King of New York: An Inside Look at EX-PLICIT LINEZ
by Elsa Rodriguez, Special Contributor

EXPLICIT- defined as "being fully revealed or expressed without vagueness, implication, or ambiguity; leaving no question as to meaning or intent."1 When the word is used to describe lyrics, one thinks of writings that might appear offensive. When the word is used to express a person's way of speech, one thinks of someone straightforward. When it comes to Brandon "EXPLICIT LINEZ" Yun, both cases fit him perfectly, and there is no better word that could describe him.

EX-PLICIT LINEZ is the controversial underground rapper who has been known for his charismatic attitude, straightforward lyrics, lethal approach, and hypnotizing flow. Although some look upon him as simply another Asian lyricist trying to make it in the game, EX-PLICIT LINEZ speaks the truth in his lyrics. Originally born in South Korea, this 20-year-old Bronx resident has seen, heard, and been through it all. He has taken down battle champs, lived on streets that some people would have never set foot on and, most importantly, he is someone that has stayed true to his image. He is the kind of lyricist that others can only fear, or as he puts it, "the street-made emcee that most fellow Koreans can only claim to be."

So with all this at hand, the question is, why is this rare piece of talent still hanging in the shadows? Who is he really? What has he really done to gain such a notorious reputation? We take you back in time for the answers, to the early 90s.

EXPLICIT LINEZ'S story starts in South Korea, in an era when Korean music was taking a drastic turn. Groups such as SeoTaiji and Boys and Duex were dominating the scene with new flavors, some with basic elements of hip-hop. Although Korean entertainment was basically at its peak, young Brandon was not fazed by it. He set his ears more on the American hip-hop scene and found himself automatically drawn into artists such as N.W.A and the D.O.C, but it was not until Brandon came to the states that he started rapping. He arrived in Atlanta as an adolescent, a few weeks later moved up to the hip-hop capital in Bronx New York, and soon found himself easily influenced by peers who, like him, embraced the hip-hop life. He would hang out at a friend's house while watching the other kids around him freestyle. Hip-hop suddenly turned from a simple music genre of interest to a form of lifestyle, and both its positive and negative aspects took its toll. "We were rolling 'em, lighting up joints and emptying out 40s. I didn't know what I was doing, but just thought it was cool. I thought it was cool to hang out with black kids and all the gang shit in the hood."

It didn't take long for the lyrical prodigy to start rhyming. In 1992, he was already experimenting with rhymes in Korean, and after three years of development, had his first battle in the hallways of his high school. When asked about the outcome, Brandon could only respond with a grin on his face. "I was battling this kid named, Iva. The battle was pointless, since I spat in Korean and rhymed it all with 'mother fucker', 'Fuck you nigga' and 'Your mother.' Then the guy said, 'When did rapping become cool for Chinese food delivery boys?'" He pauses for a second and reminisces with a smile, "Then I grabbed his throat and smacked his head against the lockers." Because of the tainted language Brandon used, the name EX-PLICIT LINEZ was blessed upon him, and his strive for victory at any cost let his future challengers know that this lyricist was not one to be taken down so easily.

Hypothetically, one would think it that someone like EX must have worked extra hard to master the English language, but in reality not only had he mastered it, he conquered it. He could spit both Korean and English, and either way would come out the victor. As time passed, the name EX-PLICIT LINEZ became more familiar on the streets. He started rapping anywhere there was a challenge, his block, the internet, clubs, parties, and even during subway rides home. His growing reputation earned him a spot in one of Bronx's best battle crews, H.A.L.F (Highly Advanced Life Forms), but out of all these experiences, it was the internet battling that gained him the most fame. "It was the era when I had no life," he laughs now, but it was really what built him. He was working at a music school, sitting in front of a computer, running into any battle forum he could find. He stumbled upon two forums of importance, one being "Danny 1004's Drunken Tiger Forum" and the other one whose name he could not recall. There was one challenger by the name of XTRAK who dominated both sites, having been crowned battle champion on one of them. XTRAK and EX's battle went on for about five rounds, in which Brandon came out victorious. "He took over my gold spot," XTRAK says. "I'm sure if he made some tight beats, and flows all those tight lyrics he writes, he'll be going somewhere." This accomplishment definitely took him somewhere. Fans started building up in numbers, instrumentals were voluntarily given to him by anonymous DJs, and requests for him to keep battling piled heavily. Praise came from every corner, even those who were already dominating the industry. Lazy Buddah, probably California's best known underground Asian rapper, calls EX-LINEZ , "A true emcee." But from all these acclaims of praise, there was one that stood out more than the others.

