''99'' is the seventh

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

by the South Korean hip hop group

Epik High Epik High (Hangul: 에픽하이) is a South Korean hip hop trio formed in 2001, composed of Tablo, Mithra Jin, and DJ Tukutz. Primarily based in Seoul, the group signed with Woollim Entertainment and released their first two studio albums, ...

. It was released online on October 19, 2012 and in physical CD format on October 23. The title tracks were "Up", a hip-hop song featuring

2NE1 2NE1 (, ) was a South Korean girl group formed by YG Entertainment, which was active between 2009 and 2016. The group was composed of four members: Bom, CL, Dara, and Minzy. Known for breaking typical stereotypes of K-pop, musical experiment ...

Park Bom Park Bom (born March 24, 1984), previously known mononymously as Bom, is a South Korean singer. She is best known as a member of the South Korean girl group 2NE1. Park began her musical career in 2006, featuring on singles released by labelma ...

, and "Don't Hate Me". The album also included the previously released collaboration with

Lee Hi Lee Ha-yi (; born September 23, 1996), known by her stage name Lee Hi, is a South Korean singer and songwriter. She first garnered attention as the runner-up of '' K-pop Star 1''. She debuted with single "1, 2, 3, 4" on October 28, 2012 and rea ...

, "It's Cold". This is Epik High's first release under

YG Entertainment YG Entertainment Inc. () is a South Korean multinational entertainment agency established in 1996 by Yang Hyun-suk. The company operates as a record label, talent agency, music production company, event management and concert production compa ...

Background

Epik High named the album '99′ for a number of reasons: their love of the number "9″, the 9 songs in the album (plus one short interlude), and the aim to "embrace the meaning of music" for 99% of people, not the top 1%. Through a commentary film released on October 22, Epik High went through the album tracks, explaining it's the kind of music that the members grew up to and enjoyed during the 1990s. "The album is like taking a time machine with us and going here and there", explained Tablo. Particularly for their two title tracks, the members said that "Up" is meant to encourage people that the next day will be better. For "Don't Hate Me", the members explained that even if the world hates you, if there is at least one person who loves you, life is worth living.

Track listing

References

{{Authority control 2012 albums Epik High albums YG Entertainment albums