Jay Park is quietly walking his own musical path. It has already been 3 years since he began to stand on his own from starting out in idol group 2PM. Time has passed and he has developed into an artist who can write, compose and produce songs, for a long preparation period and by working on himself he has gained a new life called freedom.
The fandom which supports him has become stronger as well, and thanks to finding new partners in music, the youth called Jay Park has begun to bloom his hidden talent. He, who had only been seen as a muscled dancer, has begun his movements as a producer.
On his left arm are unique tattoos. There are flags which represents Korea Seoul and America Seattle, and family, friends, music is written in English. And there are shoes and a mic which show his passion towards bboying. He says these are the “strengths” which support him. We met with Jay who has released his new album.
- This is the first full album since going solo. It must have a special meaning.
> I prepared a lot over 2 years. I wrote about 30 songs and chose the best from those. My fans give me criticism/advice that my music doesn’t have daejoongsung, so this time i thought a lot about their musical taste too. But I never do everything as planned. Usually it’s expected to have strategies, but again I did music the way i wanted to. This album is special because I stuck to my style. I want to be proactive with my promotions and let it be known far/ spread it wide.
- This new album was recently #1 on the US R&B charts.
> It’s amazing. I think fans listening overseas would feel it as more familiar. Because it has a more pop (aka Western music) feel that typical pop, I think they like it. I communicate with overseas fans through youtube, twitter and Facebook, I feel like I’m more popular overseas than in Korea.
- If you could introduce your new album
> I added the title “New Breed” as a pledge to do new music which hasn’t been shown before. Working with diverse artists, you could possibly feel that it feels a bit complicated. It has a mix of diverse genres such as ‘songs with daejoongsung’, r&B, hip hop etc. I am even more pleased with the album as I was in charge of producing it myself.
- How was working with famous producer Rob Knox who has worked with Justin Timberlake?
> I got to know him through an audition program, he said he was a fan. He agreed to working on a song for free, without hesitation (laughs). I enjoyed it because we have a similar approach to music. We are similar in that we prioritise doing music that we want, as opposed to thinking that I must release a hit song.
- Famous artists such as Tiger JK, Tasha, Dynamic Duo featured on the album. It’s an unexpected combo
> Dynamic Duo and I have a lot of people we know in common, such as street dancers and underground rappers. When I was on a radio show with them, I personally asked them the favour. I became closer to Tiger JK as we would often perform alongside each other at international artists’ Korean shows or at join concerts. Last year, I was able to stand on stage with Tiger JK and Tasha at their LA Concert when I went there as a guest. It was an honour to work with them as they are people I respect.
- There was a kiss scene in your MV
> I’m worried that the fans will get jealous. There was a kiss scene in this MV, it’s already the 3rd (laughs). The fans would even personally ask for me to work with famous producers, but now they are understanding (mika note: I’m not sure why the topic suddenly changes here… lol). In my next video i would like the act with Min Hyorin.
- Because you prefer trendy urban r&b in Korea, there are times when you are compared with Big Bang’s Taeyang. If you were to define Jay Park’s musical color?
> It’s true that I am often compared with Taeyang. I always look forward to Taeyang’s music. We do both prefer smooth r&b and hip hop music, but I think our styles are different. I want to do real music. I’m going to do the r&B and hip hop that I like, and I hope that whoever hears will feel that this is Jay Park’s music.
- Tell us about your first solo concert in March.
> I’m having my first solo concert at Olympic Hall on March 3. I plan to show diverse performances, with a real band playing as the background. I’ll be showing a performance with AOM as well.
- Your album cover is different. Is it your idea?
> I came across an interesting video on youtube of a man with a zombie painting on his face. Later I found out that this guy who has his whole face covered in zombie is called “Zombie Boy”. I wanted to show the double sided nature by dividing myself into my natural state and as a zombie. I’m talking about the regular person Jay Park, and the Jay Park that stands on stage.
- I heard that you are rejoining Immortal Song 2 on KBS 2TV
> I’ll be joining from the recording on the 13th. IS2 is different to normal tv shows. I think of it as an opportunity to show what I want to such as performances and musical style. Because everyone is so skilled & talented, I have given up on winning (laughs). Because this program can have great personal satisfactions, just being on the show teaches me a lot and I am excited.
- If you were to compare being in an idol group to being solo?
> Compared to the group days, the biggest difference is that I am able to do the type of music that I really want to do. But by doing what I want there have been many trials & errors. In a group, I only needed to do my part, but even just by standing on stage alone i feel a lot of pressure. But I don’t think I will be in a group again. I once had discussions with Dok2 about a project. Later when I have more time, I want to try a project album/ promotion.
- Is there an artist you want to work with
> i want to work with Simon D. And I heard that Navi likes my music. Next time I want to try a duet.
- Do you have plans to head overseas?
> I definitely have thoughts about going overseas. When I can, i would like to do a lot of work on english songs. Truthfully, my childhood dream was to be on the Tellerman Shows. Foremost, that tv show is a program that all American artists promote on so it is meaningful. It isn’t a fancy stage but theres something cool about it. Recently when I saw SNSD on the show, they were very cool (??) and I was proud of them. I dreamt of that when seeing Usher on that show when I was young.
- Because you are originally from an idol group, there are opinions that you are being under-rated for your producing abilities
> It’s up to each person to evaluate. I think that you are an artist if you can confidently express your music. It doesn’t matter whether people called me a dancer, rapper, singer etc. I just enjoy it because i like it. I want to become singer that can sing and rap, like Chris Brown does. I just want people to know/acknowledge me. My music. That is all. I hope that they can turn towards my music, by opening their hearts and opening their ears.
SOURCE: Star News; TRANSLATOR: 16mika@twitter
PLEASE DO NOT ADD/REMOVE CREDITS.