"He is definitely one of the better Asian rappers in the game. He's got all the proper elements to take Asian hip-hop/rap to another level," these are the words of DJ Shine, the Queens born rapper of Korea's most prominent hip hop group, Drunken Tiger. It so happened that Drunken Tiger's DJ Jhig heard EX spit and recommended him to DT, and the fact that EX came from New York made him appeal to Shine especially. "My only criticism is that all emcees need some space to learn to perfect their style, which Linez has plenty of time to do. As for signing Linez, we were trying to work out the proper details for everything to follow smoothly, but as for now he is part of 'The Movement Crew,' also reppin' himself and his others." (The Movement is a massive hip-hop collaboration that is made up of Korea's best rappers.)

Not everyone is a fan of EX though. As he grew up, he received criticism from not only African Americans, but from his own people. Nowadays, it's easier to find more Asian American kids getting into hip-hop, but that wasn't the case when EX was growing up. "Asian kids used to be like, 'you're a black wannabe' or 'hey, home boy, do you sell drugs?' Shit, I use that as my fuel to rap better. It's cool to rap now. It's cool to dress in all Roc-a-wear in Flushing or anywhere now, but when I was doing it, people would look at me and think, 'He's fuckin' ghetto,' 'He's a poor kid,' or a fuckin' 'wannabe black.' They used to look down on blacks 'so badly' and now those kids are trying to be black 'so badly'." The feedback he received only added to his reason to keep rapping and he eventually came out with his own single. Although his songs "Where you at" and "Abduction feat. LM6" weren't a complete success, it was enough to get his name around the hood, and now enough for him to get his name all the way out to Korea's best and some of America's underground finest. His current mix tapes, that include a compilation of beats from his good friend Leethol, contain a lot of controversial rhymes that go along with his image, including a diss on the recent Ruff Ryder recruit, Jin tha MC.

"Word to Jin indeed, there's nothing real about this bitch, except his name's meaning in Chinese/ You just ran wit' that fuckin' XXL article's title/you fake, phony, hoax, frontin' you impossible to beat wit' an Asian joke? I've seen rappers ripping you up, eat you alive/and gather your body pieces and deliver it to your house."

Although EX has made controversial disses like this towards Jin, EX states there is no beef between them, but that he is only sick of being compared to him. "The only thing that can be compared is that we're both Asian. Jin, he built himself up to the world and presented what he is made of and well, I'm doing the same. Nothing serious, I'm just doing me. If I'm going to get compared, well, it's because he got the shine first. Other than that, I am just EX-PLICIT LINEZ and he's JIN."

EX is currently debating whether to head to Korea for his debut or to wait for American labels to get back to him. Korea could give him a jump since hip-hop is the trendy genre now, but EX holds negative opinions on the country's general musical subjects.In regards to Korean pop he states, "I can't even begin with all those recycled materials they're putting out. Korean music died about 6 years ago. Nowadays, it's all the same shit with different words, but the contents are all similar. Like a girl dies and the boy's saying 'I love you still…' shit like that." Although this song theme doesn't necessarily apply to Drunken Tiger or for most rappers in Korea, it's what dominates the interests of the music industry. Like any other music industry, Korean music labels have their corruptions, but EX expresses that the corruption in Korea is unbearable. He could go in thinking he was going to do rap, but come out dancing and doing pop because his managers would think, "that's what the people want."

For now, EX lays low in the scene, still rhyming and writing, recording a few tracks here and there too. Will he make it and how big will he be are the questions to be asked, but one thing's for sure; he will be heard from again. Who knows, Drunken Tiger might get to him first, or maybe in a few years he'll be the next contender for Jin, but this artist is not one we should overlook; others sure haven't.

For the uncut version, visit http://drunkenstylez.cjb.net