Growing up in Korea, Phil Chang '08 had a passion for hip-hop, making contacts with industry movers and shakers at a young age over e-mail. At Dartmouth, he still energetic, ambitious and all about the music.
So tell us about the artists at this event you're planning.
Wale's a 23-year-old rapper out of DC who is on Mark Ronson's label, and he's most famous for "W.A.L.E.D.A.N.C.E.," which is a remix of Justice's song "D.A.N.C.E." Blue Scholars are a hip-hop group out of Seattle, and they're pretty much the undisputed shit.
We're trying to show we can bring edgier shit for budgets that are comparable with Programming Board shows. PB is comprised of people who have a very good understanding of how to deal with money but maybe not the best understanding of what relevant music is right now. And I'm not saying that in a way to deprecate their musical taste; they're just more interested in bringing artists who are safe and will attract a wider demographic. That's their priority. They don't take many risks, so it's up to musically conscious people to try and bring artists who are going to be relevant this year or next year. That way, when these artists start charging 25 Gs a show, we've already seen them at Dartmouth.
What else do you do with music?
I used to be more active in performances, but I kind of stepped away from that. This album that I'm making now is actually my independent study in creative writing, my major. I think that an academic deadline forces me to work in a more regulated way. Sometimes I put together a song in 20 minutes, but other times it takes me two months, so a lot of my projects get drawn out; this deadline forces me to keep my music understandable, concise.
In the music industry, I'm helping artists and producers, especially hip hop artists, interact with streetwear brands, getting them into magazines like Vapors, BPM, Evil Monito -- publications that I'm involved with on the editorial level.
So how did you get into this whole business and start networking?
I've lived in Korea for most of my life, and in seventh grade I started getting into graffiti. Besides breakdancing, there wasn't a visible hip hop culture in Seoul. So I had to turn to the Internet. I would read everything I could online and one day I just hit up Rickey Kim, the founder of the online magazine Evil Monito, over e-mail. I was in eighth grade, but he treated me like a peer and kept in touch with me, which was pretty much the coolest shit ever. After that interaction, I realized that I could actually talk to people in this industry, so I started to reach out to independent rappers, brands, magazines in the U.S. You are hungrier when the culture isn't immediately accessible to you.
And they listened to you?
Dude, that's the thing, they do take you seriously in this culture and industry if you're asking genuine questions. That's what makes this industry unique.
What sort of questions?
Such as 'What was the inspiration behind the article you wrote?' They'll talk to you so as long as you're not masturbating them and you give the impression that you'll be contributing to the same culture within a few years. The cool thing about this industry is that the producers, the designers -- everyone who sells product -- are cut from the same cloth as the people who buy it. It's a very intimate connection between the industry and consumer.
In the end, people like MTV and Nike and Coke will be hiring the smaller independent brands because these are the people who know how the scene actually moves. The independent companies have their ear closer to the ground.
An oldie but a goodie: What's playing on your iPod now?
I don't have an iPod. F*ck iPods.
Do you have a Zune?
Uh, yeah. You've cornered me. You want a list? The Pipettes, "Dance and Boogie." Los Campesinos, "Broken Hearts Sound Like Breakbeats." Wale featuring Jay-z and Freeway, "Big Spender." Blue Scholars, "Loyalty." Burial, "Archangel." South Rakkas Crew, "When You Play Dancehall." The Commodores, "Easy like a Sunday Morning (Tittsworth remix)." The Cool Kids, "Pump Up the Volume (Flosstradamus remix)." Cannonball Adderly, "Batidas Diferentes." Mickey Factz, "You Remind Me."
Fill in the blank. The music scene at Dartmouth is.
Bipolar -- no, tripolar.
What does that mean?
Let's keep them guessing.
