[INTERVIEW] VILLAIN Promises More Music To Come!

HypnoticAsia had the pleasure of interviewing singer, songwriter and producer, VILLAIN! The artist has returned to the music scene after almost 5 years with his new single “NUGU“. He has also launched his very own record label, VILLION DOLLAR ENTERTAINMENT. South Korean-American singer-songwriter, and producer was formerly under Planetarium Records.

VILLAIN was a member of PLT, which is a project group formed by 5 solo artists under the agency. The project group also toured the USA in October 2019. VILLAIN is known for his own amazing music but also, for having written/composed/produced for the others, including Gaho and Jung Jinwoo. He debuted in 2016 with his single “Rainy Night”.

Now that he has established his own agency and has released new music, many can look forward to what the artist has in store for the near future. Be sure to check out his interview below where he talks about his company, his music and more!

Please introduce yourself to the HypnoticAsia readers.

Hello HypnoticAsia readers. It’s dope to interact with yall once again. My name is VILLAIN and thanks for having enough interest to read my interview. I’ll try and make it worth the while.

You’ve been away from the music scene for quite some time. What have you been up to?

A lot’s happened over the years but to keep a long story short, I took the time to grow as a man, upgrade my craft, study music business, and build my own label.

We heard about your new company, VILLION DOLLAR ENTERTAINMENT! Congratulations! What are some upcoming plans for the agency?

Thank you! VILLION DOLLAR ENTERTAINMENT is an entertainment enterprise, which means that music is just one of the many forms of art & entertainment that we’re broadcasting. What we’re planning to share with the world isn’t going to be staying as hidden gems for too long, so I suggest to hop on board now before all early-birds sell out.

On May 4th, 2023, you’ve released a new single “NUGU” for the first time in almost 5 years! Tell us about this release.

NUGU is a mixture of ratchet hip-hop’s sauce and silk smooth R&B, which is kind of the best of both worlds in my universe. We’ve copped a sick MV [music video] along with it which was shot & directed by our creative visual executive Ancore who’s also a childhood friend of mine. The thing is, words can’t really describe this kind of craft. You’re either with us, or miss out. We’ve granted full access to the first catalogue of our archives. Now, the choice is the people’s.

Is this single just the beginning of new music for you? Can we expect an album in the near future?

Of course. NUGU is merely the first single off of my upcoming first ever full length album. And I can assure you, even that is just the tip of the iceberg.

How would you say you’ve grown over the years since you’ve started doing music?

I think I’m learning to ease off & relax my sound, but still maintain impact.

In the past, what motivated you to do music? Also, what is your inspiration or motivation for music now?

I get this question asked a lot but truth is, I don’t know. And I don’t think you’re supposed to know. It’s just like love. You don’t love someone with a particular reason. As a matter of fact, there can be absolutely no reason or countless reasons, but both make sense because it’s love. Love & passion are both unreasonable because we are attached to both of them even at our lowest.

What’s your process like when creating music?

This is another one of those things that artists aren’t supposed to be aware of because the process is supposed to be different for every instance. If there’s a specific formula, then all music would just start to sound the same. I do have one thing that I always do when I’m creating and that’s subtracting. I puke out all my visions & ideas at the brainstorming stage, and I choose what is absolutely necessary & what is even the least bit unnecessary.

When creatives are brainstorming, we have to come up with literally a million ideas and we’re going to think to ourselves that all of those ideas are the craziest ish ever. And that narcissistic side of you is very necessary because that’s what’s going to make you be the person with the most ideas in the room. But once the brainstorm is done, we have to come back and be the most cruel critic to ourselves and really decide what stays & what to let go because if there is even just one too many idea trying to be crammed on a piece of work, there’s no room for the listeners or the viewers to be inspired by the work itself. If the work is speaking too loud and trying to constantly talk over you, who would want to interact with such a rude being?

Is there an artist you’ve always wanted to collaborate with that you haven’t had the chance to?

Not really. I mean I’ll collab when I do, but I don’t really look around or crave for it. I prefer to feature on my own songs by switching up the vocal tone or rapping in the 2nd verse.

What would you like to say to your fans who have been supporting and waiting for your comeback?

Words can’t express how grateful I am for the fans who’ve patiently awaited on my music although nothing was ever promised. I promise you, this rodeo’s going to be long & worth it.

Follow VILLAIN:

Instagram | YouTube | TikTok | Soundcloud