Beenzino

Beenzino

Beenzino – B Magazine Interview

Read Beenzino‘s interview with B Magazine about toys and games from the February 2013 issue.

He, the rapper, says that when he was small, building something with Lego following the instructions was too boring for him, and that if he couldn’t finish building it, he considered himself inferior to the toy.

Beenzino (Lim Sungbin) Musician, rapper / 26

Your first album was released last year in summer.

Exactly speaking, it wasn’t my first. It is although the first album I’ve worked on alone since the project group Jazzyfact’s album in 2010. Honestly, I didn’t expect a lot. I thought of finishing it up quickly and producing something better the next time. But I received better evaluations than I had thought, so no matter the process, I felt good. I am satisfied regarding the point that a few more people have gotten to know the rapper Beenzino.

How would you evaluate your first solo album yourself?

Many rappers write their own stories in their lyrics, but even if telling the same story, it often happens that they seem banal. Concerning that, I am confident that I can show something different than others. Before, I focused on making fancy and smooth rap but then I realized that the lyrics are less touching that way. Lately, I’m concentrating the most on my lyrics, so my technical rap skills have probably gotten a lot worse than before.

The fact that you are a rapper and an arts student at the same time is interesting.

When I was really small, I naturally approached arts – to the extend, that I don’t even remember if there was a moment I swore to do arts. If arts have been in me from the beginning, then music is something which touches me by finding enjoyment in it. Entering arts school was actually like a task that I had to finish to do music, thinking “I will finish just this” [then I will do music].

Since when have you wanted to make music?

Since 6th year in elementary. I joined something like a club on the internet, diligently searched and listened to hip hop online, and started to write lyrics in my diary instead of diary entries. In high school I had performances together with others from a hip hop club, trying hard not to lose music [in my life]. All I could do was enjoy music by myself, because it wasn’t anywhere around me.

In the lyrics of the album “2 4 : 2 6,” you are often referring to certain brands.

Hip hop has the advantage of being able to include any content in the music. I am actually very interested in brands, especially in fashion, I like to go shopping a lot. Within one week, I go shopping over two times.

Is Lego also one of the brands you’re interested in?

Ah, I talked about Lego in a magazine interview before, but it was nothing that nice. From ten to about eleven years of age, I lived in New Zealand, and when my mom bought me Lego, I’d throw away the instructions and played with them as I pleased.

Why did you do that?

When I was small, Lego were very boring to me. They were angled and they had to fit together, plus they could only be fixed with a board. On top of that, the finished picture was already on the toy’s box, so all there was to it was building it after the instructions. If I couldn’t complete that though, I felt like a person inferior to the toy. Those things felt a bit unpleasant to me, because I don’t really like copying anything, like reading a comic book and drawing its characters. In arts, copying something is actually the basic of the basics, but there is nothing left if you just copy something. Because I think that it is not mine. Thinking about it now, I guess I do not get attached to things that aren’t mine. It was the same with Lego. On the other hand, when I drew characters out of my imagination, I really couldn’t abandon them. Even if I threw away other toys, I’ve been keeping those drawings in boxes.

So in the end the problem was [having] to follow the instructions?

It didn’t feel any different from reading textbooks. I still have those habits, so even when I buy electronic products, I don’t look at the instructions. The same goes for programs like Photoshop. In high school, I once made a concert poster with Photoshop, which I did without looking at the manual at all. After working with it [Photoshop] by myself for some hours, I figured out my own way [to work with the program]. Of course it wasn’t perfect, but regarding my limits it was a good job.

It is usually said that Lego raise children’s creativity and imagination.

Of course, that is true on one hand. But I feel that it is more limiting. I don’t know how Lego express imagination. I think they are close to developing technical skills. Relating that to creativity is difficult. For example, plastic models are similar. I haven’t built a glider either, which everyone has built at least once when they were small.

So when do you think imagination can be shown the most?

I think you can use your imagination the most when you want to do something but can’t. In that sense, imagination can be used even in poor [living] conditions. The more prepared, the less you can imagine. I think when you don’t have anything at all, you can use your imagination the best. The finished Lego toy is already all over the box, so what is there to imagine? That makes [building] it nothing but an assignment.

If you approach it as a basic principle of Lego, you can see this another way, though.

That’s right. You can build endless other figures of just one simple set of Lego. Music has a similar side to it. When I concentrated on the flow of rap lyrics for quite a while, pronunciation felt quite three-dimensional for me. It was nothing but the sound when reading letters, but depending on which syllable you use, the three-dimensional degree was quite different. I worked while associating the pronunciation to visuals. It also felt like making a jigsaw puzzle.

