[Trans] AOMG CEO Jay Park "Won't exchange freedom even if CJ offers 100 billion"

Recently in january CJ E&M decided to do a strategic investment in the company that jay park created back in 2013 called AOMG. according to their representative “We decided to provide our global network and infrastructure to the most trendy hiphop label AOMG which aside from music also leads in lifestyle trends, so they can grow accordingly "



Jay park, starting as a trainee in 2004 and debuting in 2008 which lead to 1 year active as an idol , but after a unfortunate incident caused him to get thrown out of his group he returned to his hometown and started working at a tire shop, which was viewed as his downfall, but after 6 years he has risen to the postion that no one can ignore in the music market.



GIANT BABY



It is what CEO jung hoon tak of Sidus HQ gave Jay Park as a nickname when he was in Seattle in 2010. Jay Park and his past being the anomaly In the history of the large entertainment companies of SM, YG, JYP is what makes "Jay Park'' interesting.



New York times reporter choi sang hun who was the first in korea to receive the pulitzer prize stated “In 2010 Jay Park achieved #1 in US, Canada, Denmark on the R&B & Soul album chart"” also stating "Jay Park is not just an artist, he's a promotional company and TV network all in one"



TV Network



Until now instead of "showing my own talents" the music market managing company's have adopted a system of "showing what the audience wants" which results in the growing of the hallyu wave, but as soon as the artists who are under them start raising their heads and call for more rights everything falls apart, and the relationship of the artist and the managing companies president grows apart.



When the artist and the company collide, the one who will receive the most damage is the artist.systematic exclusion from TV appearances, Music awards, and every other casting call is a given which leads to the shrinking of the artist's promotion on tv.



Rising from that barren environment and turning into his own TV network therefore leisurely bypassing all hurdles and growing steadily is what made jay park an "anomaly"



In the programs "Immortal song" where you have to sing another singer's song, or even "masked singer" where you have to hide your face, Jay Park shined with "his own" charms. Without replicating others and always with his own optimistic energy, with swag engrained in his body.



He uploaded a song on his youtube with a macbook given as a present from his fans, the song reached 2 millions views in a day or 2 leading him to return to the music market, a fact which Jay Park won't forget.



Because he never dreamed of being an idol, climbing down from the top was instead more peaceful to this young lad. Now without following the orders of anyone, he has become the iconic person of independence who with his own strenght created a start-up which succeeded in a market with a monopoly lead by leading management companies



He received the Artist of the year award as voted by netizens on the Korean Music Awards in 2015, and recently with his song "Mommae" which was a song included in his recently released album "WorldWide", he received evaluations stating he has transcended the typical explicitness and created the pinnacle of what people call the Jay Park style.



We met Jay Park who we can only describe as a bright person.



-You're wearing a louis vuitton belt and rolex watch, are you going the luxury hiphop route like for example puff daddy?



J:Wearing expensive luxury is a way to show that to people one has succeeded and come up.The point is to invoke a "I can do that too" message and give hope to people. hiphop is freely expressing your desires and passions, and that's what makes it alluring.



I too spent alot of money on buying the watch ( laughs). it's nice since it looks so classy. after buying alot, i'm refraining a bit now (Laughs)



-What is the difference between an Idol and an artist?



J:age doesn't matter(laughs).Idols make money with the image that the company creates for them,, and make music to achieve a #1 on music bank. Artists have a vision for their albums and make their own music.



-Recently CJ E&M decided to make a strategic investment in the Hiphop Label you founded in 2013 AOMG. What was the reason you decided to make a company?



J:As my contract with Sidus HQ was ending I started thinking which company I should go to, My music color suits me to go to Amoeba or maybe YG, but seeing YG CEO is a person who judges on the show Kpop star I thought it wouldn't work out. So I changed my thoughts and decided I should just setup my own company.



-So a person who started as an Idol brought up the courage to start his own music start-up



J: Because I produce, direct music videos, write songs, make choreography, basically I just have to make it and distribute it and it's done. I found musicians with the same mindset and made them an offer, that's how simon d, gray, loco, dj pumkin, ugly duck, dj wegun ended up joining. I just eded up naturally with people i'm close with.



-You look really lively while talking.



J: I haven't done a thing I don't like since 2010. Everything went really naturally. in the past when they asked me "what's your dream?" i would anser that I didn't know. Living while following orders for a year made me realize I don't know what I can decide anymore. it became clearer while working, how much I can do, what I can do. AOMG also became much bigger than what i had envisioned 3 years ago.



-How much was your initial investment into the founding of the company?



J: I started with 200 million won. Since we're not a company who trains wannabe singers, or a company that sucks up to TV producers.It's nice if we get to appear on tv, but since we don't make music just to appear on tv, we put the focus on our music and music only.



-There's rumours saying that because of your split with JYP, you have been blocked to appear on TV.



