“The meaning of my stage name can be seen by the reason why I started rapping. ” – CHANGEs
(KSTATION TV recommends that you listen to the artist’s songs for a music reading experience !)
~ An artist in search of development:
In Korea, we consider the moment when we “start” to make music as the moment when we have created beats or his first lyrics. It is a school teacher who, during a discussion, teaches BAE Jong Min, that abroad we count from the moment we rap, whether it is our texts or not..
BAE Jong Min then understands that his musical adventure began unconsciously since 2011, when he began to train. But it is really since 2017 that BAE Jong Min creates his texts and gives birth to his stage name: CHANGEs.
““Hip Hop has the power to change someone’s life” That”s what i learned while rapping.” – CHANGEs
Once launched into the practice of hiphop, CHANGEs feels this power in him. Touched by the performance and texts of artists like GARY of the duo LEESSANG or the group LEGIT GOONS. He says that if he is who he is today, it is mostly because of them.
He says that for him, the title “CLOWN” of LEESSANG was like a therapy.
If the name CHANGEs is spelled with an “s” in lowercase, it is for a well thought out reason:
“To make someone change I should change myself first […]Once my belief comes true and I feel ready to spread good hip hop towards people then I will be able to change my alias for a proud “CHANGES”.” – CHANGEs
This change, he mentions in his title “REAL NAME” came out of his first mixtape “AN IMPERFECT“. This title tells us his story and his “him” of the past. Although he is attached to all his music, “REAL NAME” remains special to him. Like a diary, he deposited his story there. That’s how he embarked on the adventure of a “new life”.
Then in a more sober tone he confesses:
“I want to develop ‘REAL NAME’, the title of the first mixtape. Because the hook part of the song is grammatically incorrect English sentences. When the school professor saw the song, he said, ‘It’s not grammatical at all. It’s wrong'”. […] To be honest, C can develop it right now. But I’m not touching it because I don’t want to lose my feelings at that time. Although there may be some distance between English speakers, I value the sentences that come from the pure heart. And I don’t want to touch it because it can be used as a device that can show you how much progress you’ve made.” – CHANGEs
~ New year, new mixtape:
On January 4, 2020, the first mixtape of CHANGEs “AN IMPERFECT” and it is only 1 year later that the second “사랑하는 만큼” (As much as I love you) was released (released on January 11, 2021). A mixtape about love. But here we are not really talking about love between two protagonists but rather about evidence of love or actions that can be done out of love. The titles therefore do not bring love topics directly, but have strongly suggested them.
Beyond just listening, CHANGEs hopes that listeners will have a perspective to reflect on the topics discussed.
“During my one-year working period, I thought, “What can I say to impress people?””-CHANGEs
The year 2020 was a new chapter for the young boy. That’s when he leaves his family and settles alone in the capital. It was when his ties to his past were severed that he saw the birth of a great sense of solitude in him for the first time. Then, after meeting a person with whom he had a relationship, he learned that love also translates into actions in everyday life. Love does not necessarily translate into a “date” but into our actions that impact the world around us.
Discover below the second mixtape of CHANGEs “사랑하는 만큼” (As much as I love you)
~ A very specific message:
The young artist has a very specific message to deliver to those who will take the time to listen to him:
“I want to talk to everyone in South Korea. Most students in South Korea are living without knowing what they want to achieve, and they are living a safe life, eventually giving up their dreams and making money. I think this is South Korea’s shameful bare face. That’s because their lives have been controlled by adults almost forcibly since they were young. Since I was young, I have lived by listening to the story that “Going to a good university by studying hard will definitely make your life good.” Adults talk to young children as if they were brainwashing young children. That’s how I’ve lived. It was so hard for me to study. When I was in high school, I studied from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. and went to the academy until 12 p.m. to study. Even now, many students living in South Korea live painful and repetitive lives. Without knowing what you really want to do. However, even if you listen to adults and enter a good university and find a job, many students do not live a safe life at all. Rather, I’m living a hard life to pay for college entrance fees. This dark reality seems to me to be a huge barrier. I’m one of the types that broke through that barrier. The world outside the Wall is less dark than the world inside the Wall, but you can still see a little light. I hope many students living in South Korea will study about the things they really want to do. That would be great, but it doesn’t change because I want to change it, so when I see students carrying study bags until 1 a.m., I think of my childhood and feel sorry at the same time. I hope that the day will come when all students realize that studying is not a “repetition of pain and boredom.” – CHANGEs
CHANGEs adds :
“
And one more thing! A really bad guy named COVID-19 is invading our world and losing our lives. At times like this, we need to get more energy and live. Let’s all live without losing hope. Someday, it will be peaceful again. Let’s all live hard, promising that day. Peace !” – CHANGEs
CHANGEs is preparing to depart for military service in March 2021. In the meantime he wants to make a maximum of music and when he returns why not make a music video and other more ambitious projects.
So stay connected to CHANGEs on social medias because it seems that it has far from finished surprising us:
Soundcloud – Instagram
Journalist: Waterice
Translator: Waterice
Source: CHANGEs
