By Diana | @parkenjoyer and Valerie | @valschwarie

 

As part of Clubhouse’s “Creator First Pilot” program, Inside K-pop, a Clubhouse organization run by Korean-American songwriter Danny Chung, hosted a room featuring the hit K-hiphop artist and CEO of AOMG and H1GHR Music Jay Park and his right-hand man, co-founder of AOMG and H1GHR, and fellow producer Cha Cha Malone.

In this episode of “INSIDE,” the duo discussed the creation of their 2016 hit song “All I Wanna Do,” getting into the nitty-gritty details of the production process, their close friendship, and advice for aspiring artists. The pilot show was hosted by Danny Chung, Isabel Chi, and EnVi Magazine’s very own Azadeh Valanejad and Davonna Giplin.

 

 

A Lighthearted Atmosphere

From the start, the call was lighthearted and fun, yet maintained a professional atmosphere. While waiting for Jay Park to join, Cha Cha Malone joked that Park was unfamiliar with the Clubhouse app and was getting his hair and makeup done— a testament to their close relationship. When Park arrived, he cracked his own joke, asking the panelists how they knew he was the real Jay Park. 

Once the guests were situated, the hosts introduced the show, highlighting both Malone’s and Park’s careers and greatest accolades. Malone is a well-known producer, known for working with various artists including Red Velvet, LOONA, EXO’s Baekhyun and KAI, and Chinese solo artist Zhu Zhengting. Park is an award-winning K-hiphop artist, co-CEO of both AOMG and H1GHR Music labels along with Malone, and is the first Asian artist to sign with Roc Nation.  

 

The Story Behind “All I Wanna Do”

“All I Wanna Do” was made in 2015. For this particular song, Malone said he played with different sounds and beats in a folder. Malone sent it to Park, unsure if he would like it and it ended up being what Park chose to use. Malone has been flying to Korea since 2014 to work with him.

 “As far as the song goes, Cha Cha was supposed to go home. This was around 3 A.M. and I said ‘let’s work on one last song.’ I could tell he was tired, and he was like ‘are you sure?’ and I was like ‘yeah, let’s do it,’” said Park. “It wasn’t his most confident beat and I wasn’t in the studio like ‘this is gonna be a hit’ but we just knocked it out in two hours.”

Before “All I Wanna Do” was released, Park played the track for some colleagues at AOMG. DJ Pumkin, one of his co-CEOs, believed it would do well in Korea. Park then recorded the Korean version of the track, which is more well-known than the original now. He added Hoody and Loco to the song since it was a way to promote his artists and he enjoyed what they brought to the table.

 

The Creation of Cha Cha Malone’s Infamous Producer Tag

Jay Park and Cha Cha Malone then uncovered a few mysteries around Malone’s producer tag, “I Need a Cha Cha Beat Boy.” It is present in most of Malone’s works at least once. According to the duo, this tag is what helped brand Cha Cha Malone as a producer in South Korea. However, Malone has not always used that producer tag. He used to whisper the words “Cha Cha” in his songs, which Park joked nobody liked. 

The revised tag came before Cha Cha Malone’s appearance on the Korean competition show Unpretty Rap Star. Malone thought he needed a more recognizable tag to improve his brand. To create his new signature, Malone enlisted help from Jay Park and his longtime friend Vivian. They tried out various lines before they found the one. Vivian recorded the line multiple times, and the final product was edited by Gray, who fixed the timing so Malone could seamlessly add it to his beats.

Interestingly, the tag was added to “All I Wanna Do” twice: once in the beginning and once in the song’s middle. There is no specific reason why, but Park suggested trying something new. 

 

Building the Jay Park and Cha Cha Malone Brand

Jay Park and Cha Cha Malone also discussed their experiences working together. They first met almost two decades ago when both artists joined the same B-boy group “Art of Movement” in Seattle. Park said their creative relationship “just kind of happened and we were like, ‘why don’t we work on something?’” The duo has now created countless songs since then, including “All I Wanna Do,” “Me Like Yuh,” “Joah,” and “Yacht.”

According to Park, an artist’s brand is very important in Korea. “We really built our own sound and flavor and production style. You can definitely hear that with JAY B’s track ‘Switch It Up,’” Park said. “It’s not a Billboard-topping hit, but I’m really proud of how it came out, how the visuals came out, how we did the vocal direction. It’s [something] we would listen to even if we didn’t know who JAY B was.” 

Park then elaborated, “We worked hard and built our brand very carefully. We are reaping the fruits of our labor. I think Chase and I have built up our craft to where if we make something trendy, it still has the Jay and Cha Cha flavor so it ages very well. It still sounds like a good song, even if you listen to it now.”

 

Advice for Aspiring Artists

While Cha Cha Malone and Jay Park are well-known figures in the K-hiphop world, they have not always had a clear path. To monetize his craft, Malone learned an artist has to be experimental and possess lots of love for music. “I feel like always trying to learn how to produce different things and listening to different kinds of music and not always trying to make trap music or whatever is trending— you can tap into that and try to learn that stuff too but also produce what you love to do. A lot of people try to follow a trend and that dies out eventually. I notice in my spare time I try out different things.”

Jay Park, former leader of a K-pop group, had a sudden career change after leaving the group. What helped Park break into music again was his belief in himself.  “In order to have self belief and self-confidence, you have to work hard. Be willing to do what they [the other artists] are not willing to do. That’s what separates you from the rest,” Jay Park said. “Music business you have to know the ins and outs and if you really wanna make a living out of this you have to not only know how to make music and sing but you also have to know how to make a career out of it.”

Another hurdle Jay Park faced was moving to South Korea and learning the culture and language. However, he mastered Korean over time and it became an advantage for him in his pursuit of music. To get a foot in the door, Jay Park encouraged people to put themselves out there and show the world what they bring to the table. Malone said part of the job requires having “an ear” for music and knowing what works and what does not work.

 

A Surprise Ending

When the show was coming to a close, the Inside K-pop hosts surprised Jay Park with special guests. They brought up Korean-American rapper Dumbfoundead, singer-songwriter Henny, Korean-American singer-songwriter MRSHLL, and concert booking agent Albert Kim to the stage to show the duo some love.

In a heartwarming moment, Dumbfoundead praised Jay Park for everything he has done for the Korean music industry. According to the rapper, “[Jay Park is] partially responsible for changing industry in Korea. From independent to major labels. It’s become normal for many indie labels to exist.” Henny then praised the duo’s humbleness. He initially met Malone at their Sexy 4 Eva World Tour. He said they are by far the most humble and amazing people he had ever met, ending with “glad you are from my home city.” This was followed by more friendly chatter. 

 

What’s to Come: “Inside” K-pop

At the end of the session, the founder of Inside K-pop Danny Chung thanked everyone for joining and told people to look forward to Cha Cha Malone’s and Jay Park’s future projects. The interview with Cha Cha Malone and Jay Park was part of Inside K-pop’s “Creator First” pilot for Chung’s series “INSIDE.” In this series, Chung plans to meet with various songwriters, producers, and artists to explore the processes behind the music. Clubhouse’s “Creator First” program helps equip creators with the resources they may need to produce their shows on Clubhouse. Danny Chung’s series is one of the finalists of the program. 

Check out EnVi’s review of H1GHR Music’s newest artist JAY B and his single “Switch It Up” here!

Photo Courtesy of  Cha Cha Malone’s Instagram