Jang Hyuk – “When I was a Rapper”

Did you guys know that Jang Hyuk released a rap album, titled TJ Project, back in 2000. Yeah, me neither, until very recently (don’t ask me how I sleuthed it out). There is a very good reason no one knows or discusses this little known fact.

When (and not if) Jang Hyuk wins his Baeksang, he will wish to god he could erase all remnants of his brief flirtation with trying to be a rapper. Seriously, Jang Hyuk tried to be a rapper for a year, and maybe longer.

The best part of the story: Jang Hyuk somehow got Jeon Ji Hyun to star in ALL his music videos from that ill-fated album. And lordy are those music videos priceless. I had a really hard time finding screen caps from the MVs or finding a large image of his album cover. Regardless, let’s take a trip down memory lane with Hyukie, shall we?

Hey Girl MV

This MV has Jang Hyuk playing a blond gangster who steals Jeon Ji Hyun’s purse only to find out it contains a brick. Jeon Ji Hyun tracks him down and slaps him and takes her brick back. Turns out she was planning to crash her ex-boyfriend’s wedding and fling said brick at the bastard. Jang Hyuk takes a liking to feisty Jeon Ji Hyun. He fantasizes about flexing his muscles for her and macking on her in his dream. In the real MV life, he tries to flirt with her at the subway station, only to be given the hand at the end when Jeon Ji Hyun darts into a departing subway train to get away from him.

Rain MV

Jang Hyuk sits in an old-school car in the dark pouring rain. He gets out of the car and sings in the rain. An extreme close-up of Jeon Ji Hyun’s face shows up to cry a lot and push back her hair. Jang Hyuk cries into his steering wheel some more. Turns out he was sitting in a drive-in theater, and crying Jeon Ji Hyun was in the film playing on the screen.

Love of the Sun Moon MV (Part 1)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IcuLV0wtUBM
Oooh, now this is an epic masterpiece. It’s a sageuk MV, folks! With Jang Hyuk rocking the Jack Sparrow, and Jeon Ji Hyun as his fellow warrior lady. Jang Hyuk battles nefarious villains with swords attacking him. Jeon Ji Hyun shows up wearing a gauzy face veil and sporting double blades. Together they fight an evil mega-villain. They leave with a kid and build a campfire, staring at each other soulfully. Another villain attacks them in the dark. After they vanquish their assailant Jang Hyuk slaps Jeon Ji Hyun for no reason.

Love of the Sun Moon MV (Part 2)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-CrnNOygqmU
A group of pursuers come on horseback, Jeon Ji Hyun tries to fight them but Jang Hyuk stops her. Jang Hyuk takes on the horseback gang singlehandedly, putting up a good fight but is almost cut down at the end. Jeon Ji Hyun shows up to throw him one of her two swords, and Jang Hyuk uses it to kill the leader. The kid comes running up and Jang Hyuk grabs him and they leave. Jeon Ji Hyun stays and fights and is captured, tied up on a stake looking despondent. Jang Hyuk comes back (presumably leaving the kid somewhere safe), and fights with his big sword. Jeon Ji Hyun gets free and together they fight as one. Jang Hyuk is killed by bald monk with the big axe, leaving Jeon Ji Hyun crying in despair.

As you can tell, this album came out around the time he did Successful Story of a Bright Girl with Jang Nara, and his predilection towards blond/orange hair was on full display in MV after MV (see above for a screen cap of just his hair). Compiling this post makes me want to go watch Windstruck now. Below is a screen cap of a CM Jang Hyuk did with, who else, Jeon Ji Heon, hawking couples drumsticks (of the ice-cream variety).


Comments

Jang Hyuk – “When I was a Rapper” — 11 Comments

  1. Haven’t we all done things in our youth that we wish could simply be…FORGOTTEN? 😉

    Your synopses are priceless! 😆

  2. Oh, and sorry for not warning you about JH’s foray into rapping. 😉

    JH was a young rising star back then, and his hair probably came in handy for Volcano High. 😛

  3. @ hjkomo

    I don’t care what the hair is good for, it’s an abomination all the way around.

