50 Most Influential K-Pop Artists: 28. Deux

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[Series Index]

28. Deux [듀스]

Years of Activity: 1993-1995

Members:
Kim Seong-Jae [김성재] (vocal, rap)
Lee Hyeon-Do [이현도] (vocal, rap)


Discography:
Deux (1993)
Deuxism (1993)
Force Deux (1995)

Representative Song:  We [우리는] from Deuxism

우리는
We

[Song]

난 누군가? 또 여긴 어딘가?(지금) 저 멀리서 누가 날 부르고 있어
Who am I? And where is this place? (Now) someone is calling me from afar
난 누군가? 또 여긴 어딘가 (이제)우린 앞을 향해서만 나가겠어
Who am I? And where is this place? (Now) we will only move forward

주위를 아무리 둘러봐도 내 곁엔 항상 어둠뿐이었어
No matter how much I looked around, only darkness was next to me
느낄 수 있는 건 나의 힘든 거친 숨소리 하나일 뿐
Only thing I could feel was my labored short breath
무너져 버린 희망 또 후회 속에 난 지내 왔지
I have lived in the crumbled hope and regret
하지만 이제 나는 저 알 수 없는 빛을 향해 달려가고 있어
But now I am running toward that mysterious light

난 누군가? 또 여긴 어딘가?(지금) 저 멀리서 누가 날 부르고 있어
Who am I? And where is this place? (Now) someone is calling me from afar
난 누군가? 또 여긴 어딘가 (이제)우린 앞을 향해서만 나가겠어
Who am I? And where is this place? (Now) we will only move forward

[Rap]

모든건 생각하기에 달려 있는 거야
Everything depends on how you think
너 그리고 나 다들 모두 마찬가지야
You, me, it's the same for everyone
내게로 주어져 있는 생은 나에게 소중한 걸
The life given to me is precious to me
나는 살아가며 이제 깨닫게 되었어
Now I realize as I lived
언제까지나 힘들지만은 않을 꺼야
It will not be difficult forever
비록 지금의 그대가 믿을 수 없어도
Although you cannot believe it now
지금이 힘들어도 그대가 믿기만 한다면
Even if today is difficult, as long as you believe
언젠가 새로운 모습이 돼 있을 꺼야
Someday you will be a new person

[Song]

나에게 힘든 수많은 일들 나를 쓰러지게 만들었어도
The numberless difficult things may have made me fall
나에겐 앞으로 더욱 많은 날들이 남아 있을 뿐이야
But I only have many more days in the future
무너져 버린 희망 또 후회 속에 난 지내 왔지
I have lived in the crumbled hope and regret
하지만 이제 나는 내 앞에 있는 그댈 향해 달려가고 있어
But now I am running toward you in front of me

난 누군가? 또 여긴 어딘가?(지금) 저 멀리서 누가 날 부르고 있어
Who am I? And where is this place? (Now) someone is calling me from afar
난 누군가? 또 여긴 어딘가 (이제)우린 앞을 향해서만 나가겠어
Who am I? And where is this place? (Now) we will only move forward

[Rap]

나 이제 난 알리고 싶어 나의 뜻을 생각을 의미를 모두에게
Now I want to let everyone know about me, my will, my thought and my meaning
지금 비록 힘들어도 그건 언제나 계속은 아닐 꺼야
It may be hard now but it will not last forever
잘 들어줘 이건 언제나 현실, 그리고 사실이야
Listen up this is always the reality and the fact
지금까지는 쓰러져 있다 해도 괜찮아 그러니까 지금 일어나
It's okay if have been down so far, so get up now
우리의 새로운 날을 지금 기다려
And expect our new days

[Song]

난 누군가? 또 여긴 어딘가?(지금) 저 멀리서 누가 날 부르고 있어
Who am I? And where is this place? (Now) someone is calling me from afar
난 누군가? 또 여긴 어딘가 (이제)우린 앞을 향해서만 나가겠어
Who am I? And where is this place? (Now) we will only move forward

Translation note: The Korean is getting ambitious -- maybe he will try making the next rap rhyme.

In 15 words or less: The first "authentic" rappers in K-pop.

Maybe they should be ranked higher because...  Their brand of rap would become the standard for future Korean rap.

Maybe they should be ranked lower because...  Only three albums, and Lee Hyun-Do's solo albums were awful flops.

Why is this group important?
The Korean will recycle what he wrote for his primer on Leessang:

The transplantation of rap in Korea has been an interesting progress for contemporary observers, because rap's importation into Korea is happening in real time, right now. After all, the first K-pop song that may legitimately be considered as a "rap" song only appeared in 1992, and the progress of rap in Korea since has been well-documented through albums, television shows, music videos, etc.

If Leessang represents the completion of the localization of rap, Deux represents the beginning. While it was not the first musician/group to use hiphop music, Deux was the first one to completely dedicate itself to rap and hiphop. The most impressive thing about Deux is -- it imported what was once a completely new kind of music, and Korean public loved them. To be sure, some of their efforts are cringe-inducing in their cheesiness. (Especially their music videos.) But their best songs play surprisingly well to this day, and provided a blueprint for the future of rap in Korea. Much of Korea's trends in rap -- including rhyming Korean and English words, sections of rap "slotted" into a song, etc. -- begin with Deux.

Unfortunately, this promising group was cut short by the tragic death of Kim Seong-Jae, who died of drug overdose. Band mate Lee Hyeon-Do insisted that Kim did not take any drugs. Kim's girlfriend was investigated for a potential murder, but she was not charged. Lee continued his solo career, but the daring creativity of Deux was no more.

Interesting trivia:  Before starting their career as Deux, Kim Seong-Jae and Lee Hyeon-Do were back dancers to one of the biggest stars of early 1990s, Hyeon Jin-Yeong. While extremely popular at his height, Hyeon fizzled after two albums without leaving much imprint on K-pop history.

Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at askakorean@gmail.com.