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Popular Korean hip-pop girl group 2NE1 was featured in the second-largest weekly news magazine in the U.S. on Jan. 25, under the title of “Korean Hip-pop: K-hop goes global.”
In its latest edition, Newsweek showed confidence in the rise of K-hop as a global trend.
The article introduced the four-piece girl group, as having the original R&B soul mixed with hip-hop, and their songs as being astutely tailored for a global audience in the digital age.
Korean American producer of 2NE1, Teddy Park said in the article, "The K-hop genre will be the true crossover hit, with its ties to hip-hop, soul and electronica.”
The magazine also forecast that the signs are promising: after a successful debut in Japan in front of 70,000 fans last October they attracted attention in Europe and America. Moreover, a prominent producer and a rapper in America, Will.i.am has already begun working on tracks for 2NE1.
Many K-pop groups such as Girls’ Generation or TVXQ have been successful abroad. However the magazine wrote hip-hop groups such as Big Bang and 2NE1 are “getting in on the act.” While Big Bang won a World Wide Act award at the MTV Europe Music Awards last June through Internet exposure, MTV lggy crowned 2NE1 the Best New Band in the world.
Some critics still question whether K-pop will ever make waves in mainstream U.S. radio, but the magazine says, “K-hop will lift Asian music out of its "tacky stereotype" and bring it to the same level as Latin and European music on the global scene.”
A former Korean rapper and producer, Jae Chong says he is currently working on a Korean-American K-hop guy band Aziatix. The group's eponymous mini-album was placed at No.4 on the U.S. iTunes Top Soul Albums last May. "I want to introduce the next phase of K-hop," he said.
