Seoul, or the 120 Days of Sodom, the latest single from San E, is a
song that describes the vices associated with fame; alcohol, drugs and sex. It
stands in stark contrast to the poppy start of the rapper.
Back in
2010 Korean born, but US raised rapper San E signed a record deal with JYP
Entertainment, one of the three biggest record labels in Korea. As you might
know the Korean record industry tightly controls every aspect of their artists,
from their music to their image. In the case of San E this resulted in his
debut single Tasty San, a song that's
mostly just comical and meant to reach a large audience. Even though he had
some minor success San E's ambition and style however made him decide to leave
JYP Entertainment in 2013 and join Brand New Music, a label focusing on hip hop
and R&B. This change was accentuated by the release of Rap Circus, a hardcore hip hop song in which he criticizes his
previous image. This was quickly followed by his first #1 charting song Story of Someone I Know, a serious but
more accessible song.
San E's career
took off, he collaborated with many
Korean rappers and singers to create hit after hit, including: Where Did You Sleep (with label mates
Verbal Jint and Swings), A Midsummer Night's Sweetness (a sugar sweet duet with singer Raina) and the sexy Body Language.
Everything
seemed to go well for the rapper. He released an album in 2015 and was a judge
and host on TV shows like 'Show Me The Money' and 'Unpretty Rapstar'. By the
end of 2016 however all the fame and money started to go to his head. He became
arrogant, depressed and addicted to alcohol and drugs. This process and how he
overcame it was conceptualised in his latest EP 'Season of Suffering'. In the
song Seoul, or the 120 Days of Sodom
he describes the first stage, as mentioned earlier. In Counselor he acknowledges that he has a problem and discusses his
condition, playing both the patient and the counsellor. Finally in I Am Me he accepts himself and overcomes
his depression.
The
'Season of Suffering' EP is probably one of my all time favourite K-Rap releases.
I'm glad to see San E is recovered and can't wait to find out which hits he has
in store for 2017.
Other favourite songs: Coach Me, Do It For Fun & What If
For more videos check out San E's official YouTube channel or his playlist at the BRANDNEW MUSIC channel.
