ‘fine’ artist “Beenzino,” Lim Sungbin.
Do you like hip hop?
If so, you might know Beenzino. Beenzino who turned up in 2009 like a comet, is called the best MC among those who appeared [in the scene] in the last few years. (In hip hop, MC refers to a person who personally writes lyrics and raps.)
If you know Beenzino, you might notice “Seoul National University Sculpture Faculty” first. You say it’s similar to “Pavlov” who we interviewed some months ago? As expected, Beenzino Lim Sungbin is Kim Minkyeong’s (interviewer) student senior.
He needlessly shrugs once. The school I attend is a school for fine arts so it’s not a school which trains celebrities but a school which trains fine artists. Going to such a school but becoming famous through music which isn’t his major – that such a person is my student senior is simply amazing.
As soon as his name was known, Beenzino participated in albums by many teams like Dok2, Epik High, Supreme Team, Verbal Jint, etc. and as P’Skool’s guest MC he strengthened his position. Albums by Hotclip, Jazzyfact etc. followed, groups in which he participated, and received much love from the fans. In July 2012, his first solo album “24:26” was released and he was referred to as a “newcomer who should receive attention” on music portals. People from all media scrambled for an interview, a pictorial, etc. with him, he became the center of attention.
But he can’t be seen on TV. He who isn’t being active in the so-called “over” but in the “underground” is already a famous star among hip hop fans. His fans say his strength is his “chewy” rap, which even people who don’t know hip hop that well can enjoy. Of course his handsome looks play a part as well!
A young boy who went to art school because he likes fine arts, one who went to no less than Seoul National University’s Sclupture Faculty immediately became a young hip hop artist. How did he end up making hip hop?
The anecdote of a video he uploaded on the net which was by chance noticed by Supreme Team’s Simon D. who then scouted Beenzino is already known to fans.
By taking that chance, Beenzino has released a solo album under his name before he knew it.
I met “hot” rapper Beenzino who’s spending busy days with his solo album.
Rather like a student senior than a singer, and rather like a nice oppa than a student senior, we chatted naturally during the interview.
The names of hip hop artists are always unique, so I’ve always been curious how he got that name. So I asked before starting the real interview.
Q. How did you get the name Beenzino?
I made that name for fun. There’s a so-so rapper called “Benzino.” In high school, me and my friends gave each other names of rappers so mine became “Beenzino” (his real name is Lim Sungbin((The pronunciation is the same: Been = bin))).
Q. So you’ve liked hip hop from way before. But wasn’t it difficult to decide on this career? You’ve been doing fine arts for a long time but suddenly change paths.
No, not at all. Of course I’ve been drawing and liked it since I was a kid, but as you know you realize things when you enter art school, college. The fight after the entrance examinations made me come to dislike school.
Because I wanted to finish college and the tiring examinations fast to freely do the music I like.
Ah, of course that’s not the right answer but I thought it was the most befitting choice for me. So I absolutely didn’t go to college because I thought of it as a tool for making music. I’ve always planned to do music after college so I didn’t have any big difficulties.
Q. The song “Profile” of your solo album in which you actually talk about yourself appeals with the expression of two specialities (fine arts and hip hop which he’s currently doing). These two specialities, I’m curious what you think about that part.
I have two choices for my career so I’ve become more relaxed, from the viewpoint of my fans or someone else I appear as someone special and the people who like me feel good about it, etc. I think it has a lot of merits.
To the question if fine arts help to do music Beenzino answered decisively with a serious expression.
Yes of course, it helps a great lot.
If I hadn’t been doing fine arts I would be writing lyrics like everyone else and I think I probably would be making only extremely boring songs.
Nearly all songs contain a lot of Beenzino’s personal stories. Because he writes from experience, he says. But I questioned “Aqua Man.”
Beenzino has a girlfriend with whom he had been going out since high school. The one who suggested him who likes hip hop to record his music and upload the video was his girlfriend.
“Aqua Man” which is about a guy who gets played by female player, is it indeed Beenzino’s own story?
He replies to the mischievous question, saying that probably everyone has had such an experience before and just smiles cutely, asking me to protect his privacy.
Q. The Song “I’ll Be Back” is for your fans. Is there a fan you remember?
I have quite a good memory! So I remember a lot. But no matter how heartily fans think about me, the small group of fans who have been with me since my first concert through ups and downs of course remain the most in my memory.
Beenzino was also popular during his time at art school. But he didn’t know about that at all!
