From declarative album titles like Epik Excessive Is Right here and We’ve Completed One thing Great to the extra conceptual Shoebox and [e], Tablo, Mithra Jin and DJ Tukutz of Epik Excessive have all the time been intentional in a multifaceted method with their report titles.
The hip-hop trio’s newest venture leans towards the latter for the group to ship a brand new sound that speaks to a contemporary mindset and return to their roots as musicians after releasing their debut album 20 years in the past.
“We like strawberry representing the album as a result of it’s candy and contemporary, which is what we wished to do at first of our twentieth anniversary,” explains group chief Tablo. “We thought that folks would count on some music that’s reminiscing and weighed down by the years, and we wished to go towards that expectation and simply create one thing that feels like three guys that simply determined to create a gaggle collectively. However strawberries are fascinating as a result of they’re so fragile; you’ll be able to smash them up along with your thumb however, by some means, they’ll stain in your desk completely positive. And it jogs my memory of blood when it’s squished. So, there’s a bit of little bit of ache in that sweetness. I believe that that’s what Epik Excessive is.”
Regardless of opening and shutting the brand new Strawberry EP with, as they describe, “Epik Excessive-ish” lo-fi tracks, the EP boasts a few of the group’s most mass-appealing tracks in years inside: the knocking, melancholy hip-hop minimize “On My Approach” with Chinese language Ok-pop star Jackson Wang, the disco-tinged “Catch” is smoothed out by an ideal characteristic from Hwa Sa of lady group MAMAMOO, plus an express, relatable freestyle from Tablo examines the web and real-life chaos of 2023. Whereas Epik Excessive has toured their model of Korean hip-hop tour throughout the globe and scored multiples throughout Billboard‘s World Albums and World Digital Songs chart, Strawberry is deliberately described as a “international album” by the band to share their present mindset.
“Technically talking, all our albums have been international, however not by alternative, proper?” muses Tablo. “Ok-pop and Korean music turned a world factor though it wasn’t ever a world launch. However because of this, the viewers for our albums has grown wider. And right here’s how I strategy progressing as a musician: I don’t consider myself as main the way in which and my viewers has to observe the place I’m going—I’ll make music in the way in which that I need—however I consider that as my viewers grows geographically and I’m flying there to carry out for them, I need them within the middle of my thoughts and my coronary heart after I’m creating music. Earlier than, I might create the music and the music’s viewers grew. Now, that viewers is affecting the way in which I create music as effectively, like, they’re in my thoughts after I make music…I believe extra due to COVID; I believe how the whole globe is sharing the identical fears and inspirations and hopes and goals. We have been simply made extra conscious of it and, because of this, I believe with this album, it’s only a mindset factor—calling it a ‘international album’ as a result of there’s no actual distinction to how we’re releasing it; we’re simply saying that as a result of we wish to remind ourselves that we at the moment are chatting with individuals all around the world and we wish them to know that we care about them.”
Regardless of Epik Excessive intending for final February’s launch of Epik Excessive Is Right here to be their closing album, the trio naturally discovered themselves creating music once more after profession highlights like returning for his or her second Coachella efficiency and surrounding themselves with different musicians.
“So we truly did determine internally that Epik Excessive Is Right here would form of be the final album,” Tablo explains. “Epik Excessive Is Right here Half 2 ends with ‘Champagne,’ which is form of going again to the very first music on our first album [‘Go’ on Map of the Human Soul]. It’s just like the curtain name. We have been like, ‘We’ve made so many albums and I don’t assume there’s something we are able to actually say. So, let’s proceed to be Epik Excessive and carry out, however I’m unsure if we must always ever make an album once more. It was like a collective resolution. What occurred was…rattling it, Coachella type of impressed us once more. We have been like, ‘Oh my God…’”
Tablo says California continued to encourage the band regardless of their skilled guarantees: “We simply assumed that perhaps we’ll launch one single in October 2023 when it truly turns into 20 years, however nothing else. After which we have been in LA for some pageant, we simply had like per week in L.A. however just one present so we had all this time. Being who we’re, we ended up with a number of musicians simply making music and ended up with a ton of songs. We have been like, ‘What can we do with these songs? We promised one another that we wouldn’t launch an album,’ after which Tukutz was like, ‘This isn’t truly an album if we’re releasing three to 5 songs. Technically, it’s only a venture.’ And I’m like, ‘You’re proper. We did say we’ll by no means launch one other studio-length album so we’re not breaking that promise…but.’ And we justified it to ourselves, therefore, this example.”
Let Epik Excessive break down their new album/venture/scenario Strawberry under, observe by observe: