Broken GPS Ep 1
J: I have a special guest today, I was surprised he said he will come and actually did, but I was also happy to see him again after a long time. He who has recently become a CEO, King of the Zungle, we have invited Zico! Nice to see you! Z: Hello, I'm Zico
J: How do you want me to talk to you? I usually don't use honorifics talking to you, should I continue like that, or use honorifics since it's broadcast? Z: However you want hyung, I'll use honorifics anyways J: Then I'll use honorifics, like a host Z: Since it's the 1st ep
J: It's so hard to see you these days... Z: It's been a long time J: you haven't released any new songs, you haven't appeared on shows, you weren't active on sns either...what was the reason? Z: It's been 2 years since my last album, the last 2 years I did a lot of thinking
Z: I thought a lot about the album, come back, music. I also had team activities (BlockB) so it's been a long time J: You're active after a long time, were you going through difficulties? Z: It's a lie if I say I wasn't,there were business related stuff, part of it intentional & part of it unintentional J: True, one needs the time to sort things out within themselves Z: I also established KOZ & became independent, I had a lot to think about J: Did you want to become an idol since the beginning? how did you join a label & became a member of BlockB?
Z: Tbh I wasn't thinking of becoming an idol, I just wanted to become a rapper, not even a famous rapper, but more of an underground rapper since back then becoming an underground rapper was more reliable and was a bigger deal than it is now
Z: Back then there was Over Class(VJ, Vasco), Big Deal, Jiggy Fellaz etc. that had a solid style/color, so I wanted to become like them. J: Which crew did you want to join the most? there was also Map the Soul, Soul Company... Who (rapper) made you want to join their crew?
TMI: some of the well known members of the crews mentioned: Over Class: Swings, Verbal Jint etc. Jiggy Fellaz: Vasco, DeepFlow etc. Map the Soul: Tablo (J said the name of the album) Soul Company: Fana, The Quiet etc.
Z: Back then when I was 19 I was in Do'main crew with UglyDuck, LilBoy hyung, TakeOne hyung but Overclass had a really good reputation/ was popular... J: Wow then how suddenly you ended up becoming an idol? Z: I had this mindset of just doing it so I sent a demo to everybody
Z: I sent the demo to everyone but by chance, Rhymer and Cho PD listened to my demo and decided to make a label and called me over to Korea J: So they just listened to you only, your demo and decided to start a label? Wowwwww Z: Yeah that's what happened
Z: Back then I didn't know that I'll become an idol, they asked me later if I wanted to become one, at first I was reluctant, I wasn't that handsome, couldn't dance & couldn't sing so I didn't think it'd work, but back then there weren't a lot of kids who could actually rap
J: That's true, there were rappers but they didn't really rap, they were assigned to rap cuz they couldn't sing, they didn't have a hip hop rapper feel to them Z: that's why I thought a lot if I should do this (idol), we also had a lot of meetings, they told me I should do it and that "you can do rap later as well but you can only be an idol at this age" but I didn't think I would actually do it, I only thought it'd be fun and also the fact that a lot of people will be able to hear my music & made my mind. That if I want more people to hear my music. This path (becoming an idol) would be more reliable. I thought of many ways to create a sense of individuality/style, right after my debut I released a mixtape, if I had schedule during the week, I'd perform at Just Jam events by Swings or Vasco's independent shows on weekends
J: so you became an Idol and debuted, you know there are contracts, things you shouldn't do, weren't those frustrating? because you were doing hip hop but when u become an idol, there are a lot you can't say, clothes you can't wear..I found them really frustrating tbh
J: Back then I didn't know so I asked them why I can't, they said there's no reason, you can't, you'll get hate... so I just followed but when I became solo and free agent, I got to find my style, what suits me, what doesn't etc. How was it for you Zico?
Z: We also had the limitations but I'm the type that goes by standard procedure, so I tried to play by the book but I also made a lot of mistakes, to be honest, if I say this now, it might sound like an excuse, but I was young so I really didn't know
J: No but that's not an excuse, it's the truth. because you don't know, so you make mistakes but you learn through those mistakes. How can someone know everything perfectly since they are young? that's impossible. that's not an excuse
J: Through those mistakes, you learned, reflected on yourself and experienced so as long as you don't repeat it, you are fine. Z: What really stressed me out were the things that I had to do no matter what, like things that you hate to do but you have to
J: of course! e.g. who likes to do early morning rehearsals at music shows? Z: On the contrary I really liked doing that, cuz our label wasn't a big one, I really wanted to appear on music shows, even when we had the chance, we only got to do the opening for 2 min & those got cut
Z: I would get really excited, I would wake up early in the morning.... we had to grab the smallest chances (schedules) and do them no matter what because there was no other way so got stressed cuz of those things. J: True, because you didn't really have any power
J: there are a lot of instances that you can't use a lot of words so you can't express yourself thru the lyrics. That's how it was for me as an idol. but when I went solo, a lot of people knew me only as an idol so cuz my behavior, my actions didn't match my idol era image
J: my fans and family got hate, fans threw hate at me, even when I got tattoo there were people that told me they will stop being my fan, it was frustrating cuz I was just being myself, they liked me w/ my idol mask but they hated it when I took that mask off,I didn't understand
J: wasn't it like that for you? Z: Hyung you were in a big agency, in my case people really didn't care , and the agency didn't teach us "you shouldn't do this, this is wrong etc." J: This is the case when I was a free agent
J: You can't satisfy everyone, if you try and match yourself with other people's standards you'll lose yourself, your individuality. What I'm saying is that idols, for a long time, only function based on the agency's instructions  (no freedom to find their own color)
J: and once they disband, they want to be active as a solo, but they don't know their color/identity. They don't know what they want to do, since the agency did everything for them so far. So a lot of them have a hard time. It was the same case for me.
Z: I really had no idea you went through all these... i thought you naturally had your style... J: that's why I naturally just did as myself and I became like this. I did as I felt regardless of getting hate or not. "whether I succeed or not I like it my way" *Sings Joah~* lol
Z: *Starts singing*
Z: but hyung back then when you started your solo career you looked really cool, we were newbies back then... we even met on a radio show J: that's true, we even met a few times during music show broadcasts  Z: but one thing I still remember
Z: When we (BlockB) were a rookie group, we made a mistake & had an scandal, during the time we were reflecting, we were on show champion & people weren't really welcoming us. You were there too, you came to us and said " you did a good job" It really gave me a great motivation
Z: It really gave us strength, so as we got on the car, we thought wow Park Jaebeom really cheered us up. I still remember the show... [he even remembered the corner Jay was recording] Z: Hyung you don't remember it right? J: I don't remember the details
J: but I remember you had shaved your head...I had also experienced getting hate from people, so I knew how you felt. that's why I don't judge people based on their mistakes or misfortunes or see a headline of an article and jump to conclusions.
J: I take time to meet with them, talk to them and judge them based on my own thoughts, observations, feelings etc. I don't let people's opinions affect how I see people. Z: but hyung you had that look in your eyes "It's sad, it's pity" but you expressed it in a really cool way
J: idk if I can say this now, but back then Dok2 had talked to me about you. This is when I didn't know you very well yet. Dok2 told me: " there's this kid that is getting ready to become an idol, but I think we should bring him to our label" Z: That's true
J: RIGHT??????
Z: That's when I was getting ready to become an idol and right before Illionaire was about to get established. Dok2 hyung doted on me, so he took me to bowling, to eat meat, everywhere he went~
Z: I was also a student back then, Dok2 hyung told me " I think you can really do well as a rapper, give some thought to it, or if you changed your mind (on becoming an idol) come to us" J: then the articles said: "Zico wanted to join Illionaire, but Jay park rejected"
J: lol it's probably been because I didn't want to do it with you.. anyways I'm forever the hidden 4th member of Illionaire... I'll always support Dok2 and The Quiet, and beenzino even tho he is a bit of an awkward kid but he is a cool artist that I like.
J: It really shows that you listen to music a lot and are very meticulous about making it, you are a perfectionist and I think that's really cool! I'm totally the opposite LOL
Z: I'm actually practicing to become like you,I've always been envious of the sensibility in your songs
J: but this comes with pros and cons: pros could be people saying "wow you're always hustling" etc. but the cons are that if you keep going like that, at some point your music might start sounding the same and not fresh anymore and then when you do music w/ younger folks, +
J: you feel that your style is old in comparison. I've been feeling like that these days. So I'm planning to retire by the end of next year, I'm not saying I will do it but I'm planning. Z: but even if you do that you can always make a comeback tbh if you change your mind hyung
J: no I don't like that, I'll do it once and forever. Cuz younger folks/talents keep coming out, like how I was doing it and you appeared, or song mino, haon etc. But that doesn't mean what we have done has gone in vain. What we have done for 11 years is not an easy task.
