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Dec 05 2011

A Year In Review: Skimmy’s Top “Korean” Moments In 2011

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Let’s keep it real here. When it comes down to these end-of-the-year reviews, no one wants to read through a block of text. So I made sure to add some pictures and videos for your viewing pleasure. You can thank me later. No, really.

This is by no means a comprehensive list. But it is a list and it’s my list. So don’t come at me saying why didn’t you add this and that. Go be a negative nancy somewhere else. Everything was ranked based on my personal interest (as far as I can remember, that is). And no, I did not google random things about South Korea. Only a little bit.

[Insert drum roll here]

Top 3 “Proud To Be A Korean” Moments

3. Samsung overtakes Apple in smartphones
Samsung vs Apple

“Apple’s (AAPL) reign as the world’s No. 1 maker of smartphones, it turns out, was like the life of a grasshopper: It overtook Nokia (NOK) in June and was overtaken by Samsung in September”.

Enough said. When I ask people what they know about South Korea, most say Kimchi or cell phones. So it’s only right that we stay competitive in the cell phone market. I personally prefer Apple products (shhh…) but hey, I’m not against Korea climbing up the ranks and getting what they deserve.

Samsung Galaxy S
In that case, I’ll take a Samsung.

2. Seung Hoon Choi starts as an offensive lineman for the 9th-ranked University of Nebraska
Okay, I did not know that Koreans played football beyond the high school level. Apparently, Seung Hoon Choi does. The 6’2″, 298-lbs Choi plays left tackle for the nationally ranked Nebreska Cornhuskers (currently ranked 20th in the BCS standings). And he recently got his first start. That’s remarkable. Since when were Asians blessed with such capable frames?

Seung Hoon Choi’s Sports Illustrated Feature

1. Tiger JK on the front page of the LA Times
If you know me, then you know that I love hip-hop. You also know that I’m pretty Asian. So imagine the excitement level when I read the words “Asian” and “rapper” mentioned in the same sentence…on the front page of the Los Angeles Times. The article focuses in on Tiger JK and the brand of Korean hip-hop that he hopes to share overseas (the Sun Zoo movement). For those that aren’t familiar with the artist, Tiger JK is one of the pioneers of South Korean hip-hop. DT has released 8 studio albums to this date and the latest one (released in 2009) dominated the music charts. In the past, he’s worked with Rakim, Rakaa of Dilated Peoples, Roscoe Umali, just to name a few. The point is, he finally put us on the damn map! It’s about time.

Sun Zoo (Tiger JK, Yoon Mirae, Roscoe Umali & Illmind) – “Get Down” Directed by Rik Cordero

Tiger JK (of Drunken Tiger) – Good Life & I Want You

Top 2 “Are You Serious? Stop Making Us Look Bad” Moments

2. NYC’s Korilla BBQ Kicked Off Food Network’s “The Great Food Truck Race” For Cheating
Korilla BBQ Truck NYC

SMH. Why would you cheat on TV? According to the sources, they supposedly added $2000 of their own money to the truck sales. Idiots. Korilla BBQ was a crowd favorite in the show and had made it to the final four. Unfortunately, they made us look bad.

It’s okay though. Kogi BBQ is still holding it down out west.

1. Lance Bass and Heart2Heart
Heart2Heart - Lance Bass' Boy Band

WTF Lance Bass. Seriously, what the fck. Even if it is fake, stop it b. Heart2Heart is the worst boy band name ever and “Facebook Official” is a terrible title for a single. Oh, what could possibly go wrong? Everything. Could you confirm to this request/ Agree to the terms of service/ The message has been sent/ And all I wanna do is/ Put a heart on your page, heart – heart on your page/ Let’s make it official/ Baby you and me -/ Facebook official. Seriously? STOP. Just stop. After K-Pop went international, Lance was quick to jump on the hype…only to make the most disliked video on YouTube. Dude, stop trying so hard to fit in.

Heart2Heart – Facebook Official (Music Video)

Top 1 “That’s Not A Good Look” Moment

1. Toyota To Export Camrys To South Korea
Japan vs Korea

First of all, Koreans in general aren’t too fond of the Japanese. I’ll give you two examples. 1) The two of us are STILL fighting over Dokdo Island. 2) International “friendly” games (especially soccer and baseball) between South Korea and Japan are always super intense. Then the media goes nuts afterwards. Anyways, the underlying reason for this divide obviously has to do with the whole Japanese occupation that left a permanent scar in our history. And because of that, Koreans have built this unspoken (and at times outspoken) hatred towards the Japanese. So I’m not sure what Toyota is thinking. The Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between U.S. and South Korea is great news and all, but using it to introduce Japanese cars into the Korean automotive market? Uh…that’s not a good look. I’m sure a lot of us younger kids wouldn’t mind but remember that it’s our parents’ generation that currently runs the country.

Honorable Mentions

-Arsenal signs South Korean captain Park Chu-Young
-Big Bang wins “Best Worldwide Act” at MTV’s 2011 Europe Music Awards
-Korean Pop Star Rain wins TIME 100 Poll…and Colbert is pissed again

Feel free to share your thoughts below!

