Swings announced on Tuesday, Nov. 10, that he would start the pre-sale of his essay collection "HEAT" through Instagram. When the design of Swings's essay collection was released, some Netizens pointed out that the design was similar to Song Min-ho's second studio album 'TAKE,' which was released on Oct. 30.
On Wednesday, Nov. 11, the rapper posted a 2-minute long video on his personal Instagram account, talking about the plagiarism allegations thrown at him concerning the cover of his essay collection, which is eerily similar and almost the same as the cover of MINO's album cover for "TAKE." In the video, Swings said, "Song Min-ho's album cover and my book are very similar." He then added, "This is 100% coincidental. We brought data from the publisher, so please check the story."
Swings's side has published a news story that contains a description of the designer in charge of designing the cover for Swings' essay collection "HEAT." The designer said, "The title 'Heat,' the orange background, and then cover with a simple feeling came from the planning stage. Orange is intense, passionate, and bold, but less direct and sophisticated than red. It fits well with the direction of the book." Concerning the font, the designer said, "I can only think of Gothic fonts and sans serifs. Gothic is strong and hard, and Myeongjo is decorative, soft, and lyrical."
Regarding the release, the designer explained, "I did not see Song Min-ho's album until I handed over all the files to the print shop on Nov. 4 and saw the print supervision on Nov. 6." Since Swings is racking up more and more popularity with 'Show Me the Money,' this timing is important to us," he wrote.
Finally, the designer asks the rhetorical question, "Is there a lot to gain from plagiarism? Is there a lot to lose?" Do you have anything to do?" Swings responded to the plagiarism controversy by saying, "I'm innocent. Sometimes it happens, but I wasn't fortunate. The work is a coincidence," he emphasized again.
Moon Ji-hoon, better known by the stage name Swings, is a South Korean rapper. Formerly under the label Brand New Music, he is currently contracted under his record label, Just Music.
Swings debuted in 2008 with the extended play Upgrade. He joined the hip hop group Uptown in 2009 but left by the end of the year. He released his first full-length album, Growing Pains, in 2010.
He gained popularity after competing in the second season of the TV rap competition "Show Me" the Money in 2013. That summer, Swings triggered a "Control diss phenomenon" within the Korean hip hop scene with the release of his diss track "King Swings Part 2", over the instrumental of Big Sean's "Control," in which he accused rapper Simon Dominic of not protecting his Supreme Team member E-Sens from an alleged slave contract offered by label Amoeba Culture. Swings were named Artist of the Year for 2013 by Korean hip hop magazine "Hip-hop Playa."
In 2014, he returned to Show Me the Money as a producer for its third season, alongside established rappers, including San E and Tablo. Swings left the label Brand New Music in August 2014 to focus on his record label, Just Music. The label currently represents Black Nut, Giriboy, Genius Nochang, C Jamm, and Vasco. In April 2017, it established its second label, Indigo Music. It has become one of the most notable hip-hop labels, recruiting Young B, Kid Milli, Justhis, Jvcki Wai, and Noel.
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Written by Ishani Sarkar.