J:I don't know exactly how much I'm getting blocked either. But I don't get hung up on the fact that because of the split I can't appear on TV that much anymore. It's true there were alot of times where my TV appearance were being blocked but I wasn't really sad or anything and just kept on moving ahead, it actually made the road to some other areas smoother.



-Listening to some of the lyrics you wrote previously, A certain person comes to mind. (referring to the lyrics of his track "fuckboy") what was your motive writing those lyrics?





J:(Laughs)I wrote the lyrics I had on my mind at the time. As how you interpret them depend on the person listening. (Smiling) It's true that people do stick me and my past company president together regarding those lyrics. But you know I have alot of people i'm responsible for. I'm busy doing my own thing (smiles)



-What are your thoughts on JYP?



J:We can't really be put together. It's like putting a basketball player against a baseball player(Smiles). It doesn't make sense. the period of 2005~2009 was when I had a really hard time. But if that period didn't happen, I wouldn't be as strong as I am now.



-You appear to have changed alot since that period.



J: I haven't changed at all. Just that alot of things have happened.



-What was your dream when you were little?



J:My sole dream was to compete in a world championship with my bboy friends. back then I liked usher, and in an interview I read he said: if you want to be popular with the ladies, you have to build yourself a sixpack, So i started working out ever since I was 13.



-So did you compete in the bboy world championships?



J:Nope(Laughs) I didn't have the skills required.Instead my mom wanted me to audtion for JYP who at the time was held in seattle, so I participated. my moms dream was for me to become a lawyer or a doctor. but since I didn't study and was caught up in dance and rap, she thought "let's see how much talent you have for it"



-So you didn't want it yourself?



J: I wasn't really interested in the audition, after showing my own written rap and dance on the day of the audition, I went to eat some Taco's without even checking the results. so I was sitting at Taco bell, and my mom called and said "someone from JYP wants to talk to you", Because at that time I had no real info on the korean music scene, when the guy in charge explained to me about "Idols" and "Trainees" I had no idea what he was talking about.





-So that's how your time with JYP started.



J: After doing the audition in Seattle, nothing changed much. I was still in quarrels with my mom about if I'm going to university or not.that''s how I spent my days. around 2004 JYP producer himself(Park Jinyoung) came to LA and I auditioned again. He told me how much money Rain and GOD had made, How great the company JYP was, and how he wants me to be in charge of the rap in the new Idol group he planned to make.



-So he felt you would become a star?



No, he said "Ill ask your mom first", As I said I didn't intend to become a star, nor did I want to give up my life in Seattle. It's just that at the time the situation My family was in wasn't very good.

"pay back your debt" calls with these messages would come nonstop to our house.so I thought maybe this road will lead me to resolve this problem. It was a naive and immature thought but I thought "If I can be active for 1 year and earn enough money, I could go back to my parents and friends"



-Seems like life in Korea was really different then you thought it would be.



J: Hmm... Well I didn't have a grasp of what trainees were ( smiles). Since I couldn't connect with language and even the food, it was hard, but doing the rap and dance I did so freely in the USA under repression and learning while being scolded was really painful.



I was living without minding others, and suddenly I have to mind others from time to time, made me feel intimidated. I have no tears now, but back then I used to cry every single day.



-Did you feel wronged?



J: Yes. I did have that feeling, because I wasn't prepared for it.



-Do you regret writing your frustrations on your soial media?



J: It was a mistake I made when I was immature and timid.Back then I didn't have a facebook account, and social media wasn't that explosive in 2005,it was a myspace account I made to talk to my friends in the USA, it was 4 years after I wrote it that it was discovered and blew up.



-How long were you active as a member of a group?



J:From september 2008 until september 2009. it was exactly 1 year. after the incident blew up I became alone (Smiles)



-How did you feel?



J:It was a situation where I was being scolded by everyone and kicked out, but on one side I felt at ease. So this means I can forget everything and return to Seattle and work at a tireshop. That's what I thought.I'm going back to somewhere I'm used to, alongside the family I love.



-Then instead of feeling miserable you had the sense of relief right?



J: Because it wasn't the path that I dreamed of. It's just that it was really hard for me because I dissapointed the people who were rooting for me. and my parents being frustrated also was hard on me. But you learn from your mistakes,that's life.



-In anycase the fact that jay park, such a popular leader of a group from JYP, got kicked out because of that incident was a big shock in the music market. I think the after math of it all were big on all of those involved.



J:I was preparing to leave it all behind me and start my new life, but on the other hand it was the media that caused this whole ordeal to turn into a much bigger "drama". To be honest I really didn't need to be a star again at all (smiles). that's why I started working at a tireshop, and started attending bboy battles, living life peacefully again.



-After uploading a cover of B.O.B's hit song "nothing on you" on youtube, it recorded 2 million views in 2 days starting your rise again, did you expect this?



