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Born Hater

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"Born Hater"
Single by Epik High
from the album Shoebox
ReleasedOctober 18, 2014 (2014-10-18)
GenreK-pop, R&B, Hip hop/rap
Length5:35
LabelYG Entertainment
Songwriter(s)Tablo, Mithra Jin, Lim Sung-bin, Kim Jin-tae, B.I, Song Min-ho, Bobby
Music video
"Born Hater" on YouTube

"Born Hater" is a song by South Korean hip hop group Epik High, released on October 18, 2014, as one of their single tracks from their eighth Korean studio album, Shoebox. The song features rappers Beenzino, Verbal Jint, B.I, Mino, and Bobby.

Background and development

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On October 13, 2014, YG Entertainment announced with a poster that Epik High would be the next artist to release an album in 2014 after Akdong Musician.[1] The album Shoebox, which was announced to be released on October 21, was their first album release in two years.[2] It was even delayed one week from its initial announcement due to the music video shoot taking longer than expected.[3] On October 14, the group released the full tracks included in the album, including "Born Hater" as the eighth track.[4]

On October 15, the featured artists in "Born Hater" single were announced through YG Entertainment’s official blog.[5] The artists include veteran rapper Verbal Jint, Illionaire Records's Beenzino, Mino from WINNER, and B.I and Bobby from iKON.

Release and promotion

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On October 18, the single was pre-released through their YouTube account as a part of the album's promotion. The next day, a short snippet of the song was included in the album sampler uploaded on the same account, along with the other tracks in the album.[6]

Besides their concerts and fan meetings, Epik High also performed "Born Hater" in various awards shows and end-of-year celebrations.[7] At the 2014 Mnet Asian Music Awards, in which the group received the Best Rap Performance award for the fifth time, Epik High performed the single along with Mino, B.I, and Bobby.[8] They also performed it during the 4th Gaon Chart K-Pop Awards with WINNER's Kang Seung-yoon and Mino,[9] as well as a modified version at the SBS Gayo Daejun with Mino, B.I, and Bobby.[10]

Composition

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Musically, "Born Hater" incorporates distorted bass beat creating 90's hip hop sound.[11] Just as the album's title, 'Shoebox', is said to represent the group's life struggles in recent years, the lyrics of "Born Hater" were written to express their emotions, specifically their thoughts on their 'haters'.[2][12] Specifically, member Tablo mentions in his rap his long-time persecution by the group called 'TaJinYo', a group of anonymous Internet users who had previously undertaken a witch-hunt against what they alleged was Tablo's falsified academic credentials. They threatened his family and accused him of lying about his degrees from Stanford University, a bachelor's degree and master's degree in English and Creative Writing, respectively, which he completed in just three and a half years, despite the university speaking on his behalf and the public release of various confirming documents.[13][14] That incident had led the group to a hiatus of almost two years back in 2010.[15][16]

The phrase "that's No No", sung by B.I, was popularized by Masta Wu during one of his interviews during the third season of the Show Me the Money television rap competition series in 2014.[17]

Because of the usage of profanity and vulgar expressions, several South Korean music television broadcasters, namely KBS, SBS, and MBC, did not allow the original uncensored version of "Born Hater", along with their other album tracks, to be broadcast as the songs were deemed inappropriate for the public television audience.[18] However, Billboard gave its praise to the album writing: "Shoebox is a brilliant summation of Epik High's signature perceptive storytelling."[19]

Music video

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Background

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On October 24, the cast and crew at the music video filming location were offered snacks from a movable cafe and food track prepared by Tablo, as seen by his post on his Instagram account.[20]

A few weeks later after its release, Epik High released a 5-minute behind-the-scenes footage on November 20.[21] It includes individual interviews for each rapper and the story behind their individual rap lyrics. Tablo stated that the music video is meant to make the people laugh after hardships.[22]

Synopsis

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Created by Digipedi, the music video was filmed vertically and not covering the entire width of the screen for easier viewing for smart phones. Comical and witty scenes are accompanied by the blunt lyrics, along with the featured artists.[23][24]

The video, running for five minutes and thirty-five seconds, begins with the display of the song title and the singers on a washroom door. The door opens and the beat of the song created by DJ Tukutz starts; he is seen moving around holding and playing one mixer, along with other DJ equipment on the floor, inside a cubicle. After the song introduction, Tablo starts the song with his lyrics; he is seen rapping by himself inside the same cubicle with cockroaches around him. He is seen killing some of the pests in his other shots.

The video then cuts to several shots of Beenzino, Verbal Jint, Mithra, Mino, and Bobby, while rapping their lyrics respectively. Before B.I does his rap, B.I sings the chorus two times; he is seen wearing an all-white suit, specifically a janitor's uniform. At the time that he sings his rap part, shots of him along with the members of Epik High and four women are seen squeezed inside a narrow cubicle. Jeon Somin was one of the women part of this penultimate shot.

The video ends with a splash of white screen after B.I splashes water on the screen; the text "EPIK HIGH IS BACK" and the date "2014.10.21.0AM" below it are displayed.

Charts

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Chart Peak
position 		Sales
Gaon Singles Chart 3 [25]
Gaon Monthly Singles chart 36 [26]
Gaon Yearly Singles chart 76 [27]
Gaon Streaming Singles chart 4 3,920,361[28]
Gaon Download Singles chart 3 852,352[29]

References

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  1. ^ Hong, Grace Danbi. "YG Unveils Next Comeback Artist as Epik High". mwave. CJ E&M enewsWorld. Archived from the original on 20 October 2014. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
  2. ^ a b Jackson, Julie. "Epik High returning after two years with 'Shoebox'". Kpop Herald. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
  3. ^ "에픽하이, 21일 정규8집 '신발장' 발매.."뮤비 촬영중"". Naver (in Korean). Osen. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
  4. ^ Hong, Grace Danbi. "Epik High Unveils Titles of 12 Songs in Upcoming 'Shoebox' Album". mwave. CJ E&M enewsWorld. Archived from the original on 19 October 2014. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
  5. ^ Hong, Grace Danbi. "Epik High Unveils Verbal Jint, Beenzino, Winner's Mino, iKON's B.I and Bobby as Featured Artists for 'Born Hater' MV". mwave. CJ E&M enewsWorld. Archived from the original on 20 October 2014. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
  6. ^ Hong, Grace Danbi. "[Video] Epik High Allows a Peek into Its 'Shoebox' with Album Sampler". mwave. CJ E&M enewsWorld. Archived from the original on 26 October 2014. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
  7. ^ Hong, Grace Danbi. "Winner and Younha to Join Epik High During Incheon Concert". mwave. Newsen. Archived from the original on 2 December 2014. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
  8. ^ Hong, Grace Danbi; Jung, Yeawon. "[2014 MAMA/Photo] YG′s Winner, Epik High, and More Pump Out Energy at ′2014 MAMA′". mwave. Newsen. Archived from the original on 3 February 2015. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
  9. ^ "Performances from the 4th Gaon K-Pop Awards". Soompi. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
  10. ^ "Bobby and Mino's modified rap verses in special 'Born Hater' performance catch netizens attention". korean boo. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
  11. ^ Scott, Interrante (6 November 2014). "K-Pop Roundup - October 2014". PopMatters. Retrieved 29 April 2020.
  12. ^ Jung, Yeawon. "[Interview] Epik High Apologizes to Fans for the Rollercoaster Ride Over the Past 11 Years". mwave. Newsen. Archived from the original on 7 November 2014. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
  13. ^ Davis, Joshua (July–August 2011). "The Persecution of Daniel Lee". Stanford Magazine. Stanford University.
  14. ^ Abbott, Kate (September 27, 2010). "Korean pop star battles attacks on Stanford record". The Stanford Daily.
  15. ^ Hong, Grace Danbi. "Epik High Tablo Wouldn′t Avoid the Tajinyo Incident If He Returned to that Period". mwave. Newsen. Archived from the original on 15 February 2015. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
  16. ^ Oak, Jessica. "Epik High Explores Dark, Personal Struggles & Tells Off Haters on 'Shoebox' Album". Billboard. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
  17. ^ "Mnet [쇼미더머니3] : 단호한_마선생_님(feat.지켜보고있다)". YouTube. Mnet. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
  18. ^ Hong, Grace Danbi. "SBS and MBC Deem Several of Epik High's Songs Unfit for Broadcast". mwave. CJ E&M enewsWorld. Archived from the original on 1 November 2014. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
  19. ^ Jung, Yeawon. "Epik High Takes First Place on Billboard's World Album Chart". mwave. Newsen. Archived from the original on 4 November 2014. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
  20. ^ Jung, Yeawon. "Tablo Gifts Food Truck to 'Born Hater' MV Filming Site". mwave. Newsen. Archived from the original on 26 October 2014. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
  21. ^ "EPIK HIGH – 'BORN HATER' M/V MAKING". YouTube. OfficialEpikHigh. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
  22. ^ Hong, Grace Danbi. "[Video] Epik High Shares Fun Tidbits about the Making of ′Born Hater′ MV". mwave. CJ E&M enewsWorld. Archived from the original on 3 February 2015. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
  23. ^ Jung, Yeawon. "Epik High's 'Shoebox' Tops iTunes Charts in Seven Countries". mwave. Newsen. Archived from the original on 24 October 2014. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
  24. ^ "EPIK HIGH - BORN HATER M/V". YouTube. OfficialEpikHigh. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
  25. ^ "South Korea's Gaon chart's weekly singles sales from October 19, 2014 - October 25, 2014". gaon.com. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
  26. ^ "South Korea's Gaon chart's weekly singles sales in October 2014". gaon.com. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
  27. ^ "South Korea's Gaon chart's singles sales in 2014". gaon.com. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
  28. ^ "South Korea's Gaon chart's streaming sales from October 19, 2014 - October 25, 2014". gaon.com. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
  29. ^ Cumulative sales of "Born Hater":
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