Don’t you have any enjoyable memories of Lego?

I think I preferred the process of going to buy them over what you can build with them. I admired the finished Lego models exhibited in the stores. They do have more infatuating elements than visual toys like water color or books. Seeing the finished model, I got the thought “Ah, I also want to try that,” but way more often I took it home and neglected it after putting it together a few times.

So which classic toy do you prefer?

There was no toy I especially preferred. Compared to other kids of my age, I didn’t really like the robots they played with either. While drawing, I enjoyed becoming and acting the characters I drew. Playing two roles at once was the most fun, because when playing with someone else, I couldn’t control the other person as I pleased. One thing I was quite hung up on were the NBA basketball cards.

Basketball cards?

It was more collecting than sharing them, they were cards with famous players active in the NBA league were printed on. I remember they cost about three dollars. The value of every player was different, but the cards of particular players were worth even about one million won. Choosing [a packet] randomly without knowing which cards will come out was fun. It happened that I had the same card three times, but I also went to sell my cards at shops. Among my friends, we also exchanged cards the others liked.

Toys have the purpose of playing but also the subject of collecting.

After those cards, there actually was nothing I especially collected. Possessing something is a burden, I really don’t like the feeling of being restrained by objects. That’s why I throw things away easily. In high school, my friend gave me something like an Evangelion figure, but after playing with it for a while, most of them ended up stowed away somewhere. In the end I lost them. I don’t tend to treasure objects. I see them as good as consumables and don’t cherish them.

You must have friends who collect toys enthusiastically.

Now and then, yes, I honestly don’t understand that but I respect [other’s] preferences. And it’s fun to watch them. Two years ago I went to Akihabara in Tokyo with some friends, it was toy heaven. I saw incredibly lots of toys but I didn’t buy any. One toy cost several ten thousand won. With that money I could buy a good set of clothes, and I thought even if I ate one bowl of food I could still eat something more delicious.

Then what do you mainly do when meeting those friends?

Pro Evolution Soccer. I like watching soccer, so that’s the only game I enjoy. It is exciting, because the actual environment of the soccer league and the player transfers are applied the same every year. As long as the league keeps existing, I don’t think I’ll get sick of that game. I’ve been playing it since middle school, which is quite a long time. Not long ago I bought a TV and together with it a Playstation, but having that at home isn’t really fun. Only when playing it at other people’s places or at “Playstation rooms,”((An establishment similar to internet cafés where you can go to play Playstation and also buy food and drinks.)) it feels right. When we [me and my friends] meet up at a “Playstation room,” we basically play two to three hours. Although lately I realized we weren’t talking to each other that much, so I am refraining a bit from playing games (laughs).

Is there a play you personally are enthusiastic about?

That has to be shopping. Some time ago I read something, which said that the difference between a boy and a man is the price of their toys. Lately, I keep wanting to buy expensive things. In the long run, I think the things I buy are my toys. I recently bought music equipment, a TV, a watch and a MacBook … Next year I want to buy a car too. I keep being in search of my toys.

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[ SOURCE | BEENZINO FANPAGE ]
Please note that the blog including the post with the magazine scans has been deleted.

Beenzino

Beenzino – Memories of My Bed

Read what Beenzino personally wrote about his bed in Bazaar‘s February 2013 issue.

The bed that is occupying one corner of my room is a tiresome 118 x 208 cm super single size. It looks quite simple, but as if representing the incidents, accidents and memories within it, my bed is always complex and a mess due to scattered garments, blankets and unidentifiable crumbs. How would it be if my bed was located in a public place where anyone could peep in? Aware of people’s gazes, I’d probably decorate it simply and at the same time coolly, as if it was wearing clothes, but I’d definitely be very stressed by it. For me, my bed is existing only in a blind spot where people’s eyes cannot reach, in a very private and most personal space. When I was small and liked to draw by myself, the thing I wanted more than anything was to become a character inside of my drawings. After finishing drawing after several hours, my bed became a kind of stage. Of course I jumped on it! Based on the script I drew in my sketchbook, psycho-like plays started with innocent imagination. I could jump way higher on the bed than on the floor and even if I threw my body on it hard, due to the synergy with the soft bed, the curtains fell successfully.