“You should have made more effort. Because I didn’t notice anything! (Like “Kyaaa Oppa~?”) Exactly. And a bit of cheering as well.”
The art school holds an exhibition every year and it’s a tradition to give flowers to friends or other students who exhibit their art. I wanted to give him flowers then but it was hard to do (he was my senior and his girlfriend as well) so I couldn’t give him any. When I tell him that, he asks why and makes an expression that says it’s a pity.
Q. Personally I was deeply impressed when I heard “If I Die Tomorrow.” It is somewhat frail and sad. I think the title is strong. Is it your personal story?
Of course. It’s 100% my story.
But that song isn’t only sad, don’t you think it’s cute?
The title is simple. I think it’s appropriate just because that’s the theme.
Q. Is there a song with a special story behind it?
“If I Die Tomorrow.”
(This song was composed by “Philtre” (real name Jang Jaewon) from Map the Soul’s producing trio “Planet Shiver.”)
I was supposed to make the beats and I wrote it in a rush. But I’ve never made beats before so it was lacking a lot. That’s why I asked Philtre-hyung to make it cool for me.
It’s a quite meaningful song for me as well. Because I’ve made the beats in the beginning so it has 100% my feelings in it. If it had come out in that state I could love it even more (laughs) but anyway that’s the kind of song it was.
It was a song I … had made from beginning to end!
(But a song which you make all on your own, even producing, will come out, won’t it?)
Of course! That would be good. Isn’t that probably the dream of every musician?
Q. Which song do you treasure the most?
“Always Awake” from Jazzyfact’s single album.
I imagined a lot while writing that song. “Those who do fine arts can listen to it at night while doing their assignments,” I thought. Anyone could listen to it, I thought. In fact I wrote that with college students in mind. Because they really have to pull all-nighters often, our students. So I wrote it with those thoughts.
The words “our students” sound touching. Isn’t it because Beenzino’s a college student that this can be felt?
[…]
Q. How do you write lyrics?
Hm. For example, for “Aqua Man” the beats came out first and I wrote the lyrics while listening to them. I went back and forth between my house and cafés and also read books for inspiration and wrote a bit. Doing that, it suddenly came out like “pop!” The beat somehow has the feel of an aquarium so “fish tank” came to my mind. “Ah, so with ‘fish tank’ I’ll weave ‘fishing'((‘Fishing’ is what a player does in their ‘fishing grounds.’)) and make the song,” that’s what I thought.
And it’s one of my golden rules, if the title’s “fishing,” I don’t ever write that word in the lyrics. It becomes completely childish then. It’s the same if you draw a painting the way its title can be immediately known, that’s childish and nothing special.
And expressions and words have to be as fresh as possible.
I mind writing what others didn’t write or combining words to new ones.
For example, in “Nike Shoes” there’s the expression “implanted a color sensation into the cement,” the combination is different [and interesting], isn’t it? And there’s the song “Big” from Jazzyfact’s single album. During showcases, rappers often use the expression “I’m so hot” but in that song it’s become “the degree of my temperature is really hot.” The expression “degree of temperature” gives off a different feeling, doesn’t it? “The night sky is composed.” That’s also a new combination.
I want to make it as fresh as possible. If not I can’t survive. If it’s the same [as everyone else’s] it won’t work. I bet nobody would listen to my music? I think that’s the most important thing when writing lyrics.
Seeing how extremely serious Beenzino answers, I feel his passion. Who could be his role model?
“Verbal Jint-hyung and Dynamic Duo’s Gaeko-hyung were my role models. Verbal Jint went to Seoul National University but his rap was cool and Gaeko was a fine artist while doing rap which was cool. I think I’ve taken both their specialities and followed in their footsteps similarly (laughs)!”
Q. A vocalist you like?
Frank Ocean. The genre is soul and he’s re~ally good. Do listen to him! I strongly recommend him!
As for popular singers hmm, Kim Gwangsuk. Thanks to my parents I liked him a lot when I was young. In the mornings I listened to “Get Up” to get up. (While laughing – that’s not the meaning of the song!)
(Lim Jieun didn’t know the song so she asked if its meaning really was to “get up” (as in get out of bed) and we all laughed a lot. The late Kim Gwangsuk’s song “Get Up” is a song to give strength to keep on going, like “you can do it.”)
My mother also woke me up saying “Sungbin, get up~.”