    As for finding out his sordid past, its like the inevitable risque photos that are unearthed after a beauty queen wins her crown. I wish I could unsee/unhear this.

    But I still love Jang Hyuk.

  4. Oh, I dunno, maybe Hyukie is secretly quite proud of his album/MVs, who knows?

    And it sort of makes sense. (Except for the bad straw hair, that’s just inexcusable.) He has a fantastic emoting voice and enough screen presence to burn up a MV.

    Oh, all right, who am I trying to kid… It’s embarrassing! So embarrassing, even though I had unearthed the “Hey Girl” MV all by myself some time ago, I decided to conveniently forget that I’d ever seen it…

  5. Hey I remember unearthing all these priceless MVs at the height of my Hyukie madness back in 2008!!! 😀

    I also remember Jang Hyuk eating jajangmyeon and crying in G.O.D.’s “To My Mother” PV (love the song, it’s soooo early Noughties emo rap).

  6. @ Serendipity

    I agree, you did it waybackwhen, be loud and be proud about it! I don’t see Song Seung Heon with a rap or even ballad album under his belt!

    @ EG

    No way! You fangirled Jang Hyuk back in 2008? Was it apres-Thank You? Or was it because of Robbers? Just curious. I think after Chuno I am a fan for life. 😀

    • Hahahahaha Robbers???? ROBBERS??????

      Uh. Miane. (I think with Robbers, I was more into Jang Hyuk’s performance than the story or characters. I didn’t like the loansharky-braintumory heavy melo stuff one bit, plus, um, I was actually shipping Lee Da-hae and that number-crunching loser nerd, Jin Goo or whatsis)

      Oh baby Thank You got me in 2008, and got me hard. (Props to Serendipity for that super sublime TY review! ;-)) Prior to TY I’d seen Windstruck, but TY was what turned me into a JH completist — which isn’t exactly a painless experience (hello, Public Toilet @__@… and Dance of the Dragon = ballroom gay! Hyukie the tap dancer! and a bald Mowgli as the baddie!).

      Have you seen Bright Girl? Ahhh so cute. The two Jangs… so cute. (And nobody does Rich Wanker Who Is Laid Low than the Hyuk!) Please Teach Me Engrish? (aka Smarmy, Thy Name Is Elvis! fun movie that one) Volcano High? (Hyukie a blondie with supah powers — and — a nekkid butt-exposure moment!!!!! with water pipes exploding around him!!!!!) Daemang? (watched this intermittently, but never finished. because there’s something monumentally unappealing about Han Jae-suk, haha)

      I haven’t seen JH’s dramas since Robbers (and Chuno is the only one that excites me, anyway). Mebbe ‘coz it’s hard to sustain this completist business when a new hottie *cough* KimuTaku *cough* holds you hostage for a full year (and counting).

      Oh, and Kusanagi Tsuyoshi interviewed Jang Hyuk on his Hangul show — maybe back in 2008 I think. Hyuk was nice enough and polite, but I was LMFAO at how creepy Tsuyoshi was towards JH the whole time! Hope you get a hold of that unsubbed clip 😀

  7. ockoala..you didn’t know??!! hehehehhe

    Well…we at Hyuklandia like to think of his singing career as ‘it never happened’… (case and point—see serendipity’s post of forgetting ‘Hey Girl) LOL
    It is super hilarious though to see him rapping and dancing….just sooooo awkward.

    Jeon Ji Hyun and Hyukie really do look good together, don’t they? I had hoped briefly (pre Ha Ji Won) that JJH could be reunited with Hyukie for Secret Garden..but of course I’m more excited about Ha Ji Won now.

  8. I salute you Jang Hyuk! It’s nice to know how you grew from a rapper to a great actor . You’re really lucky with Yeo Jin who stood by you from the time you were still new to the entertainment world upto now. I just hope I am your Yeo Jin! love you still!

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