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Bang Yongguk, a Crossover Rap Star in the Making
South Korean rapper Bang Yongguk returns to the U.S. and the Echo Lounge for a second time
Eric Diep
April 17, 2024
Welcome to Golden Dragon, a newsletter by Eric Diep about Asians in hip-hop and my takes on trending topics in AAPI pop culture. Golden Dragon is a rotation of interviews, reviews, news, critical perspectives, and random blogs about music I recommend.
Concert Invite accepts the offer from publicists and managers to see their artists perform live. These are my honest thoughts as a rap fan with no obligations.
Hip-hop is the foundation for many rappers to explore other genres and to collaborate with artists they would dream of. Historically, you can go back to Run-DMC’s “Walk This Way” with Aerosmith, Nelly’s “Over and Over” with Tim McGraw, and Eve’s “Let Me Blow Ya Mind” with Gwen Stefani for starters. International collaborations are becoming more common between North America and East Asia: Jackson Wang and Ciara, Jungkook and Latto, J-Hope and J. Cole, Ez Mil and A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie, among others. It’s a proven method to bridge fanbases and expose each group to the other artist’s catalog. I’m banking on South Korean rapper, singer, and songwriter Bang Yongguk to be the cross-genre collaborator that hip-hop will embrace soon.