Hello my lovelies,
Today we have one more special blog. Today we have the honor to take an interview from a very aspiring young talented person, an accomplished business owner, a model, rapper, singer, music composer, vocalist and instrumentalist Jessica Ko. She is a very creative artist and many will vouch that Jessica’s music reflect to her long life journey and is a relatable and fascinating experience for all.
She is a very hard working person and that’s one of the reason that made her be one of the most established musician with high ratings in KoKo Entertainment. Many even consider her a music whisperer.
She is currently living in Seoul, South Korea working in the entertainment industry. She made her debut in 2020 and currently she the leader of a very big hip-hop crew and at the same time she is working on her on songs and albums. She is also a part-time English teacher.
She has already released 4 albums and currently she is working on her 5th one, and today we are delighted to hear more about her upcoming album. So let us all welcome her and hear what she has to say about herself as well as her new album.
Laura: Hello and nice to meet you. Please introduce yourself to our readers.
Jessica Ko: Hello everyone my name is Jessica Ko.
Laura: Its really nice to have this interview with you Jessica. So for the start could you please tell us how did you start your career?
Jessica Ko: When I was 18, I was preparing to go to university in Arizona to study music composition. I had always known I was meant to work in the field of music, but becoming a professional singer seemed so risky and out of reach, I ultimately settled to go into composition for video games. But as the days came closer to set off to university, I became increasingly unfulfilled with the idea of giving up so easily.
One day, I was driving home from school in my old, bang-up truck. It was pouring rain and I was blasting the new Wings album (I was really into BTS in high school). First Love was playing, and it's a song about the singer’s lifelong struggle and relationship with music (or at least, that’s my take on it). In that minute, I got to thinking and thought about what I wanted in life. My one goal since I was in early high school has been to make everyone around me as happy as possible. It’s still my goal today.
I love making people happy, I’m charismatic, I can dance, I can sing, and I can rap (now). I thought, why not become a k-pop idol? I mean, I’d definitely fail if I didn’t try.
When I broke the news to my parents, they had polar opposite reactions. My dad laughed and said “You’re not moving to Korea”, and my mom was all in favor of me seeking my dreams. And secretly, I think both of them didn’t think I’d really do it. I mean, I had never even left the country at that point in my life. But when I showed them the ticket, both of them did a 180. My dad was so supportive and my mom……. was definitely panicked.
By september of 2017, I was fully moved into my studio apartment in the Sindaebang (신대방) neighbourhood, 9 stops away from Gangnam on the green line. I began auditioning daily, both online and in person. About three weeks in, I finally got my first callback from a smaller company (undisclosed for legal reasons). I gave the following auditions my all, and signed the papers. Maybe I’m crazy, and I’m definitely a workaholic, but I was really loving the challenge of training dusk to dawn all while doing uni classes online. But my parents both grew worried as the details of debuting became cloudier and cloudier. They were worried that university was only going to get more difficult, and I’d be left without a degree if anything were to go wrong with my debut.
I made the difficult decision to end my contract early, only a month into training. I may have given up my company, but I didn’t give up my dream. I trained on my own for the following years, living back and forth between Korean and the US. I studied at three universities and one community college, including Seoul’s esteemed Yonsei University. I graduated with a BA in Music and Korean Studies, and as my graduation project, I debuted with my first album. I later started, and eventually ended, my own entertainment company, but still hold the record label rights. I don’t see myself giving up anytime soon, and the last year has shown so much growth that I’m a bit overwhelmed with everything that’s going on. But that’s how I like it. Manageable, progressive chaos. (:
Laura: Wow that’s amazing and at the same time I could say and very inspirational. One thing I always agree on, is that never give up on your dreams no matter how hard or impossible they seem. And you really made your dream come true, with your hard work and passion
Jessica: One of the main things I always advise people is to never give up doing what they love. And the dream's not over yet, we still have a long way to go. But I'm not backing down!'
Laura: That is such a great advice. So my next question for you dear Jessica is if singing was something you dreamed of doing from a young age?
Jessica: Absolutely, my earliest memory is putting on a concert in my living room dressed as a fairy princess. I put signs up around my neighbourhood and invited my neighbours. No one came except my dad.
Laura: That’s really sweet. It brought back memories of my childhood as well, which were kinda similar. Now could you please describe for our readers your performance style?
Jessica: I like to describe performing as if a demon possessed my body, haha. I’ve been performing weekly for almost a year now, so I don’t have a single ounce of nerves before getting on stage. But something just takes over my entire being, and before I know it my time on stage is over.
