More Than ordinary.—punchnello’s Rise in K-Hip-Hop
You may or may not be familiar with punchnello—but chances are if you’re into the K-Hip-Hop scene, you’ve heard him perform in some way. Most recently, he has been thrust into the spotlight for winning the eighth season of Show Me The Money. For this edition of Surprise of the Week, we’ll highlight punchnello’s career and rise to fame.
Not-So-Humble Beginnings
Born Lee Youngshin in Seoul in 1997, punchnello began his career in music in 2016, though he did release music before his official debut on his SoundCloud page. He began his career as a member of Club Eskimo alongside bigger names like DEAN, millic, and offonoff. His first single album LIME, released in 2016, even featured popular K-R&B singer Crush on the track “CORONA.” Much of his early work is seen as a featured artist on other prominent K-Hip-Hop and R&B artist albums, from Sik-K’s album F1IP to offonoff’s renowned album boy. and HA:TFELT’s first solo album MEiNE.
The first two years of his career are marked by two single releases as a solo artist and the above featured tracks, along with numerous others. 2018 marked even more growth in this area, with featured songs on Crush’s mini-album wonderlost, SAAY’s album CLAASSIC, Kim Sunggyu of INFINITE’s first album 10 Stories, and a compilation track “119 REMIX” which also featured the likes of big K-Hip-Hop names such as Jay Park, Simon Dominic, LOCO, Gaeko, penomeco, and Swings. With his name associated with bigger fish in the industry, it’s a bit surprising that we went all of 2018 without any solo releases from the rapper. Despite this, punchnello became a familiar name to K-Hip-Hop enthusiasts, though it was less common to be familiar with his solo work.
Growth in 2019
The beginning of 2019 was marked by a new contract with AOMG and the first solo release from punchnello since 2017, a pre-release of his track “Absinthe.” “Absinthe” marked a turning point for the rapper, who had yet to venture into such an intense rap sound before. For me, it marked a moment where I felt compelled to pay much more attention to the rapper, who proved to be much more intense and in-depth than what had been shown before.
With the full mini-album ordinary. released a month later, punchnello boasted an album produced by 0channel and featured artists like Simon Dominic, SAAY, Crush, penomeco, and sogumm. ordinary. features a wide variety of musical influences, with breezier upbeat melodies in tracks like “Blue Hawaii” and “Winter Blossom,” to heavier traditional hip-hop in “Absinthe” and “Boiling Point,” and even soft R&B comfort in “homesickness.” It’s almost impossible not to feel moved by the rapper’s talent and versatility after listening to the full mini-album. It’s a perfect showcase and introduction to the artist that, frankly, was long overdue.
As 2019 continued, punchnello spent time on rap variety programs, such as High School Rapper 3 and, more notably, Show Me The Money 8. He also worked with Block B BASTARZ on their mini-album I’m a mess, featured on B-Bomb’s solo track “Recognize.” His latest release, single 23, features Sam Kim and is a perfect track to ring in the autumn with.
But let’s return to Show Me The Money. punchnello made his debut on the program back with Show Me The Money 6, but ended up voluntarily eliminating himself from the contest in order to take care of his ailing mother. He returned to dominate the competition in the 8th season, taking home the grand prize this time around. With a new agency at the most powerful K-Hip-Hop label and tons of collaborations with some of the biggest names in the genre, there’s no doubt that punchnello will only soar higher from here.
punchnello’s Musical Brand
What stands out most about the rapper is his stunning versatility. I have been a fan of K-Hip-Hop for years, but I’ve never had a favorite rapper in the industry until I came across punchnello. Venturing back into his older discography, he has a sound that’s much more focused on the lighter, more pop-influenced type of rap. This is especially apparent in his earliest SoundCloud tracks and single album LIME, though it is noticeable that he has a grittier tone or rap that contrasts nicely with the lighter melody.
2017’s Detox brought a harder, more traditional hip-hop influence to his music, beginning to showcase his talent for shifting his flow to fit the melody of the track he’s on. This point, of course, was driven even further home with the release of “Absinthe,” which to this day is the epitome of his intensity. As mentioned before, his mini-album ordinary. perfectly showcases all the different musical influences he’s mastered both in his own work and in his features. As of present day, he’s worked with numerous idols, rappers, and producers with the focus on tough and gritty hip-hop, and more soft R&B artists. punchnello is the essential 21st century rapper, and I can’t wait to see how much further he’ll be able to go as we continue into 2020.