After hyping up Korea with talks of master vs student battles and teasers, Brave Brothers (Kang Dong Chul) has officially dropped his highly anticipated debut mini-album.
Brave Brothers have released statements about his new album and reasons as to why he left his comfortable home at YG Entertainment.
"At the time (during YG) the reason (I left) wasn't the music I was making, I was just exhausted. Exhausted and it was a very hard time. I needed a new goal. My once pleasant thoughts with YG became thoughts of independence," confessed the highly successful producer.
So after he left, Brave Brothers has now made his own entertainment label, simply named Brave Sound Entertainment. But this was also a very difficult time for him. Netizens consistently gave him negative comments and he became the center of hate on a lot of topic discussions online.
"It's sad for a person who makes music to see comments like "Stop making music". To be honest, a part of me accepted and agreed (to those comments). The criticism I received from the netizens, who were pouring them upon me, were judging me based only on my popular songs. Although I've made different styles of music, these days, people seem to judge me only by my mediocre or sell-out songs."
"I can't do anything about that fact that the record label wants a song that will be a big hit. The reality is that people in the music industry cannot challenge themselves to be creative in fear of losing funding. Therefore, I've found out that people want trendy songs, and they want me to make those trendy songs. Truthfully, I can't ignore this aspect of the public"
"However, I have made songs varying in genre instead of creating a few popular hit songs. In the future I'll continue to make music I want to make."
"Of course, these criticisms helped me grow as an artist. I have learned from them. This album is coming out because I wanted to make music that I want to make. Clearly, it's not music that everyone likes. I usually used rough sounds. However, I have no regrets because I made music that Brave Brothers (referring to himself in the third person) have wanted."
He finished with, "I am a producer. A person that makes music. Instead of garnering fame, I just want many people to listen and appreciate my music."
After reading this story, I'd have to say I am going to be one of those criticizing netizens because the album sounds like a sell out album to me. I mean with featuring from Son Dam Bi and Minwoo how could it not be a sell out album? Pop producers such as Pharrell (N.E.R.D.) also produce their own solo albums to create music that better suits their personal taste. However, I feel that Brave Brothers is following Kanye West's suit by creating music that is better suited for a pop audience regardless of what his personal taste is, even if he says otherwise.
But there is one large dimension to this story that is missing: money. Pharrell is racking up millions while Brave Brothers is probably racking up thousands. I don't blame him for taking the sell out route because we all need to eat but even G-Dragon's album sounds a lot more ballsy than the Brave Brothers album. I believe the student beat the master this round.
Credits:Allkpop
Video Credits: 919urnobody919
Track List:
Brave Brothers (용감한 형제) - Attitude
01. Interview (인터뷰)
02. Brave Sound (브레이브사운드)
03. Invisible (인비져블) (feat. 손담비 Son Dam Bi, 별들의 전쟁)
04. Bittersweet (비터스윗) (feat. M, 현아 Hyun Ah, 마부스, 레드락, 베이직)
05. Invisible (인비져블) (inst.)