“Sungbin, have courage and get up, have courage and wash up,” she said. Because it needs courage. It’s really exhausting. That’s why I like Kim Gwangsuk.
“Have courage and get up~,” the reason he likes Kim Gwangsuk was so simple and short that we laughed again. Was “Get Up” truly a rising song? Laughing excitedly due to the funny stories, Beenzino reminded us again to definitely listen to Franc Ocean. He said it with an expression that looked like he really liked him so if you like music do listen to him. Or if you’re Beenzino’s fan!
We asked him, a student who’s walking ahead towards his dream, for advice for those who are struggling between dreams and reality.
In Korean culture there’s always a time for something, there’s a frame which says what to do when you’re a student or when to marry but I want you to free yourself of that. And if you get rid of the worry how parents, girlfriend, teachers or people around see you, it’ll be a lot easier. You have to go at your own pace, you can’t keep up with other people’s pace. I think it’s important to concentrate on yourself and find out on your own what you do well and what you like.
I recently read a book by Salvador Dalí, although he was an oddball he was a genius. For example Dalí only ate what he wanted to. He always knew very well what he wanted to eat. I’d like for all people to live that way, to live according to what they like. Then they wouldn’t have to ponder about things like “Can I do this?”
Q. Many lecturers say that, but if you can’t find anything you like or you do well it’s no use. You only vaguely know what you’re interested in.
My thoughts are these: There’s something you’re interested in? Do that for now. If it’s not the right thing you can just go back. People are very afraid of “going back.”
During second year of high school I went to an acting school. I didn’t go to class [in high school] but went there for six months starting summer vacation. Of course it wasn’t easy. But still, I did it.
(While having your major as art student and always preparing for entrance exams as well as receiving lessons after school, that’s not an easy thing to do. It rarely happens!)
After six months during the winter vacation of third year of high school I realized “No. I can’t do this, it isn’t my way,” and I went back to school and started modelling figures again.
Q. Weren’t you confused and worried a bit at that time because of that blank of six months?
I was confused a lot. But I wasn’t worried, just confused.
When I said I wanted to go to acting school my parents said:
“Do it if you want to. But if you realize it’s not your thing, come back right away instead of wasting your time.”
I thought my friends will laugh at me, should I really go back, but the confusing thing was wasting my time. I first have to try before knowing what I can do and what I do well. Since I’ve tried it, I know that acting isn’t for me and I liked that I didn’t have to bother myself with pondering about that.
Somehow it was an obvious but very adult-like answer. With that earnest and serious face (still cute though) he was giving advice to his peers. In that, I saw “the human Lim Sungbin.”
Did the late Kim Gwangsuk’s song “Get Up” really give him courage?
Beenzino who is passionately going his way, after boldly finding it, emanated a light. It was tough, but he mastered studying, fine arts and got admitted to Seoul National University, tried acting and is just now going the way of hip hop. And that extremely “well.” I became curious of courageous Beenzino’s dream.
Q. I’m interested in your upcoming life plans.
Aren’t you asking something too important (laughs)?
First, I’d rather call it a goal than a plan.
I think the environment in our country to like and do hip hop music the way you want is difficult. Do as you please, earn a lot of money, become famous and be treated as a singer, that’s not possible as of now.
The influence of big investing companies and the broadcasting industry can’t be overlooked. But right now that people are liking me and are interested in me I want to push ahead the way I am to make a better environment for people who do hip hop. That’s the purpose of Illionaire (his label) anyway, so that’s my biggest plan.
Beenzino who wants to share the strength he has gained through his own effort with everyone who does hip hop.
At the end of the interview I can’t help but fall for his passion for humanity, his courage and warmth. Who is this man?!
What’s left after the interview with him are Franc Ocean, “Get Up” and courage, as well as my two red cheeks. He’s serious but also makes witty jokes. He definitely has his own swag which no one can copy.
I cheer on Beenzino Lim Sungbin who’s continuing to shout his own stories into the world.
Meeting the hip hop ‘fine’ artist “Beenzino,” Lim Sungbin.
I thank my student senior for taking time in his busy schedule to answer the questions for our Young Samsung interview.
Writer: Kim Minkyung
Photos: Song Hyunsup
Footage: Lim Jieun
—
[ SOURCE | Young Samsung ]
Beenzino – HiphopLE Music Salon (2012)
Read Beenzino‘s interview with HiphopLE back in January 2012 where he talks about how he entered the Korean underground hiphop scene.