Epik High

2001–2005: Career beginnings and breakthrough

Epik High was formed in 2001^[7] upon frontman Tablo's return to South Korea after graduating from Stanford University.^[8] Having previously met rapper Mithra Jin during a trip back to Seoul while still in college, the duo began performing together in the local underground hip hop scene with the Movement crew, one of the most prominent Korean hip hop crews of the time that included the likes of Uptown, CB Mass, Leessang and Drunken Tiger. Initially they intended to debut as a duo but decided to add a DJ for their live performances, in the same vein as Dilated Peoples.^[1] They recruited DJ Tukutz, a turntablist-disc jockey known to the Hongdae club scene who occasionally played with CB Mass.^[9][10][11]

The trio's first performance together was to a small audience at the amusement park Everland in 2002.^[12] Preparations for their first album were delayed due to them and their producer being defrauded and the lack of financial backing from a major label, forcing the members to work part-time jobs to raise the necessary funds.^[1][11] They signed with newly-established Woollim Entertainment and released their debut album, Map of the Human Soul, in 2003. This was followed by a second album, High Society in 2004. As the genre was unpopular among mainstream audiences, the releases were met with a lukewarm response from the public, with critics seeing little market for "lyrically complex music" that starkly contrasted the popular trends of the era which favored songs with simple lyrics or was choreography-focused.^[8][13]

Swan Songs was intended to be Epik High's final album, following the poor commercial performance of their previous two releases; however, it became a mainstream hit and made them one of the most popular hip-hop groups in Korea.^[14] The album was a chart success with the title track, "Fly," reaching number one on domestic charts.^[15] "Fly" also featured on the soundtracks for FIFA 07 and Pump It Up.^[14] Another of the album tracks, "Paris" featuring Loveholics' Jisun, was also a hit in Japan and Korea.^[14] The album was repackaged the following year as Black Swan Songs, which included remixes of several tracks.

2006–2009: Continued success

Originally set for release in October 2006, Epik High's fourth album Remapping the Human Soul was released on January 23, 2007.^[16] The two upbeat lead singles, "Fan" and "Love Love Love," were hits, while the rest of the album had darker undertones and tackled diverse themes including sex crimes, war, religion, and education. The Ministry of Culture and Tourism reportedly censored the album due to its lyrical and thematic content.^[17] Despite this, it was a commercial success in both Korea and Japan. It went on to sell 120,301 copies during the year, making it the third best-selling album of 2007 in South Korea.^[18] During this time, the group spoke of their "no genre, just music" philosophy, expressing frustration with "outdated and isolated" perceptions of the hip hop genre and the backlash they received from "narrow-minded" traditionalist factions of the domestic hip hop community.^[19][20][21]

Over 50,000 copies of their fifth studio album entitled Pieces, Part One was pre-ordered before its release in April 2008. The album's release was followed by music videos for the singles "One," "Breakdown," and "Umbrella." After the album's success, Epik High released the EP Lovescream to acclaim in October, with the EP's title track "1 Minute 1 Second" topping online music charts. In early 2009, Epik High parted ways with Woollim Entertainment and founded their own independent label, Map The Soul, which also managed MYK, Planet Shiver, and Dok2.^[22] They released their seventh work, a "book album" entitled 魂: Map the Soul, on March 27 and distributed it exclusively on Epik High's website. Tablo stated that 魂: Map the Soul is not the group's official sixth album but a particular project.

Music videos for the single "Map the Soul" were released on May 19, with worldwide and Korean versions. To commemorate their first release under the independent label, Epik High toured in Japan and performed at Melon Ax in Seoul with Kero One and MYK. That month, they also served in various cities in the US (New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Seattle) along with Dumbfoundead, Kero One, MYK, and Far East Movement. On July 22, Epik High and Map the Soul signed with electronic group Planet Shiver and released the remix album Remixing The Human Soul.

