Everything Died Except Idols: Kim Jongseo Talks about Seo Taeji's Legacy

At an interview with a newspaper Kim Jongseo, a former Sinawee member and a lifelong friend wirh Seo Taeji talked about the musical legacy of the "first idol" of K pop. 

"His music was always a surprise gift for me," Kim JonGseo said. He was always thrilled to see Seo Taeji's new attempt, which never disappointed him

Seo Taeji starte his musical career as a basist of the rock band Sinawee in 1989. In 1991, he formed a dance group Seo Taeji and Boys, which first introduced rap music to Korea. Since then, Seo taeji continuously made experimental attempts, such as integrating Korean traditional music into rap songs, delivering strong social critical message through lyrics, and introducing such unfamiliar genres as ganster music to Korean pop. 

After the break up of the group, Seo Taeji experimented with different musical genres such as funk and electronic rock, but was no longer praised for its innovative style and pioneering attempt. On the other hand, Seo Taeji paved the way for "idol groups" and in that sense clealry changed the paths of the K pop scnene. His groupmate, Yang Hyunseok is currently the CEO of YG Entertainment, the flagship of Big Bang and 2NE1

Seo Taeji was a musician versatile in many genres, but he has received mixed evaluations. "Some peopel blame him for leadinng Korean pop to a single direction as we can see now. Everything died except idols." Kim Jongseo concluded.