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| Logan Montgomery covers "119 Remix" by Korean rappers. Screen capture from YouTube |
By Ko Dong-hwan
A talented rapper has found fame in Seoul after his YouTube videos of Korean rap song cover earlier this month have gone viral.
In one video, Logan Montgomery from Alabama covered a segment from "119 Remix" ― a 20-minute rap marathon by 51 hip-hop artists released in December 2018.
AOMG, a Korean hip-hop label headed by rapper Jay Park, released "119 Remix" on YouTube on Dec. 4, 2018. The track was released on Korean online music charts simultaneously.
In his one-minute video from July 16 titled "119 Remix (Prod GRAY) ― American's verse ― cover by Logan," the American raps with the lyrics, in English and Korean, apparently memorized.
He edited the lyrics to include words of self-introduction like "daehan-miguk-in born in an American countryside," referring to a Korean compound word of "a Republic of Korean national" and "an American." He also dubbed himself "a hillbilly American who likes Chamisul better than western liqors," referring to a popular Korean soju brand priced under 2,000 won ($1.70).
He explained on YouTube that he "recorded the rap in one take and knew there might be a few problems (with diction)."
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| Logan Montgomery from Alabama. Courtesy of Logan Montgomery |
Korean comments praised Logan's Korean diction, saying they were "very surprised." One said he "felt like he was eating hamburger and kimchi at the same time."
Another said, "Bro, I have been watching YouTube for the last three years and when I see one now I know who has got it to become a star. I have rarely seen foreigners rapping in Korean and because of such rarity if you keep pushing hard you will fly high."
Such attention is positive for Montgomery who wishes to be active on the Korean hip-hop scene. He told The Korea Times he was writing "an EP featuring Korean and English." He released a snippet of the digital single in one of the videos, titled "Daehan Miguk Style," on his YouTube channel on July 19.
For the American, 26, Korean diction is hard, especially when his rapping style is close to shouting, or, "yelly," according to him.
"Consonants like ㄱ(g), ㄲ(gg), ㅋ(k), ㄷ(d), ㄸ(dd), ㅌ(t) are quite difficult to pronounce while keeping my volume up," Montgomery said.
Composing for rapping is an intricate task. For Montgomery, the challenge looms weightier than those doing so in their mother tongues because he is not sure what does or does not sound natural or trendy in Korean.
"I'm not sure when I can say words like ... um ... 'loser,' I guess," Montgomery said. Whereas he knows how to squeeze in words like "imma," "wanna," "goin," or "da" in English rap, such composition comes as a headscratcher when working with Korean because he "doesn't know how to play with Korean words to fit the flow."
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| Logan Montgomery, center, performs with his bandmates from Against All Odds. Courtesy of Logan Montgomery |
Coming to Korea
In Alabama, Montgomery had played guitar in rock band Against All Odds for years. He said he always loved performing.
He remembers that about 10 years ago there was a huge Korean population influx in Montgomery when Hyundai built a factory there. It was part of his reason for learning Korean that later became his second passion.
"After learning Korean for about five years in the U.S., I thought I could combine two of my passions," said Montgomery.
Montgomery raps because he has always enjoyed hip-hop more than pop music. He admitted that not having a knack for singing also tipped the scale to hip-hop as well, encouraging him pursue the genre as a hobby at first.
He came to Korea in 2017 and lived here for about a year, learning Korean at Keimyung University in Daegu and Ewha Woman's University in Seoul. In a YouTube video, he shouts heavy metal verses and performs a remix version of K-pop girl band TWICE's "Likey" alongside a performer called Okey Dokey during a school talent show for foreign students at Keimyung.
Montgomery said on YouTube that he did the heavy metal at Keimyung because his Korean teacher had asked him to do some of the music he did in the U.S.
"I don't want to keep covering Korean hip-hop music but want to do my own music," Montgomery says on YouTube. "But I am most worried about my Korean ability and diction."
