Homegrown ExPat HipHop: ‘Megook Movement’/DJ Hypnotiq

Photos by Jeff Dalgleish

In the fall of 2009, a gathering of beginning rap artists, led by Bryan Simmons (aka DJ Hypnotiq), committed to promote Hip Hop music in South Korea. They formed the group “Megook Movement”. It began in Gwangju but has played all over Korea in the last three years. Bryan is also doing solo work and has a new album coming out that is exploring more biographical themes. I sat down with Bryan to find out more about his group and his solo work.

What is Megook Movement about? 

We invite other groups to play with us and we mix Rock, Rhymes and Reggae. No one in Korea has done what we do. We fuse all three genres into one good show. We do it here in Gwangju, we get artists like G-MO from Gunsan (originally from -Los Angeles in California) and people from Seoul to come down here and participate. And it’s crazy, we had a couple of artists come down for an event, and once they got off the bus, they thought there was going to be rice fields everywhere. I was like no, man, it’s a city here, just like anywhere in Korea. They had never left Seoul before, it’s so big, there are hundreds of clubs to play in, you could spend your whole life in Seoul and never see the rest of Korea. So I want to change that. They were surprised by all of the local support here.

And the name?

We’re a collective group of people so we came up with ‘Movement,’ and we were all foreigners, so obviously: ‘Megook’. And the ‘MM’ makes it simpler for designing. Some people misinterpreted it as a ‘revolution.’ and they thought we were an anti-government revolutionary group, but we’re not that. We just talk about partying in Korea.

Where has Megook Movement played?

We’ve played in Seoul, Busan (Vinyl Underground and Fabric), Daejeon, Suncheon, Daegu and MudFest. Busan has a great atmosphere. That’s a great place, good people and beautiful people. And at Daegu, we did a show where we had almost all soldiers. And here in Gwangju, we’ve played at Nevermind, Mix, Club Illy, House, Bubble Bar and SpeakEasy. We’re hoping to play more in Seoul, and we’re getting help from a manager up there named Josh Roy, who is internationally known and I think is the top reggae artist in Korea.

Who are your members and what albums have you released so far?

We originally started with 10 members. We were like the Wu-Tang Clan of Korea. Now there are four of us, me from Chicago, Cliff De Trong from Cameroon, AC Cutta from Kentucky and Stick Figure from Seattle, U.S.A. We’ve done two albums, “Listen and Repeat” and “Next Level Up.” We have our own recording studio with AC Cutta here in Gwangju. We also have a third untitled album coming out this year.

Where can people listen and learn?

We’re on iTunes.-Tunes. We have a Facebook page and a Reverb Nation account. We have several videos on YouTube. Most are like slide shows but we have two full music videos: “Pay Back”, which was shot in Seoul, and “Another Day in the SK”, which was all recorded here in Gwangju.

When did you become DJ Hypnotiq?

It came when I was in college. I did Hip Hop, R&B and Chicago Juke (It’s a faster version of Ghetto House), as some people call it. It’s faster than the electronic they play here. It’s like 160 BPM. It’s a whole lot faster, and when people dance to it, they do what’s called “Foot Work”, which is derived from various other dances. I played some of it at Chonnam National University and they liked it, but they couldn’t dance to it. It was way too fast.

What did you do in college?

I graduated from Southern Illinois University (SIU), with a degree in radio and television broadcasting. The reason I chose that major was because I did acting and stand-up comedy, like at places like Riddles Comedy Club. I did that for a few years. And SIU had one of the top radio/TV programs in the nation. Another reason was that the person who got me into stand-up was Hannibal Buress, the guy who writes for NBC’s 30 Rock. He’s been on late-night TV in America also. I did stand up with him for a while, until later he dropped out of college and went to New York.

Does coming from Chicago influence you in terms of your life and music?

I was born and raised in Chicago, and it had the highest homicide rate last year, and growing up there from middle school to high school, I dealt with gangs and drugs in the community. Being from the ‘South Side’ and living in it, it didn’t seem like much, growing up. But now from the outside looking in, it’s crazy. I would say a lot of my early music is not about Chicago. It’s about Korean life, partying and having fun. But now I feel I’ve grown as an artist, and I feel more comfortable talking about personal things and what I experienced growing up. I want to put that in my upcoming solo music.

What is the name of your solo album?

It’s going to be called “Drunken Days and SoMber Nights” with a capitalized M, so it could be read also “Drunken Days Sober Nights”. It’s basically describing me dealing with difficult personal things. I think being in Korea has influenced me in some ways, both positively and negatively. Back home I wasn’t a big drinker, but here you work long hours, Monday through Friday, and you need to relieve stress. And there’s more of a cultural influence or pressure to drink. So my solo work will address some of that and be more serious. The album comes out in late May.

Who are your HipHop influences?

Any artist that I can draw from. It doesn’t matter. It doesn’t have to be just HipHop artists for me. I like Lincoln Park, Nirvana, Korn and Spanish Jazz. I get inspiration from all artists. Also, I get my inspiration from life experiences, both good and bad.

Why is HipHop getting popular in Korea?

I think it’s becoming more popular in Korea because it’s new to Korean culture and it’s western. But Korea is mostly into electronic dance right now. But I think in 10 years, HipHop in Korea will be more in the clubs than electronic music.