Meet the newest addition to the Roc Nation fam and your new favorite artist, Jay Park. On July 20, the record label announced via Twitter of adding the Korean-American artist who will now join with famous labelmates such as Rihanna, DJ Khalid, J.Cole, and Roc Nation founder, Jay-Z.
We are excited to announce @Jaybumaom has officially signed with #RocNation! Welcome to the #RocFam!!! pic.twitter.com/escgoMN7aZ
— Roc Nation (@RocNation) July 21, 2017
Park followed up with the announcement by celebrating with an Instagram post, citing his new achievement as a glorious moment for hard working but often underrepresented groups of people.
It's Official @RocNation This is a win for the Town This is a win for Korea This is a win for Asian Americans This is a win for the overlooked and underappreciated This is a win for genuine ppl who look out for their ppls This is a win for hard work and dedication This is a win for honesty and authenticity Thank you for the acknowledgement and recognition🙏🙏 Just gettin' started 10년차가수인데 이제부터시작이네 🙌 🙌🙌#RocFam #RocNation
A post shared by $hway BUM Park 박재범 (@jparkitrighthere) on
“A Win for Asian Americans...for the Overlooked and Underappreciated”
The increasing demand for Asian representation in media definitely influenced the creation of more shows starring Asian leads, such as "Fresh Off the Boat" and "Master of None". However, in the U.S. music market, there’s still a dearth of Asian artists--at least in mainstream music. As a result of Asian representation lacking the mainstream music, many Asian artists venture out in YouTube as a platform to create a name for themselves and share their content for the underrepresented despite physical borders and language barriers.
YouTube was a huge contribution to BTS’ win for “Top Social Media Artist” earlier this year at the 2017 Billboard Music Awards in which their acceptance for the award was actually televised live in one of America’s biggest broadcast channel for everyone around the world to see, rather than just writing in the tiny font at the end credits. Despite their achievement, the group had received backlash solely because of their race. Jay Park had also received unnecessary racist remarks on Facebook for attending an NBA game. In both instances, these artists received racist comments during moments of achievement or just leisure due to racism ingrained in U.S. culture as a result from perpetuated stereotypes and underrepresentation in media.
However, starting out as a YouTuber, to a K-Pop star, and now the Roc Nation’s newest artists, Jay Park’s story proves to be another milestone for Asian representation in the U.S. music industry and open up more opportunities for Asian artists to branch out in mainstream music despite the restrictions imposed by racist stereotypes.
So Who is Jay Park?
Roc Nation nor Jay Park have disclosed information on why the record label decided to sign the South Korean artist, but considering Park’s history as an artist, entertainer, and CEO, there was no way the label could pass up the opportunity recruit him and expand his talents with the world. Even Charlie XCX wanted to share Jay Park with the world through her latest music video and even expressed Park’s fun contribution to the music video, so he’s definitely a rising artist to look out for!
Seattle: Born and Raised
Although a music artist more active in South Korea, Jay Park hails from Edmonds, Washington in the Seattle metropolitan area. Park spent most of his high school years dedicated to his passion for hip hop dance and joined the Seattle-based bboy group, Art of Movement (AOM), and met Chase Malone, most famously known as “Cha Cha Malone,” who would become AOMG’s biggest producer. Park loves his hometown so much that he filmed is “Joah” music video in Seattle, complete with famous landmarks and icons that pay homage to the city.
Former Boy Band Member: Rises in Adversity
Before he was recognized as the famous musician he is today, Jay Park was a member of the South Korean boy group, 2PM, from 2008-2009. Comments from Jay’s Myspace page expressing his unhappiness in South Korea and trying to adjust to the cultural differences from America stirred controversy with the public that led to protests and petitions for him to depart from the group. Jay’s departure from the group caused mass hysteria as 2PM fans protested outside the JYP Entertainment building for the former member to stay. The other 2PM members were pulled from public appearances on TV until the scandal had settled down and Jay Park still faced criticism and harassment from 2PM fans in South Korea and overseas in Seattle that demanded him to rejoin the group.