During elementary and middle school I lived in Munho-ri, Seojong-myeon, Yangpyeong-gun, Gyeonggi-do. There were no “plays on the bed” anymore but I had a new hobby. Before falling asleep, I turned out the light and tilted my head a tiny bit [lying on my bed], then I could excellently see the night sky through the window, which was sufficiently exciting for me. I could imagine and dream endlessly. If my bed hadn’t been next to the window, or the headboard had pointed the other way, I don’t know if I would have ever become interested in the night sky. And looking back now it was astonishingly good luck. The night sky I saw through the window pane back then, the combination of the stars and the moon was very dramatic and I let myself be captivated by it and fell for that sight. Good music was assisting my “ritual before falling asleep” like a sauce [accompanies food]. Honestly, I don’t know how often but I nearly cried a few times. But really unfortunately, that happiness couldn’t last long. Soon, a ‘love hotel’ for “other adults’ more secret rituals” was established behind our house and in the end, only a red neon sign was shining flashily into my room.

So during high school I used to sleep mostly in the classroom with my arms on my table. When my friends were sleeping sweetly, I was clutching the phone and fighting with my girlfriend all night. Because of the continuous quarrelling until dawn, my bed became stained with anger. With coming and going telephone calls and studying, I ignored the college I got accepted into with difficulty and only worked hard at music. At that time, I lied on my bed while writing stories about the “creaking” world and ironically wrote the lyrics of “Always Awake” too, which are about sleep refusal.

Looking at my bed now, [I think] “that’s how it was back then:” I was quite young, didn’t know this and that, was excited and wrote, those sweet times. I thoroughly remember very trivial incidents. The secret memories buried in my bed. It has been quite some time but the after-images are vivid and lingering heavily. And on 15th January 2013, I am still doing “something” on my bed. Text: Beenzino (musician)

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[ SOURCE | BEENZINO FANPAGE ]
Please note that the website including the post with the magazine scans has been deleted.

Beenzino for Dazed & Confused

Beenzino – Dazed & Confused Interview

Read Dazed & Confused‘s interview with Beenzino about his album “2 4 : 2 6” from their September 2012 issue.

MY FIRST STORY

Beenzino, who has been active with Hot Clip and Jazzyfact, has released a solo album “2 4 : 2 6.” It is full of the life, lethargy, passion and despair of people in their twenties.

In your lyrics you say you become arrogant in the summer, how do you feel now after releasing your album?

I don’t think I’m satisfied with it, I myself had a problem with it somewhere, I had it hard somewhere, since I know after what kinds of ups and downs the album was made. In the beginning I didn’t even want to release an album. “Why release such an album?” I thought but now that it’s released, people like it and I like that I can sing new songs at concerts. Jazzyfact’s album was released in 2010 but I performed those songs until 2012, the people who called us to perform them are awesome and it’s fascinating that I still went to perform although I knew that [the songs were old] (laughs). Overall it’s an interesting mood, I have fun living these days.

What were you dissatisfied with?

After I made it, there were many soft songs. Right now I don’t seem to be in the right situation and mind to make songs that overflow with charisma. I think my current situation has been reflected quite well [in the album]. It’s as natural as possible and without any petty tricks, it’s my album.

Still, since you were chosen by Dazed, please tell us which parts you think you did well.

The way of expressing the “fishing ground” in “Aqua Man,” the hook of “Boogie On & On,” and the way of expressing a woman in the streets in “Nike Shoes.” I think those points are good, well, there are extremely many [I like] (laughs).

It’s an album that covers your thoughts and feelings from 24 to 26 years of age, what did you think of most while making the album?

I was dominated by many slumps and times of tiredness. After releasing the album I came to know that equally worse hardships were waiting for me and that it wasn’t only as fun as I had imagined it to be. Furthermore, random things like college kept me from concentrating and working when I wanted. I didn’t like the overall mood and environment. It also felt like a restriction to meet people I had to see for work and I wanted to get away as soon as possible. I was very tired so I think that’s why I put that camel on my album cover. I imagine the camel to walk slowly through the desert.

How was the situation when you wrote “If I die tomorrow?”

I wrote it when I wanted to be alone. I didn’t ponder on it long, I just thought “What should I write about?” and the song naturally came out. It’s not that I was extremely sad when I wrote it, I actually had fun writing it. I jokingly told my girlfriend “If I die, only let those people come that I’ve invited” and started to tell her who I’d invite. I wanted to be chic and just write a few people but once I started there were so many [people] (laughs). I have to invite that person too and this hyung as well … There were so many that I naturally came to a closure while writing it.

The way from a member of Jazzyfact to a solo album seems natural but the results of your solo work have a wide spectrum. There are cute as well as rough songs, aren’t you set on one genre?