J: it's more difficult to keep your position the same for a long time in this industry. So I've been feeling that it's getting tiring. Z: woww so you've been feeling it... I thought you kept going cuz you don't feel tires. Â J: no I did it cuz it's fun
J: I wanted to give back to all the artists that always loved me, so I never asked for money if I featured in their songs, instead I spent my own money to record my part, to film my part in mv & sent it to them. It makes me happy if I can change that person's life in any ways
J: How was the concert? Z: it was fun, it was great that we actually did it. I don't think we could ever have the concert later in the future if we had not held it 2 weeks ago. J: why? Z: we're getting older now, we have different agencies & not a lot of opportunities to work together or gather... Since the agencies are different and we are a crew.. J: You never know, maybe you could make a label instead of a crew? Z: No since we are friends, we don't want to involve business with our friendship
Z: This time what we wanted to talk about & our message were the same, we're the same age & there were similarities in how we felt about specific things so, everything worked out well. We said let's do it, but it didn't end with just having a concert (so they released Y too)
J: How what FanxyChild made? Z: in 2015 I did "Yes or No" with Penomeco, we were classmates since middle school & started rap together. He really liked music but cuz of various circumstances couldn't fully do music. On the other hand I was constantly working in the industry +
Z: So after 5 years he came to me & told me that he's been working/making songs, & let me listen to them. If he wasn't good, objectively I would have told him that he needed to work more/try harder, but he was good. So untold him "you're really doing great, let's work together"
Z: w/o second thoughts we started working together & I thought that we had great synergy & that we could achieve our dreams. In the middle of all these, thru a hyung I work with, I got to meet Hyuk (Dean) & that's when he was only active as a producer, He was really good!
Z: that's when no one knew him, so I immediately told him "hey let's do something together, let's make a crew" he liked the idea & said okay. Then about 2 months later Crush said "I want to do it too let me join too" and that's how we made FanxyChild.
J: oh okay that was very simple lol Z: yeah there was nothing dramatic J: interesting... I wanna join too Z: come join hyung x2 J: No I'm old now.. But you guys are all friends.. Z: but we're getting old too J: if I join the name would probably change to "Fanxy Ajjussi's"
Z: No hyung there's Stay Tuned too J: right... But no I'm already in too many crews... * they started naming all his crews*
J: So after you left 7S, the first & only song you have released is "Y", when will your next one come out? Z: I'm revealing it for the very first time here, I'll be releasing my first FULL album! J: first time releasing a full album? Z: We've had full album as team (BlockB)
Z: But as a solo artist, this is my first full album. In my case, it takes a while to write a song, sometimes  I get stuck, keep modifying & don't get the result I want & struggle.. This album has come to completion after all those struggles, it will come out soon around Sep-Oct
J: then I shouldn't release anything around that time Z: lol seems like you will anyway J: album name? Z: It might change so I won't reveal it J: song title? You won't reveal that either? Z: of course not lol *plays spoiler/ album mode from small talk*
J: Did you produce + rap & sing? Z: yes J: You have a reputation for being a rapper but at some point you started singing too, even in "Y" you sang the hook Z: it's funny cuz I don't think of that as singing, but since there's a melody to it, people hear it as singing
Z: Through experience (in making music) I've realized that rap, is mostly consisted of syllables, so to fully convey the emotions, using melody helps a lot. So when I'm making a song,I don't think of it as "oh I should sing", I just to do it as part of the production process.
Z: Once it's completed, I realize that "oh it sounds like singing" Somehow I ended up using more melodies in my songs, so the singing parts increased too. J: the tile song? Z: I won't reveal it here
J: how many songs? Z: I've made a lot, but to keep the mood/vibe of the album more sonsistent, I have eliminated 5 songs. So there will be about 10 songs on the album. Might include/take out more. J: Since you're not active as an idol now, will u be promoting on music shows?
Z: Other than YHY Sketchbook, I haven't gone on any music shows. Considering the situation now, I won't be promoting on music shows. It's a great platform, but you can't customize the performance according to the vibe etc. (like using a live band).
J: These days the music show audience are mostly idol fans, so this who like our music don't look to watch us on music bank ] the culture has changed... Z: It used to be more like that before, but now the audience is mostly 'fandoms' J: Is there anything else you wanna say?