And stay tuned. More ridiculous lists and amazing content coming soon.

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Dec 03 2011

What Are You Afraid Of?

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Thoughts

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Angry Shaq

“To get something you never had, you have to do something you never did.”

It doesn’t take a genius to figure this one out. But at the same time it’s such a powerful statement, one that often does not translate into action. In life, there are two kinds of people – those that take risks and those that don’t. I’ve met plenty of people who rely on stability and safety as a guiding principle but haven’t met too many that constantly push themselves into the unknown. Sure, the predictable outcome is always a good thing to fall back on. But then again, why fall back? During a recent commencement speech at Penn, actor Denzel Washington stressed the importance of falling forward. That really hit me hard. Whenever fear strikes during the course of an action, I tend to ease my anxiety by reminding myself of what I can fall back on. “Oh that’s okay if it doesn’t work out. I still have this other one.” But looking back, those are the times that prevented me from giving it my all. Because from the very moment that I decided to consider option B as an acceptable answer, I was no longer 100% committed to option A.

If you hang around the barbershop long enough, you’ll get a haircut. What’s failure anyways? Is it the fact that your haircut was delayed? Of course not.

Shout outs to those still on the road less traveled. Fight on.

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Dec 01 2011

Drake Says “Take Care” To His Management Team

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Music

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Drake Leaving Young Money

Did Drake Leave Young Money?

Some people think that Drake left Young Money. No. Not yet. But he may be leaving soon. Drake just let go of his entire management team including his agent. This is a huge surprise especially because it’s only been two weeks since he released the highly anticipated album Take Care. The album is doing extremely well in terms of a promotional standpoint – debuting at #1 and selling 800,000 copies (which btw is not important to Lil Wayne…what a liar) in the first two weeks. For Aubrey to let go of the very people that helped him achieve this success raises a lot of question marks. Add in the fact that he is currently in the middle of his tour and things start to look very serious. What’s going on? Is Drake cleaning the house? Is he looking to relocate? No more Young Money? YMCMB?

Drake Wayne Beef Or Wayne Drake Beef

Is Drake leaving Young Money? I highly doubt it. Is Drake beefing with Lil Wayne? Again, I highly doubt it. Aubrey cannot leave Lil Wayne and YMCMB. That would be a horrible move for Drake. Perhaps I could see it happening down the road but it won’t happen anytime soon. If Drake has any sense of what’s going on, he would stay right where he is. Why? Because of Lil Wayne and Nicki Minaj. Let me say that again. Lil Wayne and Nicki Minaj. If you happen to turn on the radio at all this year then chances are you’ve heard Wayne and Nicki on every single song at every single station. That’s the power of Young Money in 2011. In recent years, Young Money has grown into one of the hottest labels in the game, along with Bawse’s Maybach Music Group and Yeezy’s G.O.O.D Music. In terms of $$$, these 3 basically dominate the mainstream hip-hop scene. Although I’ll be the first to admit that YMCMB makes hits and not songs that I can relate to, I do not hate on numbers. And if you ask me, I’ll tell you that Drake is soft and Wayne is overrated. But I’ll also tell you that I respect them for their continued success. Anyways, I digress.

UPDATE: Drake Addresses Young Money Rumor, Lil Wayne Drake Beef

Drake addresses the rumors of him leaving Young Money and beef with Lil Wayne at Hot 93.7′s Jingle Jam concert in Hartford, Connecticut on December 2, 2011. (via youngmoneyhq)

Also check out Ludacris vs. Drake/Big Sean beef.

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Nov 29 2011

The Proteges: Where Are They Now?

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Music

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Skimmy

Some people were wondering if The Proteges split up. How dare you…! I’m just kidding. The short answer is no. But seriously, stop it b! We are still a group and very passionate about what we do. In fact, we are hoping to release our EP in the near future. Having said that, any sort of group activity is on hold indefinitely. Why? Because Will and I live on the opposite coasts. We don’t get to sit down and work on music like we used to back in college. All of that goodness is gone. Also, Will and I are currently focusing on our respective careers. Just in case anyone’s wondering, Will majored in political economy and I majored in public health. All I gotta say is…life is getting way too serious.

The last track we worked on together was back in August and it’s called Sound Of Soul Pt. II. The track is included in the Fellowship Cyphers Mixtape Vol. I put on by our friends DJ Joonshk and Guirae. Big ups to the two of them for their hard work. The project features many talented artists like Mickey Cho, J.Han & CL of AMP, Alex Shiau and more. It’s a great movement so make sure to support! The entire mixtape is available for free download.

In terms of new material, look out for a mixtape next year. I can’t guarantee a date but it will be a solo piece of work. Expect very few features or none at all. I’m thankful for all the support that I’ve received over the years and this is my way of giving back. It’s too early to say anything else in detail so I’ll save that for later.

Lastly, here are two demo tracks that I dropped last week. Both were written and recorded on the same day (sort of like those one take session). Feel free to comment and/or download.

Skimmy – Hi-Lite by davidskimmy

Skimmy – See It Through The Blinds (Sunrise) by davidskimmy

Cheers!

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