However, things did not end bittersweet as the scandal died down. The remaining 2PM members paid homage to Park in their next album "1:59PM" that symbolized Park’s absence and would leave a spotlight during live performances to represent his position as well as left his parts unsung. Meanwhile, Park spent most of his time focusing on his passion for dance and music back in Seattle, starting fresh from the start with the help of YouTube and boosting up his music career once again.
All Around Entertainer
Alongside establishing himself as a solo hip hop and R&B artists, Park was also known for his comedic side. Some may remember him for this funny skit with Ryan Higa (nigahiga) on “Bromance.”
In South Korea, however, he showcased his comedic skills as a cast member of "Saturday Night Live Korea" for three seasons. Through sketch comedy show, Park expanded his talents and displayed a more down-to-earth side of him that gained him much recognition and even contributed to some of SNL Korea’s best skits.
Beyond the Studio
In addition to singer, dancer, comedian, songwriter, rapper, and producer on his resume, many should acknowledge Jay Park as the successful CEO for AOMG (Above Ordinary Music Group). Park founded the independent label in September 2013 and signed artists like South Korean rapper, Gray, and fellow bboy member, Cha Cha Malone, as a music producer who produces most of AOMG artists’ tracks as well as for South Korea’s most famous artists like Girls’ Generation and BoA. While AOMG houses South Korea’s rising hip hop and R&B artists, Park and Malone also established H1GHR Music, a global music label that’s open to a variety of artists. Park appears to be a powerful CEO with the success of his overseas tours featuring AOMG artists as well as representing the power of his hip hop label on the South Korean rap competition show, "Show Me the Money, "as a producer, judge, and mentor for aspiring rappers.
“I Need a ChaCha Beat Boy": Song Recommendations
If you aren’t convinced by Jay Park’s many talents that make him a great addition to the Roc Nation fam, then his music will definitely speak for itself. Here are personally some of my favorite hits that express the singer’s various music styles that I recommend all to give a listen. (Fun Fact: Jay Park also translates his lyrics on his music videos and can definitely catch some funny commentary on his subtitles.)
R&B: “Me Like Yuh” & “All I Wanna Do”
Both songs are mellow R&B track that I believe suit Jay Park’s vocals the most and can easily hook strangers and convert them to new fans. “Me Like Yuh” will definitely appeal to American listeners with music video visuals reminiscent of famous hip hop artists and English lyrics as well.
“All I Wanna Do” also has it’s own English version but not its own music video but don’t let that discourage you from watching and giving it a listen. Staring from the 0:01 mark, the music video will get you wanting to dance on your feet while watching the fantastic dancers from 1MILLION Dance Studio and Jay Park killing with the choreography. If you get hooked on these two tracks, feel free to listen to the rest of the "Everything You Wanted "album. (Another Fun Fact: Any song that features “I need a ChaCha beat boy” is a guaranteed banger.)
Jazz Fusion: “Joah”
“Joah” (which translates to “I Like You” in Korean) is a jazz infused R&B song with soft lyrics Park expresses his infinite love for his significant other, loving everything from head to toe and he just needs the whole world to know! Seattle fans will appreciate Park’s homage to the city with this MV while also watching heart fluttering moments with Park and Korean model, Clara Lee. A classic Jay Park song that actually introduced me to the artist.
Hip Hop: “Mommae”
To be real, the music video is not my favorite due to Park’s choice of hairstyle, the flashy lights, and the typical mass of half-naked girls dancing around the rappers--but I can’t blame them if the song is called “Mommae” (which translates to “body/figure”). However this is usually loved by Jay Park fans as a really good booty popping in the club kind of song that I occasionally slide into my playlists to get crunk. It’s also one of his hip hop tracks that I enjoy since his rap in this song kinda slaps.
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