J: No. I didn't use youtube just because I wanted to restart my career. My fans sent me gifts like clothes, shoes, a macbook to my adress in the states. as a way of expressing my thanks and saying "I'm living fine" I uploaded the cover. My parents were highly against it. but that's how I relayed my well being, through the mac book that the fans sent me.



-It was a first when a group perceived to be perfect started revealing it's cracks, and the way JYP handled the situation wasn't satifactory to the fans wishes at all. It could be said that the reaction on youtube could be the fans love towards you and the anger towards how the situation was handled.



J: I received a huge amount of love being active as an idol member for 1 year, but instead of being loved for what kind of music I made, and what qualities I posses, the love I received was through the orders and the image that the company made for me. Those kind of Idols will continue to come out, but for me it was really hard to maintain that lifestyle.



That's why I thought to have the qualifications to receive all that love, I need to be a better artist. Concluding with doing what I want even if the fans don't like it.



-After you returned from the states you started appearing on the program "SNL Korea", that was unexpected. A returning Idol star appearing on a 19 rated adult comedy live show as a fixed guest was a fresh initiative. doing B grade sexual comedy sketches didn't leave the feeling of distaste.



J:I really love the american SNL show.I was planning to appear as a host one time only, but shin dong yup offered me a fixed position. on TV you usually have to watch your words and mind others, but since snl wasnt like that I had alot of fun. everyone was saying you can have sexual talk, so what if you get scolded a bit. the energy was really free.



-It was after that, you saw Idols appearing on that show alot more right?



J: Yes, Things idols shouldn't say and do were being done bit by bit, stuff like saying "shit" "fuck" (laughs)



-At the time Idols were being thought of as pet dolls, Jay Park played a big role in changing that status quo. Is having tattoo's a part of that? It can appear to be a bit excessive.

( Laughs)



J: I got a bit scolded by the fans ( Laughs). But it's my body. Just because I have tattoo's or talk indecently doesn't cause trouble for anyone. at first even if I get criticized I wanted to make a start. Limiting what you can do or say is no fun. When you tell an artist "draw something up like this only" it kills the creativity. it kills the soul. I don't need to achieve #1 on melon chart. even if I currently don't reach mass appeal, I'm still going along the way I want.



-Recently one of the songs in your new album "WORLDWIDE" called "MOMMAE" has been famous for it's 19 rated music video. While you have the likes who do everthing they can to appear sexy, you on the otherhand appear to have the sexyness engrained in you.



J: I've been listening to hiphop and R&B ever since I was little, being tacky or being Sexy depends on how the musician feels and moves. Since I grew up listening to usher and Boyz II Men, I know how to express myself on stage in regards to sharing the love.



-Even when you are turning 30 you still have that Mischievous joker vibe in you. maybe it's because of that you don't look tacky.



J: The diference between being sexy and being a pervert is like the difference between Stanley Kubric's movie "Eyes wide shut" and Porn. Even though the boundaries may seem vague, they are definitey different.



-How much is CJ involved in AOMG's work?.



J:I am running the company freely. CJ provides technical advice regarding business. But I'm really happy AOMG became an important label that you can't leave out of the korean hiphop scene, all in 2 years. Also happy that Gray and Loco who weren't well known became stars.

From now on I hope, instead of the old me(Laughs), everyone shows the young kids lots of love.



-Let's say you didn't upload music on youtube when you were in seattle. Your life would have been way different right?



J:Right. Everyone was scared to do something together with me, saying it's dangerous. but since I recorded 2 million views in 2 days, People appeared willing to take the risk.



-Sidus HQ's president Jung Hoon Tak was the first. he was calling you the nickname giant baby.



J:There were offers coming in from here and there. I'm thankful to president jung hoon tak.

He never forced me to do anything.Even though he was a businessman he understood me and gave me a chance to improve myself.



-Do you still contact your former group?



J:No, because the path we're taking is clearly different. I heard they're doing well in japan. I don't wish for others to fail(smiles) I'm also rooting for twice's tzuyu. fighting! (Laughs)



-What do you think is your biggest talent?



J: My Passion. I've always been doing something. When others would be in thought of doing something or not because of time constraints etc, I would just do it. Not forcefully, but by enjoying myself.



-How different do you feel Korea in 2016 as opposed to korea in 2005?



J:(Laughs) Back then I was having such a hard time, that just getting on the plane was tough.

Korea was like another world.The Korea now is the base I make my music on, Together with my loving family.



-Lastly, What kind of CEO is Jay Park?



J: I make my own money, I don't make money through my artists.



-What if CJ offers to buy AOMG in it's entirety?



J: I won't give in even if they offer me a hundred billion won. because I've gone through the experience that I have in the past.



Interview: http://entertain.naver.com/read?aid=0000319016&oid=366&lfrom=twitter

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