Epik High's sixth album, [e], was released on September 16 with the title single "Wannabe" (따라해) featuring Mellow, an electronic pop track critiquing K-pop trends. The studio album contained 30 tracks in a 2-CD format. Its release was followed by a concert at the Olympic Hall. However, promotional activities and plans for a tour were canceled when DJ Tukutz's enlistment date was unexpectedly pushed forward.^[23][24] He enlisted for mandatory military service on October 15, two days after his marriage,^[25] and was discharged in August 2011.^[26]

2010–2012: Epilogue, military service, and hiatus

Following DJ Tukutz's enlistment, Tablo and Mithra Jin continued as a duo, with guest DJs joining them for live performances. They performed at Midem 2010 in Cannes on January 26, 2010.^[27] Epik High's seventh studio album, Epilogue, was released under Woollim Entertainment on March 9, 2010, to chart success.^[28] The music video for its title track, "Run," featured several Woollim trainees who eventually debuted as members of boyband Infinite several months later: L as the video's protagonist, Sunggyu as a guitarist, Woohyun as bassist, and Sungjong as keyboardist. In addition, Hoya and Dongwoo also served as backup dancers during promotions of the single on various music shows.

Shortly after promotions for Epilogue ended, Mithra Jin enlisted on August 3.^[26] He reported to Chuncheon for basic training and served as an infantry rifle soldier, a member of the military band, and a GOP soldier before being transferred to the Defense Media Agency (DEMA).^[26]

During the two-year hiatus that followed, Tablo (who is a Canadian citizen and therefore was not required to carry out military service) signed a four-year contract with YG Entertainment and released a solo album titled Fever's End on November 1, 2011.^[29] However, he indicated that Epik High had not disbanded.^[29]

Mithra Jin was discharged from the military on May 14, 2012 and Epik High began preparations for their comeback.^[30] In July, it was confirmed that he and DJ Tukutz had joined Tablo in signing with YG Entertainment and that Epik High would be making a comeback after a three-year hiatus.^[31] On October 9, the group released the single "It's Cold" featuring the newly signed Lee Hi, to chart success.^[32] They digitally released the album 99, as well as music videos for the tracks "Up" (featuring Park Bom) and "Don't Hate Me," on October 19. The album was physically released on October 23 with two extra tracks, not on the digital release.^[33][34] During the SBS Gayo Daejeon on December 30 they joined Dynamic Duo and Simon D for "Cypher 2012", a remix of popular hip-hop tracks of the year to popular and critical acclaim.^[35][36][37]

2013–2017: 10th anniversary and worldwide recognition

On October 23, 2013, Epik High released the single "420" featuring Double K, Yankie, Dok2, Sean2Slow, Dumbfoundead, TopBob, and MYK to celebrate their tenth anniversary.^{[38][unreliable source?]}

On May 18, 2014, they released the single "With You" in collaborating with Chinese Singer Bibi Zhou, as a re-recording of "Fool" (originally featuring Bumkey) from their previous album Epilogue.^[39] On October 18, YG Entertainment released the music video for the pre-release track "Born Hater" featuring a line-up of noted rappers.^[40] Epik High's eighth studio album, Shoebox, was physically released on October 22 and met with critical praise for the emotion and complex lyrical content of lead singles "Happen Ending" and "Spoiler" as well as other tracks including "Burj Khalifa" and "Amor Fati."^[41]

In 2015 Epik High gained further recognition abroad with well-received performances at the K-Pop Night Out at SXSW in the U.S.^[42][43] and the Summer Sonic Festival in Japan.^[44][45] In April 2016, they became the first-ever Korean act to perform at the Coachella music festival,^[4][46] where their performance was well received by audiences.^[47] On October 23, 2017, they released We've Done Something Wonderful, their ninth studio album.^[48]

