Amoeba Culture () is a South Korean independent

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...

established in 2006 by

Dynamic Duo Dynamic duo may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups *Dúo Dinámico (Spanish for Dynamic Duo), a Spanish musical duo formed in 1958 and one of the main precursors of pop music in Spain *Dynamic Duo (South Korean duo), a South Ko ...

and Go Kyung-min. The label is home to prominent artists such as

Rhythm Power Rhythm Power ( ko, 리듬파워) is a South Korean hip hop group that consists of rappers Hangzoo, Boi B and Geegooin. They were managed by the hip hop record label Amoeba Culture. The three group members have been childhood friends and started ...

, and Ha:tfelt. The label had the third largest sales among Korean record labels in 2015.

History

Amoeba Culture was founded in August 2006 by

members

Gaeko Kim Yoon-sung (born January 14, 1981), known professionally as Gaeko (, literally ''dog's snout'') is a South Korean hip hop recording artist. He and Choiza comprise the hip hop duo Dynamic Duo, which rose to fame upon the release of their de ...

and

Choiza Choi Jae-ho (; born March 17, 1980), known professionally as Choiza (), is a South Korean hip hop recording artist. He and Gaeko comprise the hip hop duo Dynamic Duo, which rose to fame upon the release of their debut album ''Taxi Driver'' in ...

, as well as current CEO Go Kyung-min. The label held open auditions in late 2007 in order to expand its roster. In 2008, composer and producer Primary and hip hop duo Supreme Team joined the company. In 2011 the label released a series of toy figurines and started the "AMOEBAHOOD" project to promote exhibits and other cultural art projects. They also established the Amoeba Culture recording studio in October 2011. In 2012 the label held the first "Amoebahood Concerts" at Daegu Exco and KBS Busan Hall in February, as well as the

House of Blues House of Blues is an American chain of live music concert halls and restaurants. It was founded by Isaac Tigrett, the co-founder of Hard Rock Cafe, and Dan Aykroyd, co-star of the 1980 film ''The Blues Brothers''. The first location opened at Ha ...

in LA and the Showbox at the Market in Seattle in April with

Kero One Kero One is a Korean-American hip hop MC, producer, and DJ from San Francisco, California. He has been recognized for re-introducing the jazz rap sound in the early to mid 2000s with his jazz-hop album Windmills of the Soul. History Kero One ...

. Zion.T also announced that he had signed with the label that summer. In 2013 all of the label's artist participated in the 'NOWeekend' project which culminated in an album. The group also held the "2013 Amoebahood Concerts" on March 16 and 17. On July 19, 2013, Supreme Team disbanded when member

E-Sens Kang Min-ho (; born 9 February 1987), better known by the stage name E Sens (), is a South Korean rapper. He debuted in 2009 as a member of the hip hop duo Supreme Team, which disbanded in 2013. In 2015, he released his first solo album, ''Th ...

's contract ended. That summer E-Sens released tracks alleging the company had offered him a

slave contract A slave contract () refers to an unfair, long-term contract between Korean idols and their management agencies. Conditions Aspiring K-pop idols, known as "trainees," sign contracts with management agencies when the trainee is as young as 12 or ...

and that they had stolen money which the label denied. In January 2014 the other former Supreme Team member,

Simon D Jung Ki-suck (; born 9 March 1984), better known by his stage name Simon Dominic (), is a South Korean hip hop recording artist. He debuted in 2009 as a member of the hip-hop duo Supreme Team, which disbanded in 2013. As a solo artist, he has ...

, left the label as well. In November 2017, CJ E&M acquired Amoeba Culture. CJ E&M official stated that, "We are investing to support the development of hip-hop music and free creative activities by artists".

Controversies

Plagiarism accusations against Primary

For the '' 2013 Infinity Challenge Music Festival'', Primary collaborated with

Park Myeong-su Park Myung-soo (born August 27, 1970) is a South Korean DJ, comedian, MC, singer, and songwriter who debuted on television in 1993, appearing on MBC. He co-hosted the top-rated comic variety programme '' Infinite Challenge'' and also hosted ...

and label mate Gaeko (

) for the song "I Got C". Later,

netizen The term netizen is a portmanteau of the English words ''internet'' and ''citizen'', as in a "citizen of the net" or "net citizen". It describes a person actively involved in online communities or the Internet in general.

Caro Emerald Caroline Esmeralda van der Leeuw (born 26 April 1981), known for the project Caro Emerald, is a Dutch pop and jazz singer who mainly performs in English. Active since 2007, she rose to prominence in 2009 with the debut single, " Back It Up". Th ...

's "Liquid Lunch." Rumors of plagiarism later followed. In an interview by

Seoul Shinmun ''The Seoul Shinmun'' (translating to The Seoul Newspaper) is the oldest daily newspaper in South Korea with more than a century of publication. Its original name was ''Daehan Maeil Sinbo'' (''The Korea Daily News''), which was started on July 1 ...

NTN's "Dispatch," Caro Emerald's production team member David Schreurs said, " rimaryuses our music as a template to create his own, which is an honor but on some songs he’s just going too far with it. I would like to say he should start trusting his own talent, because he sure is a good producer.” As a result,

Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation (MBC; ) is one of the leading South Korean television and radio broadcasters. ''Munhwa'' is the Sino-Korean word for "culture". Its flagship terrestrial television station MBC TV broadcasts as channel 11. Es ...

