Jay Park’s first single with Roc Nation, “Soju,” was released in June of 2018 and currently has over 3 million views on YouTube. He partnered with 2 Chainz who is an African-American hip-pop artist. Um Hae-Kyung argues that “hip-pop is a postmodern music for which the creative process is to ‘cut and mix’ different musical styles and cultural references, allowing for a continuous process of hybridasation and syncretism” (2013: 52). This song has successfully bridged gaps between the Korean and African-American hip-pop, engaging both cultures by applying Korean elements into an “authentic” hip-pop song. His hybridized identity has provided him with opportunities to establish the perfect balance between the two cultures and to create new hip-pop.
The song title is “Soju,” which is an alcoholic beverage that is manufactured and popular in Korea. Soju is clearly a symbol of “Korean-ness.” At the beginning, Jay Park buys bottles of soju and drinks with his “African-American friends.” Its appearance does not stop there; it reappears throughout the MV, showing people drinking soju including 2 Chainz. There are other visual representation of Korea such as the flag, food (Korean-style BBQ), and Hangul, the Korean alphabet. “Korean MVs often treat cultural intersection differently; above all, they employ othering as a means of distinguishing the Korean ‘us’ form the outside ‘other’” (Lee 2006:141). However, The “Soju” MV blurs the boundary between Asian and African by mixing of the national and international uniqueness.
The mixing of languages also plays a critical role in this video; it is a “hybridization of content, which is crucial in understanding K-pop” (Jin and Ryoo 122) and the current state of globalization. His lyrics are written in English with the exception of a few words, “suksae galbi,” “anjoo,” and “한잔.” “한잔” means “one glass” and is written in Korean if you search the lyrics on Google. These words are directly connected to the Korean culture and comprehended by only Koreans. “Linguistic hybritidities are salient in K-pop, as a genre that orients both ‘locally’ and ‘globally’ and that circulates as a highly mediatized commodity across national boundaries” (Chun 2017:73). Unlike the majority of K-pop with English lyrics, Jay Park’s bilingualism helped him with making deeper connections between the two cultures, targeting Korean and non-Korean audiences at once.
Many K-pop artists have been criticized for cultural appropriation, “the act of adopting elements of an outside, often minority culture.” Their music videos contain “foreign bodies” and/or “foreign elements” for setting “authentic tone.” Jay Park avoided cultural appropriation by proving his talents as a rapper and working with the authentic hip-pop label, Roc Nation. Also, Jay Park mentioned during an interview that 2 Chainz liked the song and agreed to feature the song. This shows that the authenticity in the video was not achieved through an artificial process. “The younger generation is curious and eager to listen to Korean-American artists because they bring a different edge to Korean popular music” (Jin and Ryoo 2014:119). Jay Park is one of those artists that has been influencing Asian, more specifically Korean, hip-pop. Since he is the first Asian-American rapper to be signed with Roc Nation, his future song releases could lead to new Asian hip-pop era.
Jin and Ryoo question “whether hybridity has generated new creative cultures, ones which are free from Western dominance, or whether this trend eventually oppresses local music and soundscape” (2014:115). In Jay Park’s case, I can confidently say that his innovative ideas and dynamic identity has led to creative cultures that is familiar for both Asians and African-Americans. I cannot wait until his next album release with Roc Nation as well as with his own labels.
Chun, Elaine W.. “How to drop a name: Hybridity, purity, and the K-pop fan” Language in Society 46, (2017): 57-76.
Jin, Dal Yong, and Woongjae Ryoo. “Critical Interpretation of Hybrid K-Pop: The Global- Local Paradigm of English Mixing in Lyrics.” Popular Music and Society 37, no. 2 (2014): 113-31.
Lee, Hee-Eun. “Discourses of Korean-ness in Korean popular music.” In Seeking the “others” within us, edited by Todd Joseph Mile Holden and Timnothy J. Scrase. 129-46. New York: Routtledge, 2006.
Um, Hae-Kyung. “The Poetics of Resistance and the Politics of Crossing Borders: Korean Hip-hop and ‘Cultural Reterritorialisation.’” Popular Music 32, no. 1 (2013): 51-64.