Z: I wanna play another spoiler **excited** this one..I'm only gonna play the intro of the song... wait no the middle..
J: this one too, was written & produced by you? Lol you're so cute the way you sound so excited... Z: yeah because I'm playing it here for the very first time
J: You know when you make music with a specific goal or audience In mind? Like putting out songs for hip-hop fans, for chart or just because you wanted to release those songs... Did you consider something like that with this album?
Z: It's not the 3rd one. I've made music just to satisfy myself before, but as time went by, specially since last year, I've started to make music considering what my (hard core) fans want to hear from me, I've asked them a lot "what kind of song do u want to hear from me?"
Z: I didn't want to base it on my own music taste, like "I have to do this genre" I wanted to make songs for them (fans) to listen to, to the extent that they look for my music/songs, because they "want to" listen to it. That's my biggest goal right now.
Z: I've noticed these days, people don't "consume" music anymore (not part of their life style or genuinely enjoying it), so I want to bring back that joy to people's lives J: This is really hard to achieve, since there are a lot of new songs released everyday,
J: The increasing number of rookies, songs...tbh I'm totally against this system, of course it's good to listen to different songs, there are artists who match to audience's taste, some also just release songs cuz they want to, which broadens the audience's spectrum +
J: But some just release music to make money, without any attachment or passion for the music itself. Is there anything about me you're curious about/you wanna ask me?
Z: There is! I've always wanted to ask you, hyung you have lots of responsibilities, how do you resolve the risky situations? things that are out of your control, business or human relationship related stuff, how do you challenge those situations?
J: we shouldn't treat them as unimportant, but treat big & small incidents the same. Everything will pass. You can't just give up & throw away everything cuz of 1 incident. Let's say something unfortunate happens, first you have to accept it
J: Time will resolve it, your time will also come. It's no one's fault, it's just not the right time. Consider 2 members of a group, one doing extremely well, while the other one is not even tho that person is working hard too, they might even think they're better than the other
J: They blame the agency cuz they're less known... It's very common wherever u go...everyone's time will come differently.. Who knew I'd sign with RocNation at the age of 34.. Or AOMG will become successful..who knew? There's a time for everything...
J: in this industry you won't get the results after 1 or 2 year... How many years did it take us? You have to be willing to do this for a long time (for life) A CEO's position is the loneliest, a lot of people look up to you and follow you, which brings huge responsibilities.
Z: Since I have also been a leader, guiding people & you've also been doing it for a long time, I want to ask you this question: Who do you turn to when you have a really hard time or get sick & tired of things? Who plays the role of supporter & mentor for you? Who comforts you?
J: It's not to a level of mentor, but the people around me, I see them as a team, I don't look at them as people under me just because they work for me, I see them as people beside me. Due to situations, I've changed a lot of lives, so even if it's hard, because of those people
J: I'll try my best. I'm a celebrity but didn't do music to become a celebrity. I'm just JP, it's really had to keep up w/ my schedules so I have to let go of things slowly and pick just one path. Since I'm only human.. Z: Wow everyone JP is a human after all...
Z: I thought you'd say "just do the way you are" J: I used to Z: but doing this for a long time... there are times that I wanna let go, there are times that I also want to  gain 20 kg, until when should I keep up with this king image? until when am I gonna do jiji party?
J: it hasn't been a long time since you became a CEO... This is nothing now lol Z: that's why thankfully right now I'm not finding it difficult. I'm trying to feel it little by little by picturing it, imagining situations and thinking "ah this would be difficult" J: From now on you shouldn't think of yourself as the Zico everyone knows. Your team & the people around you, working for you are really important. You have to know if they are people you can trust, or if you are walking the same road, if you can trust each other.
J: this is really important. More than their skill level it is important if they are people you can trust for years to come, so that you can look at each other and work for the sake of each other. You shouldn't be greedy. Oh you took notes??? Z: Yes as you were talking...
