YUNGIN talks about career highs, where his passion for music comes from, the role of mix engineers, and more. Photo credit: davidyunginkim.com Who or what inspired you to become a musician? What led you down this career path? I’ve been fortunate enough to have come from a pretty musical family. My father plays all sorts of instruments, and my mother is a self-taught singer and pianist. I grew up in the church, so I was always around music, but it took a backseat to my passion for sports, especially football. During my senior year of high school, I suffered a career-ending injury that threw a major curveball in my career trajectory. Only then did I realize how big of an impact music had on my life. I ultimately ended up going to school for sound engineering, which led me to where I am today. What are some of the major life events that have shaped your music preferences, or your overall approach to making music, the most? When I was really young, my cousin from Korea introduced me to Korean music, which happened to be Roo’ra, DJ DOC, and Drunken Tiger. Shortly after, an elementary school classmate of mine let me listen to some Nas, and I was instantly hooked. Since that day, music has been on 24/7, either through my boombox or my Walkman. The kind of music that has always been appealing to me is music that makes you feel something. Whether it’s the lyrics or the bounce of the beat, I’ve always been attracted to music that makes you feel. How did you get into K-pop specifically? My gateway into K-pop was actually through the rapper Loopy! Loopy opened up my eyes to working with Korean artists. I was super closed-minded at the time, hoping I could fit into American culture, so working with Koreans was the last thing on my mind. Working with Loopy led me to work with Junoflo, which led me to work with YOON MIRAE and Tiger JK, which led me to work with BIBI, and that somehow led to me working with the likes of TAEYEON, BAEKHYUN, BTS, KANGDANIEL, [and] others. Do you consider yourself to be more of an engineer than a producer, or vice versa? For the majority of my music career, there was a clear distinction between “engineer” and “producer.” Even further, there was a stepping order in just the engineering community that I had to climb. I went from intern, to runner, to assistant engineer, to recording engineer, to where I am now, which is a mix engineer. I'm the type of person to always look for what's next, so production seemed to be the natural next step. Please describe your new single, “No Lowkey,” and what it was like working with JESSI and CAMO on it! Working with JESSI and CAMO was such a breeze. JESSI is as professional as it gets, so working with her was very smooth. With CAMO, we’ve had an existing relationship, so we both knew what to expect and, more importantly, what we were capable of making. What do you think are the biggest misconceptions about what it’s like to be a music engineer? More than any misconception, I'd say the majority of the public couldn't tell you exactly what an engineer does. In the simplest of terms, the recording engineer is responsible for capturing the artist's performance and deciding on the smallest of details, which include mic selection, mic placement, [and] pre-amp and compression settings, all to get the best sound for that particular artist. As far as the mix engineer goes, they are responsible for taking all recorded and programmed sounds, which come completely separate, and combining them to be sonically pleasing, while also meeting the standards that are set by radio, streaming sites, and other forms of media. Basically, we make stuff sound really good. What have been the three proudest moments of your career so far? #1: Winning a Grammy with both my favorite rapper and producer, Nas and Hit-Boy. Nas was [0 for 14 before] King’s Disease and won his first Grammy for the first album we collaborated on. #2: Getting to mix Nipsey Hussle’s last single before he passed. That also won a Grammy, for Best Rap Performance, and it was a huge moment of validation for me. #3: Yet to come, but it might have to do with this album that [I’m] slowly putting out. What project that you worked on... … was the most exciting to work on, and why? [Nas’s] King’s Disease. During those sessions, I would look up and be like, “Am I really here right now? Is this really happening?” ... involved the most surprises, and why? Mixing the j-hope and J. Cole song “on the street” was a huge surprise. I had a relationship with PDOGG prior, but when the j-hope session came, they told me they were waiting for a featured artist’s vocals. I didn’t really pay it any mind at first, but when the actual vocals came in, I recognized the voice immediately. I’ve always wanted to work with J. Cole, but from my understanding, his team was really tight-knit… I dismissed the possibility of ever working with [him]. Shoutout to PDOGG, Daniella, and j-hope for making my dream come true! ... ended up being the most challenging, and why? It would have to be THE BOYZ’s Japanese release [SHE’S THE BOSS]. I over-promised them on a deadline that was going to be impossible to meet and ended up having my assistant at the time mix the songs for me. It tainted our relationship, and I learned a valuable lesson: Always under-promise but over-deliver. ... was the most nerve-wracking to work on, and why? It had to have been the first Nas project, just because it took a second for me to believe I was even in that situation. I remember not being happy with the mixes, not because they weren't good enough, but because I wanted them to be perfect. It was a classic example of being saved by deadlines, because when that clock struck 12, we had to put it out as it was, and it was great. What are your long-term and short-term career goals? I’m big on education these days. I stream twice a week on Twitch, and I've been trying to throw these annual workshops/seminars in Seoul. Eventually, I want to have a music academy and a studio in Seoul, so I'm working towards that goal right now. Lastly, is there anything else you want to say about yourself or your music? I’m deeply touched by anyone who supports my journey or my music, so I want to just say thank you! Keep up with YUNGIN on Instagram, Twitter / X, Twitch, and YouTube! View the Substack version of this piece here! Answers have been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.
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