No, when I listen to music I don’t listen to nothing but south hip hop, R&B or soul day and night, I also listen to rock sometimes. I’m quite capricious so I easily get sick of things, that’s why [the album has many genres]. But I think that my own style is inside of that. That’s why I think it won’t become a problem.

So when you get sick of singing these songs you will release another album?

I’d like to possibly release it when I’m the least tired of them, if it takes too long it’ll be too painful for me. I’ll feel outdated, just like worn-off clothes. If other people are singing new songs at concerts but only we [I and the featured artists] keep singing old songs, I don’t feel well. I’d like to release a single, an EP, a full album or a mixtape, anything, as soon as possible,

You also talk about your sponsor Carhartt as well as about times when you’re frustrated, it seems like the sensitive feelings of people in their twenties are expressed well in your lyrics.

I do have the must fun when my honest feelings are delivered. I think the songs “If I Die Tomorrow,” “Always Awake,” and “Vibra” from Jazzyfact’s album contain my real stories. I feel good when the words I wanted to say are delivered clearly to my opponent and that’s the same with music. I also used the words I made up when I was small as well as words which I think were made for rap. That way, I think I really wrote down the words I wanted to say in my lyrics and feel refreshed inside. I think that’s my highest priority when making music.

I heard you even made songs about the gap between rich and poor when you were younger?

Haha. Yes, I think I was thirteen years old?

How did you think of writing rap back then?

I think I wanted to. I don’t know how I started writing either, expressing myself was my main goal when I was small too, as I enjoyed painting and listening to music until four in the morning all by myself. There was nobody who’d complain if I played loud music at our house. Instead, when there was no music playing I thought “Why is there no music today? It’s so quiet, I can’t sleep.” I just naturally start doing something but I do remember the time I quit something very well. During high school I suddenly went to an acting school but it was too difficult so I immediately quit. I often think of that incident (laughs). I don’t think I remember the process of really wanting to do something and working towards it myself. It’s the same when starting to date someone, you can’t say when exactly you fell in love and with what exactly. You meet, become closer, converse and become even closer at one moment. I think it’s the same with music.

How much are you confident of and trust your own talent?

I absolutely don’t think I’m the best. I think I really lack a lot but I think I have enough [talent] to live doing what I want and enjoying life.

“A good flow, a good groove, good lyrics.” I’ve heard many different things but which elements of hip hop do you see as the most important ones?

I think the first time I released something, people said I have a good flow and a good groove. But back then, my lyrics and pronunciation were pointed out as problematic. That’s when I realized the importance of lyrics and started to give special attention to them. When you release an album, people tell you which lyrics they like. That makes me a lot happier than words like “a good sense of beat,” “a good groove” or “a good flow.” People listen to the songs, understand and feel them. That I produce those feelings in people makes me happy. I’m especially happy when there are people who understand the parts that I wrote with extra care. For example, in “Nike Shoes” there is this line: As tight as the line of your eyebrows in the wind of the river. So a girl is working out at the Han River wearing Nike shoes. While she’s working out, wind is blowing so she closes her eyes. Here I imagined her eyebrows take on the form of the Nike logo. I’m happy and thankful when anyone realizes those details and secret codes I’ve hidden [inside my lyrics].

You borrowed one line of Mac Miller’s “Nikes On My Feet.” Did that come to you right away when listening to the song or did it happen by accident?

Mac Miller’s line goes like this: Nikes on my feet keep my cypher complete. It means the Nikes I’m wearing make my rap complete, and hearing that made me want to tell about my ideal type, a girl wearing Nike shoes. That phrase actually originates from one of Nas’ songs. I reinterpreted it in my own way: Nikes on her feet make my love complete. The process of making the song was fun. My girlfriend wears lots of trainers too, she doesn’t wear heels often.

Wasn’t Carhartt sad [that the song is called “Nike Shoes”]?

No, the camel on my album cover is covered with a blanket and when you look at it closely, it says Carhartt on it. It’s a Carhartt blanket (laughs).

If you could let aliens who’ve never listened to hip hop before listen to one of the songs of your album, which one would you choose?

I’d like to let them listen to “If I Die Tomorrow.” It’s possible that the aliens invade and kill us, so if they listen to that song they might just think “Ah, we’ll let this guy live.”

 

EDITOR Jiyeon Nah

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[ SOURCE | BEENZINO FANPAGE ]
Please note that the website including the original post with the magazine scans has been deleted.

Beenzino for Vogue Girl

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

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[ SOURCE | VOGUE GIRL ]

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