Former OPM rocker now ‘seeing the world’ as hip-hop artist
A Chinese-Filipino beatsmith, drummer, producer and rapper, based in Hong Kong, is making another contribution to the musical genre of hip-hop and its thriving global community.
His name is J-Hoon and his latest album offering is called Noodles II, a follow-up to Noodles I. He treats listeners and musical enthusiasts to a collection of 14 tracks that document life and culture in Hong Kong, according to a piece of information given to this paper.
Available on digital music platforms via Sony Music Entertainment, the album will be released on Aug. 9.
If ever his name sounds familiar or rings a bell, it’s because J-Hoon was a former member and drummer of Pinoy bands Kjwan and Kapatid, fronted by Marc Abaya and Karl Roy, respectively.
“It’s a screen name, nickname. Actually, (it’s) a name given to me by my college girlfriend,” said the artist about his unique name in a recent virtual one-on-one with The STAR. “That name kinda stuck and I’m still using it now.”
Born to a Hong Kong Chinese mom and a Pinoy dad, J-Hoon went to Manila, at the age of 18, for school. He studied Communications Technology (Management) at the Ateneo de Manila University, with the thought of returning to HK after four years. But fate had other plans for him. While studying, he met musically-inclined people and gave drumming a try. He stayed in the country for 11 years.
“I’ve always loved playing drums. That’s why I was the drummer for those two bands, but also, you know, people who knew me at that time (knew) I would also DJ and I would also go to hip-hop concerts and listen to other stuff,” shared he of his early musical inclination.
After years of creating and performing Original Pilipino Music (OPM) songs with fellow band mates, he entertained the idea of widening his horizons, which encouraged him to do something else and give it a go.
J-Hoon navigated the transition from being a drummer to becoming a solo artist with the question: “‘What’s music to me’?” he shared. From there, he started with beat making, downloaded a free software to explore it, and attended an event for beat makers and MCs.
“I think that was my first step, first transition into doing things solo. After beat making, I then started writing lyrics and rap(ping), and then, you know, trying to put it into songs,” he added.
J-Hoon recalled that he left Kjwan in 2010 and Kapatid before that.
So, it’s safe to say that J-Hoon bravely faced the challenges of starting from scratch and was enthusiastic of the possibilities this new creative playground could offer him.
“It was refreshing for me to, you know, dabble in rapping and songwriting coz it’s a whole new ball game for me,” said he. “I think that’s the transition. It’s also a personal journey.”
And the opportunity to work on the album Noodles I came and led him to appreciate hip-hop more. After the release of the album, J-Hoon got to travel to China and Malaysia to perform at festivals and exchange ideas with fellow creatives, and to Europe for a collab with a music producer. The online interactions and collaborations he had with other artists also brought him to London and Birmingham, either for a performance or a creative meet-up, and to Australia, where he released a mixtape with an independent label.
Pursuing a solo career has allowed J-Hoon to travel, meet friends, experience cultures, and create songs. He compared the entire experience to writing an ongoing diary. He luckily gets to travel from one place to another through music.
“I think if rock ‘n’ roll brought me back to my Pinoy roots. Hip-hop actually allowed me to see the world, you know the different artists all under the umbrella of hip-hop,” said he.
Somehow, these travels played a key inspiration for him to come up with an album, in the form of Noodles II, that captures scenes (the sights) and scenarios (the situations people are in) about a particular place.
In a press statement, J-Hoon explains the idea behind the album title by saying, “in a way, all these experiences and characters constitute a bowl of Noodles where you have the broth and noodles, but it also has various ingredients, cultures, and sauces coming together to bring in a new but familiar flavor.”
Speaking of “varied ingredients” that complement each other and work together, the album is replete with collaborations of J-Hoon with Asian producers, such as Chi Capulong and Justin de Guzman of Manila, Pete Chen of Guangzhou, and Noden and Chillingcat of Seoul; and rappers and MCs like Rebelman (of Guangzhou), Noyz134 and Hour Tan (Kuala Lumpur), So Wada (Tokyo), and Hong Kong’s Mattforce YoungQueenz, and MouseFx from SensiLion.
During the interview, he said that the album is composed of ditties in Cantonese and English, and described it as “I think it’s more of a social (album),” which touches on topics that range from beauty and education to the changing landscape of the city and loving oneself. There are also songs about love, friendship and brotherhood.
Since its songs speak of his observations and experiences, the album can be considered autobiographical. “(It’s) like a little diary,” said he.
If there’s a common thread among tracks, it will be love of the world, of one’s city and of its people, added he and shared, “(It’s) more (about) paying attention, caring and acknowledging more of what’s going on around you.”
As an artist, J-Hoon also welcomes the chance to grace live events, like in the Philippines, and will release two albums, one of which carries English tunes and might have some Tagalog songs.
- Latest
- Trending
