KCON USA

Author: KCON

Play with DEAN at #KCON16LA!

DEAN – a South Korean future R&B artist and Multi-Platinum songwriter. DEAN began his musical journey as a hip-hop artist at age 16, beginning his career as part of a crew with Korean rapper Keith Ape (whose single ‘It G Ma’ boasts over 18 million YouTube views), but by the age of 18, DEAN discovered his talent for singing and his gift of creating infectious melodies. Now having written chart toppers for K-Pop boy bands such as VIXX and EXO, DEAN has already proven himself as a successful hit maker. Recently DEAN wrote ‘Unfair’ for EXO and ‘World Tour’ for Lee-hi in 2016. <130 mood : TRBL> is DEAN’s very first EP including three previously-released tracks, “I Love It (Feat. Dok2)”, “Pour Up (Feat. ZICO)”, and “What 2 Do (Feat. Jeff Bernat, Crush) with four new tracks: ‘And You? (Skit) (Outro)’, ‘Bonnie & Clyde’, ‘D (Half Moon) (Feat. Gaeko)’, and ’21’. The meaning of title is –’130′ is kind of symbol of James Dean as he put the number 130 on his car. It is revealed that DEAN has been inspired by James Dean. ‘TRBL’ stands for ‘trouble’ and it’s from DEAN’s nickname ‘DEAN TRBL’. The whole album is in reverse order of one man’s love story, from falling in love with a 21-year-old girl to suffering heartbreak, which seems to be a part of our life. : It will win the sympathy of the listeners through his storytelling. DEAN appeared on SXSW 2016 – Spotify house and Hypetrak stages and it’s very first time for Asian artist. Also he will be showcasing his talent at many of the industry’s major upcoming events and festivals.

Play with ASTRO at #KCON16LA!

ASTRO is a six-member boy group that debuted on February 23, 2016 with their mini-album Spring Up. Prior to releasing their debut single 숨바꼭질 (HIDE & SEEK), the group first starred in their own web drama series To Be Continued in August 2015 as well as their own reality television show Astro OK! Ready in January 2016. Since then, their music video for HIDE & SEEK has gained over 1.8 million views and their official fanclub name has been revealed as AROHA, which stands for ASTRO Hearts All Fans.

#KCONLiveChat Season 4 Episode 7 RECAP

We applaud you for another week of your immense patience. *TINY HEARTS 뿅뿅*  In this week’s episode of #KCONLiveChat Vanessa & Danny present to you, KCON-ers, the FINAL #KCON16NY artist lineup:

Play with Dynamic Duo at #KCON16NY!

Dynamic Duo is a Korean hip hop duo that consists of Gaeko (real name: Kim Yoon Sung) and Choiza (real name: Choi Jae Ho). They are childhood friends who debuted in 1999 as a hip hop group named CB mass. Then in 2004, Gaeko and Choiza officially began their career as Dynamic Duo. Their debut album, Taxi Driver won the best hip hop album of the year and hip hop song of the year at KMA (Korean Music Awards). A few years later in 2006, they founded the label, Amoeba Culture and continued to release albums with successful hits like, “~~(Attendance Check),” “Solo” , “~~-5 (Guilty),” etc. In 2009, both Gaeko and Choiza were enlisted in the Korean army and had to temporarily put a pause on their music career. As soon as they completed their army duties in 2011 , they went straight back to working on their music and released their 6th album, which also marked their 1 0 years of actively promoting music. Their 7th full length album ‘LUCKYNUMBERS’ released in July of 2013 and their title track, ‘BAAAM,’ placed 1st on all national music TV programs and online music sites.A year later in July of 2014, Dynamic Duo collaborated with hip hop legend DJ Premier and released two songs “AEAO” and “Animal” which was a groundbreaking album in the Korean hip hop scene. More recently, Gaeko released his first solo album ‘REDINGRAY’ and was praised for how honest he was in sharing about his life in his lyrics. His title track, ‘No Make Up’ ranked 1st on all online music stores and also on music TV programs. Shortly after in November of 2015, Dynamic Duo released their 8th full length album ‘GRAND CARNIVAL.’ This album was special because they collaborated with a lot of new up and coming producers to create a fresh sound. This comeback album was also well-received and ranked 1st on all online music sites. Dynamic Duo is not just a nationally recognized hip hop group, but they are also very hands on producers. They have been and continue to be executive producers for all the albums that come out of Amoeba Culture and also collaborate with a wide spectrum of artists outside of the label. From producing beats to directing and overseeing performance/stage production, Dynamic Duo has become a cultural icon.

Play with Crush at #KCON16NY!

Crush (real name: Shin Hyo Seob) is an R&B singer songwriter from label, Amoeba Culture and is currently a part of crews, ‘w:D’ and ‘Club Eskimo’ . In 2012, he debuted in the hip hop scene with the song, ‘Red Dress,’ and even though he may be young in age, he has made a name for himself with his edgy charisma and understanding of the urban style. He’s well-educated about hip-hop I R&B and the history behind it. Consequently he is able to easily catch current hip-hop trends and showcase it through his music as a producer and singer songwriter. In early 2013 Crush released a single called, ‘Crush On You,’ and shortly after participated in Amoeba Culture’ s “NOWorkend” project series by featuring on Zion.T’ s ‘Two Melodies’ and also Supreme Team’ s ‘Stay Still.’ In June of 2014, he released his first full length solo album, “Crush On You” and made a name for himself as Korea’ s new hip-hop R&B star. Throughout 2014, he participated in a lot of collaboration projects and in October released single, “SOFA.” That following February Crush released a collaboration project “Young” with Zion.T and took over Korean music charts, TV programs and sold out concerts. Then in July of 2015 Crush released a single called ‘Oasis’ featuring Block B’ s Zico. With the success of his album and singles, Crush held his first solo concert ‘2015 CRUSH ON YOU’ in November of 2015 and showcased his diverse range as an artist through DJing, dance, and performing re-arrangements of his original hits. Shortly after in January of 2016, he released single ‘Don’ t Forget’ featuring Girl’ s Generation Taeyeon, an R&B ballad which was a hit on online music stores and TV programs. Most recently in May of 2016 Crush released a 5-song EP ‘Interlude’ showcasing Crush’s wider range of production and sound through title tracks ‘woo ah’ and ‘9 to 5 (Feat. Gaeko)’. Crush has a soulful voice that can range from genres like R&B to pop and neo soul. His wide spectrum of musical capabilities is a rarity in the current urban scene and one many are keeping their eye on.

Play with Eric Nam at #KCON16NY!

Eric Nam is a Korean-American Singer and Television Host. Eric was discovered on YouTube and competed his way into the Top 5 of the audition program Birth of a Great Star 2. Since then, Eric Nam has released multiple singles and 2 EPs and with the latest titled “Interview” in March of 2016. He continues to host and appear on various tv programs such as “We Got Married” “Father and I” and “SNL Korea.” His latest Korean single, “Good For You” has many fans excited for what’s to come!

#KCONLiveChat Season 4 Episode 6 RECAP

We’re back at it again to recap this week’s lineup announcement! Ready to be mind-blown with some big and we mean, REALLY BIG news? Keep reading and prepare your vocal cord to scream (with joy of course). In this week’s episode of #KCONLiveChat Vanessa & Danny were thrilled to announce that the next KCON NY lineup will be…