(MBC), the network behind "Infinity Challenge," as well as KT Music, the publisher of the album and songs from the "2013 Infinity Challenge Music Festival," ceased online sales of "I Got C." Another Primary composition,

Park Ji-yoon Park Ji-yoon (Hangul: 박지윤; Hanja: 朴志胤; born January 3, 1982) is a South Korean singer, actress, and model. As a teen model, she gained wide exposure after starring in a Haitai biscuit commercial in 1994, and held a minor role in th ...

's ''Mr. Lee'' (featuring

San E Jung San (; born ), more commonly known by his stage name San E (), is a South Korean rapper. He debuted in 2010 under JYP Entertainment, where he was the label's first solo rapper. He left the company in 2013 to sign with hip hop label Brand Ne ...

) was also later accused of plagiarism.

2013: "The Control Diss Phenomenon"

* July 19 –

( Supreme Team) left Amoeba Culture. * August 12 – American hip hop artist

Big Sean Sean Michael Leonard Anderson (born March 25, 1988), known professionally as Big Sean, is an American rapper. Anderson began his music career in 2007 and gained popularity in 2010 with his third mixtape '' Finally Famous Vol. 3: Big''. He then s ...

released a

promotional single A promotional recording, or promo, or plug copy, is an audio or video recording distributed free, usually in order to promote a recording that is or soon will be commercially available. Promos are normally sent directly to broadcasters, such as ...

called "

Control Control may refer to: Basic meanings Economics and business * Control (management), an element of management * Control, an element of management accounting * Comptroller (or controller), a senior financial officer in an organization * Controllin ...

", with a verse from

Kendrick Lamar Kendrick Lamar Duckworth (born June 17, 1987) is an American rapper and songwriter. Known for his progressive musical styles and socially conscious songwriting, he is often considered one of the most influential hip hop artists of his generat ...

that called on all hip hop artists to "step up and save hip hop". * August 21 – Swings, the

Korean American Korean Americans are Americans of Korean ancestry (mostly from South Korea). In 2015, the Korean-American community constituted about 0.56% of the United States population, or about 1.82 million people, and was the fifth-largest Asian American ...

rapper affiliated with Illest Konfusion, UPT and Overclass, released the

diss track A diss track, diss record or diss song (diss – abbr. from ''disrespect'') is a song whose primary purpose is to verbally attack someone else, usually another artist. Diss tracks are often the result of an existing, escalating feud between the ...

"King Swings" through the

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

channel of his agency at the time,

Brand New Music Brand New Music (Hangul: 브랜뉴 뮤직, also stylized as BrandNew Music and initialized as BNM) is a South Korean hip hop company founded in 2011 by rapper . History 2003–2012: Founding and first-generation artists Kim Se-hwan (Hangul: � ...

. It was met with responses from Ugly Duck, Takeone and

Deepflow Ryu Sang-gu (Hangul: 류상구; born 1984), known by the stage name Deepflow (Hangul: 딥플로우) is a South Korean rapper, music producer, and Chief executive officer, CEO of the hip hop record label Vismajor Company. He won the award for Musi ...

. * August 22 – E-Sens shocked the Korean hip hop community when he released "You Can't Control Me", dissing his former agency and label mate Gaeko (Dynamic Duo). * August 23 – Swings released another diss, "Hwang Jung-min (King Swings Part 2)". He dissed

Simon Dominic Jung Ki-suck (; born 9 March 1984), better known by his stage name Simon Dominic (), is a South Korean hip hop recording artist. He debuted in 2009 as a member of the hip-hop duo Supreme Team, which disbanded in 2013. As a solo artist, he has ...

( Supreme Team) this time. * August 24 – Gaeko broke his silence and released "I Can Control You", then E-Sens responded with "True Story". Meanwhile, Simon Dominic answered back at Swings through "Control". * August 26 – Swings lashed back at Simon Dominic with "New World". Meanwhile, Amoeba Culture issued a statement saying "it respects the opinions of its artists and will let them handle it themselves (in regards to Gaeko and Simon Dominic's disses)". * August 27 – The exchange of diss tracks came to an end.

Artists

Groups

Soloists

* HA:TFELT (핫펠트) *Snzae (선재) * SOLE (쏠) * THAMA (따마) *

Uhm Jung-hwa Uhm Jung-hwa (; born August 17, 1969) is a South Korean singer, actress and dancer. Uhm is considered to be one of the most influential women in the Korean entertainment industry, finding rare success in both music and film. Her legacy and car ...

(엄정화) *Huh! (허성현)

Former artists

*0CD * J-Tong * Supreme Team (2009–2013) **

(2009–2013) **

(2009–2013) *

Zion.T Kim Hae-sol (born April 13, 1989), known as Zion.T (), is a South Korean Hip Hop Music, hip hop and Contemporary R&B, R&B singer signed to The Black Label, a subsidiary label of YG Entertainment managed by Teddy Park and Kush. He has released ...

(2013–2016) * a.mond (Bang Jae-min) (2018-2019) * Crush (2014–2019) * Primary (2008–2020) *

(2010-2020)

Discography

References

External links

{{Authority control Labels distributed by CJ E&M Music and Live Labels distributed by Kakao M Talent agencies of South Korea South Korean hip hop record labels