J: How did you come up with the name "KOZ"? Z: It was the name of my world tour, as I thought & pondered about the name for a while.. random & childish names also came up so I thought I should just go with the most natural one. It doesn't necessarily represent me,
Z: It could also be in plural form "Kings of the Jungle" it was very 'me' like... I didn't give it a lot of thought I just natually went with that name J: yeah you should just go with what you feel like and later on if you change your mind you can always change it
J: It should be that way...take it easy, nothing should be totally perfect when you start just because people might be watching you.. That's how I always think Z: I envy that a lot... J: What are you envious of? I've never gotten #1 on a chart like you, I'm envious of you
J: You even get no.1 with hip-hop songs... Z: it's not like that anymore hip-hop is not as popular as it used to J: no there are just too many rappers, there are also a lot of good rappers.. They're dispersed so it's become hard. Z: it's nice from a fan's perspective
J: So have you signed anyone to KOZ yet? Z: Not yet! but I'm planning to, I have my eyes on someone J: Hint? Z: We've even worked together, but he is not a famous person, no one knows him J: male or female? Z: male J: I'm curious, I wanna sign him first
J: what kind of label is KOZ? Z: a lot of people refer to it as hip-hop but it's more an all around label, art, music, I'm just saying this but it might also bring in actors J: we did smtm together..which season was it? Z: Season 4 & 6
J: We did 4&6 together??? Daebak now that I think we've done a lot together, you also appeared in 'Mommae', me & loco cameo'ed in 'Tough Cookie'. Which season did you like better & why? Z: I liked 4 better. It was more fun J: Even tho me & loco lost to you
Z: You didn't lose to me, the contestants lost to each other J: You & Song Mino were idols & famous, so I was kinda annoyed too lol Z: but I knew you'd win the producer's stage J: We had to go all out cuz there were still talks that I can't rap etc.
J: after all I'm someone who has helped shape this industry and hip-hop culture, & those people are just watching me they their screens, how can they judge me... But I think this is also part of the community that helped we gain fans too,
J: I've also gotten hate a lot since a long time ago, I don't care anymore.. Now getting hate is.. fine
Z: Same here J: about SMTM.. Z: I received offers to join since season 2 started..every season J: Pretty much same here. Did u ever hesitate to accept?
Z: not at all specially season 5, 7 and 8 J: then why did you accept 4 & 6? Z: As for S6, I had confidence that I was good, and I wanted to show that thru different channels, but it didn't work. It turned out different from what I had in mind.
Z: I wanted to show different styles through hip-hop, but m*net itself, starting from editing everything I talked about... It didn't work. J: it was the same case for us, we also wanted to appeal thru our personal attitude towards hip-hop but they edited it all out.
J: that's why we started Sign Here with mbn. What do you think of it? Z: Before it's about rap, it's a kind of variety show. Same with SMTM, I haven't been following it alot, but people these days don't care about those who are good at rap anymore.
Z: So it should include the element of story telling for sure, I think that at it will have a possibility to become a hit show. People don't get impressed by great rap/ musical skills any more J: then you should guest on our show as a featuring label
Z: Oh you'll bring in featuring labels? J: yeah you should feature as 'KOZ' Z: LOL Invite me to one of the episodes hyung.. J: If you post on your sns, that "I'm enjoying 'Sign Here' these days, I'm thankful' we might Z: Ok LOOOOL
J: There's 'Off Route Fest' coming up, come hang out, come watch & if you feel like it come up on stage during Crush's stage Z: There's something else you have in mind & not telling me J: We wanted to invite Zico as guest but he's so expensive we couldn't
J: I'll send you an invitation, come with BlockB and hang out Z: Feels like you're hiding something from me???
J: Do you have anything you wanna promote? Z: I've prepared the album trying my best, I hope you listen to it A LOT and enjoy it
J: Do you want some people listen to your songs many times, or a lot of people listen to your songs? Z: the latter, and more than saying "he's a good producer etc. I want them to fully listen to the songs and enjoy them"
"I used to be greedy about hearing the compliments, but not anymore. I just want them to listen to my songs, I really want to be someone whose songs are loved by people" - Zico
"I would actually be even happier if there are people out there that like me, not just because of my music, but because of who I am. I would be greatly thankful" - Zico
J: I agree, same here. People paying attention itself is great, whether they want to curse or not, they're gonna listen to our songs anyways. Z: People hating could even be better than no one hating J: In our industry, the moment the attention starts to fade it becomes dangerous
J: that's why I'm gonna retire LOL Z: STOP HYUNG LOL
J: Anything you wanna say? Z: Please anticipate a lot and listen to the songs a lot, also support KOZ & AOMG. I came because Jaebeom hyung asked me, a person who has contributed a lot to this industry.
Zico : I haven't been much of a player lately, so I had time to watch it from a fan's perspective from a far, so I have totally become a hip-hop fan again and remembered, oh I'm a player too.. Anyways I love hip-hop." Bye~~
Credit: BB_E914