Jay Park’s dope keys to success

Think you’ve got what it takes to be a successful B-boy like Jay Park?

Speaking at an exclusive sharing session last Sunday afternoon, the Korean-American rapper shared with an intimate crowd of local rappers and musicians (plus a handful of xiao mei meis) a few of his keys to success.

1. It is all in the military-like training methods

When asked why Korean B-boys seem to be gaining popularity around the world, the heavily tattooed singer cited their crazy training methods, such as running together nine miles (approximately six sets of your standard 2.4km run) every day, as their “secret sauce”.

That probably explains his abs, but we digress.

Jay Park said, with a laugh: “I think it’s definitely their training methods. They train every day. They do it for fun, but they also do it like a job. Their training regime is different from everyone else’s and that sets them apart. They have drills and a very, very strict diet.”

2. Take every plateau as a chance to challenge yourself

For someone who has been releasing Korean tracks for almost half a decade, Jay Park felt that now is a good time to challenge himself by making English music.

The singer, who recently revealed his plans to release an English EP in a Billboard interview, said: “I just wanna make music in English because I have been focusing on making music in Korean for the past six years.

“I feel like I’ve plateaued, so I’m just trying to try something new. The people in Korea and the K-pop world have received my music pretty well, so let’s see if I can do it on the other side as well.”

We also had the chance to pose him a challenging question – what is his favourite song that he’s worked on?

Jay Park told Youth.SG: “Just one song? I don’t even remember my own songs. (audience laughs) I’ll say ‘Joah‘, just because that legitimately established me as an artist. That music video was shot in Seattle, and it was the first song me and [American producer] Cha Cha did that was very successful.”

3. Gather your homies and form a crew

While the former 2PM boyband leader has gone solo since 2010, Jay Park shared that it is important to create a crew you can do music with, to keep yourself motivated.

“After I went solo, I was signed to this agency management. They let me choose my own career path and do the kind of music I wanted to do. I was just doing music by myself, just with me and the engineer.

“I started to become uninspired, so I wanted to have a crew of people that I do music with, just to have fun. You know, like how ShiGGa [Shay] has his Grizzle Grind [Crew], I wanted to have that type of vibe and feel…so I felt like I can make my own [crew],” said Jay Park, who grew up in Seattle.

4. Having a “split personality” can be a good thing

Since the singer has fans from various genres and countries, have you ever wondered how he manages to write songs that transcend these boundaries?

The 29-year-old artist, who shot to fame with his YouTube cover of ‘Nothin’ On You’, shared: “I do whatever I feel like at that time. If I hear a good R&B album, it inspires me to make R&B [songs]. Or if I hear a dope verse, it inspires me to rap. The next day I’ll write a rap and I’ll be like ‘Yo Cha Cha, let’s play this now.’

“It’s like I have a split personality. [I write music based on] whatever I feel.”