But damn, that demon is a good dancer. When I review videos I’m often like “wow, that was a really cool move”, or “oh, that spin looks really nice there”, and then I try to remember it for later performances. Admittedly, I hardly ever practise before shows. I would if I had more time to.
My stage personality could be described as salty and sweet. Like an egg tart. I used to go for bad bitch and sexy, but my crewmates kept telling me that the “cute” vibe works best for me. I’ve kind of settled into it, but I’m quite sassy. I love to be a little funny on stage and be snarky. But most of all I love getting the crowd involved. I try to get them in on the action every chance I get. I love their energy!
Laura: You mentioned earlier that you were actually working in the entertainment industry since you were 18 and you also trainer by yourself for many years before your debut, what would you say are the skills that have you learned and that will help you in your singing career?
Jessica: Surprisingly, the three hardest things I’ve had to learn ( and still have to practise today) aren’t even directly music-related. Confidence, empathy, and self-awareness are the most important skills I’ve had to learn through my training and experience. I deal with a lot of people on my day to day, and it’s easy to become frustrated with them when you don’t see eye to eye. It’s important to be considerate of others and what they’re going through. And also even though I might think I know best, I don’t always and have to listen to others as well. Furthermore, confidence, both on stage and off, is key to success. I’m a hiphop crew leader as well, and I have to manage around 50 of our crew members. At shows, I always monitor the performances as well as the audience. I can tell when an artist is lacking confidence, and the crowd will easily lose interest in them, almost 100% of the time. No one’s going to believe in someone who doesn’t even believe in themselves.
Laura: I can definitely relate to all that dear, and as you said we need to make sure to keep our cool and deal with everything one at a time and of course, no one knows everything so I totally agree with you, we need to be open minded and accept when others are trying to show us the correct way. After all life is a huge school by itself and we learn something new each and every single day
So my next question to you my dear Jessica is who do you consider as your main inspiration?
Jessica: It’s no secret that I adore DPR Live and DPR Ian. Live is my role model for lots of things I do. I love how they are so free and express raw emotions. When I met them, it wasn’t like meeting someone designed by the k-pop industry, but just meeting friends. And the way they make their music more than that, but a 4D art. It’s incredible really, they’re all so talented.
My students are also a big inspiration. I really want to show them that they can do anything they put their minds to. I don’t want to see them grow up with regrets someday.
And I know if I don’t keep going, I will give up. Music and my work in it consumes my entire being. As dramatic as it is, without music, I have nothing.
Also, on my first flight to Korea I sat next to this ajumma and her mom. They didn’t speak english but they were really kind. I told her someday when I’m on TV and famous that I would wave to her.
So I have to wave to her. I have to do this. For airplane ajumma.
Laura: Ohh how sweet of you. Lets hope that our dear airplane ajumma will read this interview J So I am certain that you have had a dozen of performances since the beginning of your career so tell me please which was the best performance of your career so far?
Jessica: I had a show at FF Club in Hongdae. It's a live rock club, and we were their very first hip hop show. Only Tricia Cee and I were handpicked by the owner to perform, who I later convinced to have our other crew manager, GoekChic, join. We had the place absolutely packed. It’s in the basement, and people were stacked up on the stairs trying to come in. The crowd was amazing and we all had a great time. It's one of my favourite memories.
Laura: J J How awesome. I wish I was there. Now, we all know that every career has its up and down, and certainly singing career is not an exception. How do you cope with being away from home for long periods?
Jessica: I’ve been doing it for years. I love calling my parents, I always face talk with my mom when I’m walking home late at night after a Hongdae (홍대) show. People often ask me if I’m lonely, since I live alone, but I’m really not. I have my Tteokbokki, and I have my crew family. I have tons of supportive friends and fans, and I know my family is cheering me on from home. I’m really happy!
Laura: Now, it’s the long awaited moment. I am referring to your upcoming album. Can you tell your audience a bit about your upcoming album/ song?
Jessica: My new album is NOT a diss track to ajussi (아저씨: Korean word for like… a man the age of your uncle?). I absolutely adore ajussi. They drive me in taxis, they help me cross the road safely, they deliver my food, absolutely appreciate them. However there are SOME ajussi that did not pass the vibe check. There is a stigma about them harassing young women (especially foreigners) sexually. I’ve had a handful of these experiences and they are just not…. delightful. So this song is a bit about that experience.
It’s really just meant to be a fun song that everyone can enjoy and dance/laugh to. It’s supposed to be funny and I just want people to have fun singing along to it. My students absolutely love it, they run into my room even if they don’t have class and will just start screaming “ajussi, ajussi, ajussi~!” I think it’s really catchy.
