Drunken Tiger

Here is an interesting article I found while doing some research for my presentation on Drunken Tiger tomorrow. It seems that at one point, Drunken Tiger was also trying to prepare themselves to make a wave through America (many, many years age), but was never able to fully cross the borders. Drunken Tiger is thought of as one of the most hybrid groups in Korea, partially due to their huge Korean-American fan base and ss one of my favorite of all time groups, I would have loved to see what they could've accomplished in America.


Tigers roar, who's listening?

Asian rappers have more than "8 Miles" to go to be successful in the United States and in Korea.
Drunken Tiger, Korea's best selling and most respected Korean-American rap group, would be an automatic candidate for a lifestyle of "bling-blings" (diamonds), Lexus SUVs and a crib in the Hamptons, much like such successful African-American rappers as P. Diddy and Nelly. But the members of Drunken Tiger - DJ Shine, Tiger JK and DJ Jhig - will have to wait, realistically several years, for hip-hop fans to accept a serious Korean rapper.
Hip-hop's ugly side, consisting of racism, stereotypes and prejudice, stands in their way of being played on radio stations across the United States. No other excuse explains it, given the band's credibility with East Coast legend Wu-Tang-Clan, who asked Drunken Tiger perform with them this summer.
Their album sales are among the highest in Korea. All four LPs sold close to one million; a big number considering the lucrative Korean trend of downloading MP3s. On their quest, heads are supporting them from fan clubs in Korea, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States.
"I, myself, am Filipino-American, but pay so much respect to Drunken Tiger for their skill and what they're doing for Korean hip-hop and for Asian rappers as well," said Elsa, who runs a fan Web site. She's eager to help because Asians and other minorities still need a voice in the hip-hop industry.
"Artists from Korea have a harder time making it because they aren't fluent in English," said Kim Sang-kyoo, director of Master Plan records. But as Korean-Americans from Los Angeles and New York, Drunken Tiger can have the best of both Pacific coasts. That's their game right now on a smaller scale.
Speaking from a rooftop near Apgujeong-dong, Drunken Tiger said they're hungry for a chance at big contracts in the States, but how real this dream was "hard to say."
"A lot of things have to happen first," said DJ Jhig.
They already fought an uphill battle against Korean conservatives and liberals alike who viewed hip-hop as another foreign influence corrupting their youth culture. Nevertheless, Drunken Tiger's first album dropped in 1998 with lyrics pointing out the hypocrisy and utter wrongs of the society. Soon, a following took root.
They still get labeled as gangsters and drug dealers because of the image rappers like Dr. Dre and Tupac spread. "It holds us back," said Tiger JK, blowing off a lot of steam about the Korean music industry, who would rather see the trio wear make-up and dance like boy-bands.
"They want to treat us like puppets in a theater," said DJ Shine. "Artists here are so exploited. They sell them out like candy."
Making an unprecedented move, Drunken Tiger turns down offers, and the money, to appear on TV programs and compilation CDs that don't fit their image. Their biggest fear is being lumped in with Baby V.O.X., the Bubble Sisters, and other pop machines that Korean-Americans avoid like SARS. "Its embarrassing when they send these clowns down to the MTV Asia Awards to represent Korea who got no skills," Tiger JK said.
They came to Korea hoping to escape the racial umbrella that still arrests Asian artists in America. Tiger JK recalled in a previous interview about getting booed off stage and hearing racial slurs from the crowd. "I know I lost (emcee) battles due to the color of my skin," he said.
"As Asians, we are still seen as people who can only do martial arts, or study all the time. The stereotypes must be broken," said Eddie Lee of Columbus, Ohio who writes reviews of Korean hip-hop artists.
Most Asian rappers who emerged during the 1990s were limited to performances on college campuses and shows inside New York and Los Angeles record stores located in Asian neighborhoods. No Asian rapper has yet made it to the "big time" to share the spotlight with Jay-Z, DMX or Ja Rule. Only recently, Eminem was able to pave a road for white rappers to be accepted within a traditionally exclusive African-American art. Latinos are also having some success.
But industry watchers say a movement may awaken within two to three years.
"If there was going to be a time when the American public could accept and embrace an Asian American hip-hop star, it would be now," said Hyun Kim, an editor at Vibe, one of the rap world's biggest magazines. They're currently profiling Chinese rapper Jin, who is releasing an album this summer with the Ruff Ryders.
This has also been a good year for Asians with Yao Ming dominating sports headlines, Amerie (half black, half Korean artist) breaking into the R&B charts and Asian-American actors from the recent movie "Better Luck tomorrow" showing signs of clinching bigger roles.
Over a decade ago, Asians rarely listened to rap, says Drunken Tiger, but now it's the norm. Backpackers in Laos can find local DJs who can define rap terms such as "gat" and "player-hater." The "underground" scene, defined as a sub-culture of hip-hop with performances in small venues with artists not signed with major labels, has now given over to multiracial membership. Los Angeles can host entire shows exclusive to Asian rappers.
Furthermore, DJs of Asian decent have already arrived to backup some of the biggest stars in hip-hop. "They have been a part of the culture for a long time from behind the scenes... but now there is a push for Asian-American's to be in the forefront, to make their presence felt visually as artists," Kim said.
But Drunken Tiger says they don't feel that push here, as Korean clubs rave out to techno, and the rest play only American rap. Even Drunken Tiger was clueless on where they can go to hear their own music here. "When Koreans go to clubs, they don't want to listen to Korean hip-hop. They think it's the same as pop music, like boy-bands," said the manager of Club Saab in Hongdae.
Japan plays a sizable amount of their own rappers, as well as France. DJ Shine said America will not be interested in a rap group from Korea until they get lots of support from their homeland fans. "Look at Chow Yun-Fat and Jackie Chan. They made it big because they got props from their own country," he said.
"For a perfect example of a minority breaking into the mainstream hip-hop scene, it would have to be Eminem," Lee said. The Detroit rapper grew out of the underground scene where his biography shows he had to work twice as hard to get noticed. He's outlasted such white gimmicks like Vanilla Ice who Lee says had "charisma but no skill."
"It also helped that he was backed by one of hip-hop's biggest figures, Dr. Dre," he said. Drunken Tiger is still waiting for that sponsorship. What they have to offer is a rap flavor that's reminiscent of the genre's early 1990s days, before hip-hop was gangster and all 'bout the "Benjimins." "It's more about the art of the music, the craft," DJ Shine said. Even black groups like the Roots and Common promoting this aesthetic angle of hip-hop continue to wait out the flashier acts on stage.
This style, largely belonging to underground artists, outweighs the other forms on the international scene. Drunken Tiger says it's an arena that's color blind to backgrounds and stereotypes. "It doesn't matter what race you are, as long as you have talent and ambition."
The irony here is that hip-hop first grew as a platform speaking of the ills of racism, but now its own exclusiveness has become the victimizer. "We had no mission to be pioneers... it was sort of handed to us when we got here," DJ Shine said. "But hopefully we can open some doors for future Asian artists."