Who is Korean hip-hop sensation Jay Park?

One of South Korea’s biggest hip-hop and R&B artists will land in New Zealand this month as part of his first world tour in six years.

US-born Jay Park has been carving his own path since his departure from idol group 2PM 16 years ago. He's founded three record label companies, created an alcoholic drinks brand and became the first Asian-American to be signed by Jay-Z’s Roc Nation label.

Park's Serenade & Body Rolls World Tour kicked off with two sold-out arena shows in Seoul. The 38-year-old rapper, dancer and singer will visit New Zealand and Australia this month.

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Park says NZ may not serve his biggest crowds, but he wants to show love to the fans (called JWalkerz), especially those who supported him back in his YouTube cover days.

Park flaunts an expansive catalogue and he told RNZ that weaving a set list that considers acoustic tunes like ‘Yesterday’, the body rolls of ‘MOMMAE’ and the rapping of ‘K-Town’ is no easy task.

“We go with the kind of more R&B ‘feel good’ [songs] just to get everybody settled and then we'll go into the more like serenades, just more heartfelt [chill songs] … so people can just listen and then we'll go into the dance and then we'll go into the more rap, hip-hop and raise up the tension and the energy.”

Although he's touring, Park wears multiple hats as an entrepreneur and chief executive. He goes back to South Korea between shows to manage other projects. He also dropped a new single, ‘Remedy', just a couple of weeks ago.

“I've always kind of been able to go with the flow and find balance within the chaos and just get done what needs to be done. But it is a little bit hectic, just because I haven't been on tour for six years.”

Park has previously spoken about how he struggled to find a sense of belonging and identity growing up in Seattle, with a lack of Asian representation around, before finding a crowd in b-boying and hip-hop.

“When I was growing up, not a lot of people even knew where Korea was,” he says.

“So it's awesome that right now Korea is kind of like the centre of Asian pop culture and so many people are influenced by it and so many people that are not even Korean want to come and be involved in the industry.”

Breaking out of the mould of a K-pop star after his 2PM departure, Park’s promotion tactics and no holds barred approach have often turned heads and raised his profile. He had a three-year stint doing R-rated skits on the Korean version of Saturday Night Liveand last year started a racy OnlyFans account to promote his music.

“I don't think that freedom is a luxury, it's earned, and I think I've worked very hard for it. I think I've kind of paved my own way. There was no blueprint on how to be Jay Park. So I just kind of made my own blueprint.

“In this industry, in this game, it's very trend-sensitive and people leave you behind very, very easily. So I’ve got to keep on my toes and find interesting ways to keep people interested in me and what I'm doing.”

Fans were shocked when Park hinted at an early retirement in 2019 and later stepped down from his labels AOMG and H1ghr Music. He ultimately stayed active, saying he made those comments at a time when he was experiencing burn out.

Three years ago, Park set up his latest record label MORE VISION, which he plans to debut two idol groups under next year.

Idol trainee systems have been under the spotlight for their rigorous approach and cutthroat competition – sometimes taking years for young talent to debut.

On his Thailand tour stop, Park told YouTube show The Driver he had hand-selected the members he wishes to see debut – as opposed to making a large group go through stages of selection as major K-pop companies do.

He told RNZ the biggest difference was they want to be “undeniable”, with a focus not just on selling but being authentic and having the right mindset.

“I feel like a lot of other companies, they've been doing it for 20 to 30 years, so they've figured out a system,” he says. “So they can pump out the groups every year, almost like a factory, right?

“For me, I haven't kept up in K-pop in the past 10 to 15 years, because I've kind of just been doing my own thing. I've been more heavily involved in the hip-hop, R&B space.

“Now, I feel like I did all I could do and I reached a plateau when it comes to the hip-hop, R&B space. So with my experience, and with my knowledge, and kind of my approach to music, I wanted to strive for what's the next chapter, the next level.”

Jay Park plays at Auckland's Spark Arena on 24 August.