Epik High

To choose an artwork that spoke to me at this age is far too early. I haven’t had the chance to experience a lot of life’s gifts yet nor have I gone and explored the world around me. There are so many books that I haven’t read yet, and I still haven’t finished my own personal list.  But there is one artist that has affected me deeply: Epik High.

I was introduced to Epik High when I was in high school. That was the time when my mind was opened up to the world because of my friends. They helped me question things because before high school I accepted everything as it was. I did not question. But now, because of them, I question a lot. They showed me so many different cultures and religions that I never knew before. I was in my own little world where nothing reached out to me. Then they let me listen to Epik High.

I was drawn into this new world of music and words. I’ve never really liked rap before, but Epik High showed me that there is more that just the surface of a genre, a song, a book, a rhythm, a language, a culture a person, a life. Everything goes deeper. As you go deeper, the more questions that arise. They became my “Question to all Answers.”

Yes, the songs are in Korean, but that doesn’t stop them from affecting the world. There will always be translators to translate their meaning. Their dreams, my dreams, will not be stopped. They helped me see even more clearly. In a way, they are philosophical yet inspiring me to new heights. The connections they make with life, love, death, humans, government, and religion astound me.

Before Epik High, I would not be able to see the connections of different aspects of life, but now I do. Everything has become easier as they’ve become my inspiration to exceed my limitations and keep my dreams alive. Although I am not a writer, I’ll still keep the pen alive. It’s a sword, as they say.

My life perspectives have changed because of them. I question the ethics and morals of peoples’ actions. I ask myself, “How much are we willing to risk for just one thing?” What has made our lives so insignificant? Is there a higher purpose for that? People have ruined their lives for things that can and will be replaced. “Why can’t we accept the blame we created?” Humans are too fearful of the consequences of their actions, myself included. Then there is love. Nothing is as it seems. There’s always something deeper yet it can be as simple as an umbrella.  Then this umbrella can turn into a boundary that keeps people apart. “Why are there walls?” “Why do people keep to themselves?” Is there more pleasure with others or by ourselves? “Where does one receive the greatest happiness?” There are so many questions that run through my mind that it sometimes becomes black and tireless (Epik High). It is then that I stop and realize that all these questions may never have concrete answers. I need to keep reality by my side, but with its grim parts I have to see the light within them. To keep on moving and living is a piece of my goal.

But what they’ve really taught me is that within the complexities of life comes the simplest of life’s pleasures. It is with this thought that I have come to live by. It is what I believe others have seen through their pieces. It may be raining, but there will always be an umbrella over us, a rainbow to shine. With yin comes yang, and the flow of life continues. As I realize my lack of experience, Epik High has given me most of theirs and I have come to received them as my own.