2018–present: Departure from YG and new releases

On October 3, 2018, Epik High left YG Entertainment after their contract expired and set up their own agency, naming it "Ours Co".^[49][50] On February 19, 2019, Epik High signed to William Morris Endeavor to manage their overseas promotions.^[51] Epik High released their second EP, Sleepless in __________, on March 11.^[51] The EP peaked at number 8 on the Gaon Album Chart^[52] and number 6 on the Billboard US World Album Chart.^[53] On October 22, 2020, the band posted a new video announcing their tenth album for January 2021.^[54] On December 28, 2020, Tablo announced that the group would release part 1 of their tenth album, Epik High Is Here, on January 18, 2021.^[55] The album's first single, "Rosario", featured CL and Zico.^[56]

On June 29, 2021, Epik High released the new single "Rain Song," featuring Colde.^[57] On October 25, 2021, Epik High released the new single "Face ID," which features Sik-K, Justhis, and Giriboy. The single serves as a pre-release for part two of Epik High Is Here.^{[58][full citation needed]} On January 12, 2022, it was revealed that Epik High would be performing at Coachella 2022, making them the first Korean act to be re-invited to the festival.^[59] On February 14, 2022, the group released part 2 of Epik High Is Here.^{[60][full citation needed]} On March 17, 2022, Epik High announced that it would be holding the 2022 'Epik High Is Here Encore' concert for three days from May 11 to 13.^[61]

On January 18, 2023, Epik High announced their third EP, Strawberry.^{[62][full citation needed]} It was released on February 1, 2023.^[63] They held their sold-out 20th anniversary concerts at the SK Olympic Handball Gymnasium from December 15 to 17.^[64] A concert film, which included footage of the performances and backstage and commentary from the members, was made and released in theaters in March 2024.^[65] It was also screened at the Busan International Film Festival in October.^[66]

On May 30, 2024, it was announced that Epik High would be releasing their first mixtape, Pump, on June 20.^[67] They embarked on a North American Tour, "The Pump Tour," beginning on August 22 and ending on September 25.^[68]

Lyrical themes

The content of Epik High's discography is largely social commentary, often utilizing direct or thinly-veiled references to current events or personal experiences. For example, "난 사람이 제일 무서워 (People Scare Me)", the first track from the 2017 album We've Done Something Wonderful, referred to the then-ongoing 2017–2018 North Korea crisis while "K-Drama" from the 2024 mixtape Pump satirized the cliched "happily-ever-after" endings frequently seen in Korean dramas.^[69] Other songs such as "FAQ" from the critically-acclaimed Remapping the Human Soul and "Born Hater", the lead single of Shoebox, addressed the criticism and hateful online comments written about them by directly quoting the statements. As some of their hits frequently featured strong language or profanity in both English and Korean, the original recordings are banned from variety programs or music programs by terrestrial television networks and only the "clean version" is allowed to be performed.^[70]

Musical style and influences

Because we felt very limited by what the three of us could do because if we stuck to just us three doing it, there would be beats and raps, which is fine, which we love....but at the same time, we also love melodies. We love a lot of instrumentation. We are fans of other genres. I'm actually more of a rock kid than hip-hop. Tukutz loves hip-hop but also loves jazz. He loves K-pop. Mithra pretty much listens to everything. And we wanted this group to channel all of that. [...] Outside of Korea, sometimes we're referred to as a K-pop group and sometimes they make a clear distinction about us being a hip-hop group. You can call us anything. We’ve been called a boy band even. —Tablo^[71]

Epik High's hip hop sound has been described as being rooted in "old school" boom bap and the members have cited Dilated Peoples, Rakim and Nas as influences.^[72] However, they have since become known for being more experimental and disregarded the traditional confines of Korean hip hop by incorporating elements or collaborating with artists from other genres such as R&B, trot, soul and Latin music.^[73][74][30] They were among the earliest hip hop acts to collaborate with singers rather than other rappers; having a "featured artist", especially one of a different genre, was uncommon in the Korean music industry before the 2010s.^[71] The members themselves expressed on multiple occasions that they disliked being pigeon-holed into a particular category or genre.^[75][71][21] Dazed noted: "They don't quite fit into pop, but they've evolved beyond a traditional hip hop act too: and they've angered the underground community by daring to meld elements of rock, soul, R&B and pop with their rap verses."^[19][20]