Electricity. That’s what comes to mind when I conjure the images left burned behind my eyelids after Jjangyou’s performance at SXSW. I don’t know what I expected from a Jjangyou performance, especially one so driven by techno and dub house. What was simply experimentation for the effervescent rapper to learn how to DJ for himself has become something of a mythical turn of fancy. With the guidance, production and musical madness of Jflow and the aggressively unflinching lyrical mastery and chaotic delivery of Jjangyou, Hypnosis Therapy was born, and with it the epitome of controlled chaos.
Visa issues kept Jflow from performing in Austin for this year’s Taiwan Beats day party. However, Jjangyou is a man with very little in the way of fear. While he meanders behind the turntables to begin the set, when he emerges from behind the deck, it’s like the entire atmosphere warps into a black hole, atoms rearranged to bring us out on the other side into a universe unlike one we’ve ever known.
For those who’ve followed Jjangyou since his earliest stages as an MC (in group ILLAP) and Jflow from his melodic melancholy in Hippy Was Gipsy, the combination may come as a surprise. However, the amount of energy should be par for the course. That being said, even someone seasoned in the ways of the mercurial Jjangyou would be forgiven for being a bit in awe.
From the moment he steps upon the small stage on Palm Door on Sixth’s back patio, Jjangyou is all charisma. What I once described as piss and vinegar has transformed into pure battery acid, so potent it eats through atmosphere like a drop of saliva from a face hugger. What we get as a result is a performance with enough juice to power all of Downtown Austin. From the opening track, Jjangyou is determined to fill the void Jflow’s absence has left. He takes the task on like a man obsessed.
Jjangyou is nothing if not completely transparent. With his limited English, he’s able to convey so much with a few words and a bit of tongue-in-cheek. He flings out a casual, “You understand?” when he finishes each sentence for his largely English-speaking audience. It’s both a delightful bit of levity under the weight of his talent and a rare glimpse into the vulnerability of an artist who uses his growl, cadence and lyrical voraciousness to (somewhat) mask the soft side of his persona. But it’s there, as he jumps around the stage, using every square inch of space afforded him.
His energy drips off him in sheets of sweat, so it’s no surprise when he removes his shirt. The slurred staccato cadence of track “+82” (an homage to his home country) is the perfect representation of what this performance, this man, this group is: unpredictable. Listening to the music through the limited decibels of a smartphone doesn’t begin to truly encapsulate the pure, bombastic sound blaring from the outdoor speakers. Sound waves bend and curl around the listener, causing each person in the audience to either stand in utter awe or begin to move in ways that embarrassment can’t tame. While he laments being “fucking tired,” Jjangyou is relentless. (Now, that’s a word for the entre SXSW experience.)
Then he crawls off the stage. It’s a nifty little bit of sex that those who know him are familiar with, but it still sends a stinging arc of electricity along the skin, a shiver up the spine when he allows his sensuality to sneak through. Jjangyou treats the performance like Halloween, and his audience is candy. Every track is his dare: trick or treat? Which really doesn’t matter because there are some treats in his tricks and vice versa.
The thumping electronica causes mini earthquakes with every down beat. Jjangyou, topless, fingers wrapped like a suggestion around the microphone and his voice textured like warm velvet, does exactly as the namesake suggests. This performance is hypnotizing. He’s waved the clock in front of us, clicked his spoon against the side of the teacup and opened a universe of endless possibilities to his audience.
With the way he performs and his ferocity on the mic, every person in attendance sent a silent prayer to the stage: “Water me.” So, it’s no surprise when the water bottle comes out, and even less of surprise when Jjangyou pours the contents on his head, then whips the bottle toward the audience. The barrierless stage does nothing to protect the first several feet in front of it, and all participants (as well as anything they brought with them) are subject to splash damage.
Once the set reaches its final song, Jjangyou stands there, a bit of shyness creeping in as the real world starts to meander to the stage to take him away from his adoring fans. He asks, earnestness dripping from his panting mouth, “Was it okay?” Needless to say, the audience is in hysterics.
Watching Jjangyou perform is muscular work. You have to be ready to wear yourself out trying to keep up with his seemingly boundless energy. Electricity. He is a ball of unadulterated electricity, rivers of the stuff pouring off him in waves. The ground finally stops shifting under foot, only to resume the tremors with the audience’s thunderous applause. Jjangyou has acquitted himself solidly, taking up the mantel for both his partner in melody and himself.
For those who didn’t know him, they sure as hell know him now! Jjangyou is an absolute force of nature. One only hopes that Jflow can join him in the future. If Jjangyou standing on stage was enough to manifest little earthquakes, when the actual DJ takes to the ones and twos, it’s bound to create a seismic shift beyond anything anyone could ever expect. What a way to kick off the music portion of SXSW!
—-Cy White
#Jjangyou #Jflow #SXSWconcert #SXSWfestival #2024SXSW #kcrush #Taiwan #HypnosisTherapy #kcrushamerica #SXSWfestivalinAustin2024 #ILLAPgroup #DJ #Jjangyouperformance #techno #dubhouse