Rising Korean New Zealand rapper Taebz has continued his strong run in 2021 in the new year with the atmospheric single ‘Shadows’.
The emerging hip hop artist’s latest is achingly cool and woozy. Taebz hazily unloads laidback verses, his silky vocals slipping easily over the downtempo bassline.
‘Shadows’ is a family affair, with the track being produced by Taebz alongside his brother Woo!. The pair also dropped a monochromatic music video for the single: the moody clip perfectly captures a sense of loss and yearning, featuring a man furtively smoking in the shadows, contemplating love and life.
The track follows the success of the rapper’s recent collaboration with fellow Auckland rapper Hans., with the pair combining to strong effect on ‘Vices’.
To celebrate the release of ‘Shadows’, we caught up with Taebz as part of our popular Get To Know series to find out more about his life and music.
‘Shadows’ is available to stream on all platforms now.
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How did your artist name come about?
“Taebz” is derived from my Korean name “Taebin” (태빈).
How would you describe your music to your grandma?
Slices of your grandson’s experiences in sonic form!
Tell us about a few of your tracks; their titles and what they’re about?
‘Shadows’ is my first release of 2022. It touches on the theme of fear of loss. It can be interpreted and applied to relationships, ambitions, obsessions etc. and ultimately the fear of losing this.
After I made the instrumentals to ‘Shadows’, I sent it to my brother. He revamped the drums in 20 minutes on his bed lying down holding his laptop in the air. Those drums are used on the final version (he also shot and edited the music video).
What do you love about your hometown?
The Auckland Harbour Bridge.
Career highlight so far?
The current UFC MW Champ (aka the GOAT) commented on a video of me singing…
Fave non-music hobby?
Sacrificing my lifespan supporting Manchester United.
Dream music collaboration?
The Blaze would be a dream. In any case, I just want to experience one of their live sets.
Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
In a studio that looks out into the ocean.
What’s your go-to karaoke song?
‘Knock You Down’ by Kanye.
What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?
‘Always be grateful’ – either that or ‘just shut up’.
What’s one obsession you have that no one would guess after listening to your music?
I’ll leave that for people to guess!