Laura: What can fans / audience expect from your new album / song?
Jessica: So the single coming out on May 5th is a teaser for my full album. There will be two teasers, on May 5th, then June 6th and finally July 14th will be the full album release date. The album is the continuation of a story I’ve been writing through my music. The story follows a girl who becomes obsessed with the planet of SATURN, but its different from how we know it. SATURNis a planet where everyone lives in a nostalgic, Seoul-esque world. It’s like a weird mix of cyberpunk and 80’s aesthetic (think, Cowboy Bebop). The girl goes through multiple obstacles, bargaining with a one-eyed magician, fighting off demons, running from her lethal ex-fiance, and literally dying. Finally she finds herself on SATURN. This album is about her adjusting to SATURN and the adventures that take place within. It’s kind of an artistic medium for me to explain how I’ve adjusted to life in Korea, and how I can’t bear the thought of ever going back.
Laura: Where do you draw inspiration from for your lyrics?
Jessica:
I have actually found that I best write lyrics when I’m annoyed or angry. When I write my lyrics, I try to be sly, smooth, and witty. I consider my greatest accomplishment in life thus far is that I rapped “jinkies with kinkies”.
Obsessed, 2022:
“Somebody betta ring
Up Scooby doo
Like jinkies
You're gettin' a little bit freaky
Ya talking to a stranger
Bout ya kinkies”
For the Ajussi Song, it was actually inspired by four separate events. The first was, I was performing with one of my crew members, who performed a song called “엉덩이”, and I really liked it. It stuck in my head through the following week, and I started singing the tune of it at work. While teaching, I was constructing sentences with my kids, and I sang “sentences, sentences, sentences~” and proceeded to write the sentence “The ajussi sells bananas at the mart.” To which one of my students sang “ajussi, ajussi, ajussi”. And thus, a legend was born.
The third event, was actually what the sentence was inspired by. Back in 2019? I was visiting the mart, where an ajussi was advertising their local, low priced bananas over the intercom. “banana, banana, banana, pa!” It was like a Zico concert, except it was an ajussi rapping about bananas.
I went home that day and made a really dumb video out of it. The words stuck in my head since then, and thus how I eventually wrote the second hook of the Ajussi Song.
The fourth event came when I arrived home one morning and was singing the new lyrics my students had invented. My best friend was staying at my house to go clubbing during the weekend. I told him about my plan for the ajussi song. His immediate response was, “You need to say “Hongdae Makgeolli Ajussi”. I got right to work as he passed out once again on my couch. By the time he woke up, the ajussi song was ready.
Laura: And could you remind our readers about the new album release date as well as where they can find it?
Jessica: 아저씨, 아저씨, 아저씨 (Ajussi, ajussi, ajussi) by Jessica Ko will be released on 2023.05.05 and available in stores such as Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music, and many more! (:
Laura: Awesome, we definitely stream hard for it J Could you now tell us what does the album’s title reveal, if anything, about the album’s impact and themes?
Jessica:
So the full album is called Self-Altruism at its Finest. As I mentioned before. My biggest goal is to make others happy. “Altruism” is being selfless, and acting for others rather than yourself. But for me, helping others is helping myself. So the title means, like, “benefiting myself through benefiting others”. Finding a healthy balance between self-care and selflessness. The themes I want to show in the album are sometimes aggressive, but also they’re in hopes for a better good. Self-altruism, in my opinion, can also mean doing something for yourself, or something that seems selfish, to benefit others. It’s complicated and simply is just supposed to be witty. but I suppose you could get a deeper meaning out of the title if you really wanted. Take what you will with it.
Laura: What a nice and thoughtful of you to have such a meaningful title. Could you tell us what other songs are included in this album?
Jessica:
Other songs include: Fighter, Seoul Slides, 하늘 용 (Sky Dragon), The City Doesn't Sleep, and many more!
Laura: Now, allow to ask you something else, a common question that all artists are asked actually. You could say it’s a cliché kind of question (laughs). Who would you most like to collaborate with?
Jessica:
DPR Live and / or DPR I
Laura: And if you could play any venue in the world, what would it be?
Jessica:
Coachella.
Laura: Last but not least where do you see yourself musically in 5 years?
Jessica:
At Coachella ^^
Laura: Of course of course. So before we close up I know that you have couple of merch of your new / upcoming song Ajussi Ajussi Ajussi, so can you please tell our readers where they can find and buy them?
Jessica:
Yes, thank you for mentioning that. Merch can be bought by DM through Instagram, @0.25kimchi. Here I will provide few photos of the available merch products.
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