BOJVCK !
OUTTA MOTHERLAND
BOJVCK, a 23 year old South Korean DJ is imposing his Ghettotech and Breakbeat music with a pinch of his own Korean flow and French touch influences. His undeniable passion and deep appreciation for music are bearing early fruit in the underground scenes of Seoul. With his upcoming projects for 2026 already lined up for release such as the as the duo mixtape with Y2MATE forming the group “OM”, he feels like this will be THE year. perfectly aligned. Now it’s just a matter of time. Indeed, one good year is all it takes. With 2026 being the year of the horse, everything seems
I discovered BOJVCK while my friend Diego was DJ-ing and he inserted Downtown Flavor as a transition track right after I’ve Seen Footage by Death Grips. Days later after the discovery, I saw he was in Paris for Fashion Week on his instagram story, I sent him a quick DM. Worst I can get from someone is a no, so might as well just try it. Thanks to that impulse, it led to a quick interview at one of my favorite local spots: the cafe at Union Jeunesse Internationale.
What could be a better place than that? A space where the history of the African diaspora in the 18th district breathes through the walls of the former Tati Barbès, which has now become an experimental cultural center inviting a young and wild generation to reshape the world. The small talk I had with BOJVCK was covering about his music grounded in Ghettotech. It’s a hip-hop subgenre born in Detroit that he is imposing in the streets of Seoul like no one ever did. The conversation we had branched out to different topics, such as his background as a young skater, as well as his constant pursuit of street culture knowledge.
What makes him stand out from any other (Hip-hop) artist is that he’s fully embracing, not one, but two pillars of Hip-hop: the first one is obvious which is DJ-ing. But the second is the pillar that most artists today lack, often raising questions of cultural appropriation (a topic I might tackle in the next issue): Knowledge. And BOJVCK has it. We can’t lack respect when it comes to giving OGs their flowers. This is how he dives deep into different subgenres of hip-hop rather than cruising on the surface level. I truly believe he’s a rare diamond in the rough that just needs time to get polished.
Seungyu Jung: Before we start this interview, I got something for you.
BOJVCK: Oh, what is it?
SJ: (*Seungyu hands BOJVCK a CD of “The Anthology” by A Tribe Called Quest*) Since we were going to talk about your music that is quite deeply rooted in hip-hop, why not offer you a classic?
B: Ohhhhh, real classic this one. Thank you!
SJ: Haha you’re welcome. Okay, so, could you tell me how did you start diving in to music?
B: When I was 15, I fell in love with skateboarding because one of the neighbours kid had a cruiserboard. From then I thought that was my purpose in life until I started realizing that maybe going Pro might not be really my destiny. I thought about b-boying, but I didn’t because it didn’t look fun as skateboarding. Graffiti was out of the question too [specially in Korea that has very strict laws against Graffiti]. And finally I got into music because during that time, Show Me The Money was very popular.
SJ: Oh, what season was it?
B: Back when BeeWhy was rapping. And in the other side of the world it was the period of time where music artists like XXXTENTACION and Lil Pump were doing their thing. And I specially liked Lil Pump’s beat, which made me want to make Lil Pump type beats. And through that it made me desire to make sounds where I could display myself as a music player. And that’s when I discovered Ed Banger, french touch, industrial techno.... all that stuff. As I was deep diving I realized I still wanted to be grounded on hip-hop so I started studying about Neptune Records, I really liked their sounds but I felt like there would be a limit to this too. Because ultimately, Neptunes tunes is music that requires a rapper. And so I started asking to my fellow DJs what any other sound would fit me. And there is one guy that introduced me to Ghettotech, and it resonated with me instantly. And it’s been 3-4 years since then where I decided that I had to push this genre forward in my own way.
SJ: If you like ED banger, then you must know about DJ Mehdi as well.
B: Absolutely, DJ Mehdi, a legend.
SJ: Recently there was a documentary about him on ARTE, did you see it?
B: Yes I’ve seen it. Any artist friend older than me knows who DJ Mehdi is. Respect the OG, ya know haha.
SJ: Moving on, before we started recording the conversation, you were telling me about one of your favorite skater, which by the way I already knew it because I saw in one your interview with LABROS SEOUL, and you mentioned that Heitor Da Silva was your top 1 favorite skater. So my question is, what approach do you establish when it comes to having favorite skaters? is it the flow, the trick itself, ...?
B: I’ve been watching a lot of skate videos, my favorite skaters have been changing from time to time except Heitor. He is still my number one. Flow is obviously important, the way you dress is important, trick selection is important, and how they plan their lines is important. But honestly, putting all those details aside, let's say we're walking down the street and a really pretty girl walks by, and you fall in love at first sight. Of course, she might not be ridiculously beautiful like Rihanna or Beyoncé, but, she's pretty enough for me to fall in love at first sight, right? It's just personal taste. You can think of it exactly like that. I just felt that deeply for Heitor.
SJ: Do you estalblish the same approah when it comes to music?
B:Exactly, As soon as I hear it, I think, “Ah, this is it.” I feel like I can figure it all out within 5 seconds. Once I make that judgment, I just go with it right away. Ghettotech was exactly like that for me. DJ POOL first showed me a DJ Godfather mixset, and as soon as I saw it, I thought, “This is it. I can tell my stories through this”.
SJ: How do you begin when producing your own tracks?
B: It really depends on the track. But when making music based on Ghettotech, I start with the drums. I start by programming a classic rhythm with a drum machine. When doing hip-hop, I start with the drum breaks. The skeleton is always the drum break. You have to find the best drum break for the song to even begin. In the past, I read an article in a music magazine, I think it was Attack, it was a tutorial article on making a classic Ghetto House loop. I always wondered, 'How did the old Ghetto House producers get this particular feel from the drums?' And while reading that article, I was shocked. They would take a classic 808 or 909 drum sample and just layer a tiny drum break on top of it. That's what creates that organic, groovy sound. Realizing that, I thought, “Ah, drum breaks are truly important. You have to add even a little bit of it for the groove to come alive.” From then on, I really focused on drum breaks. Now, almost all my tracks have drum breaks in them.
SJ: Do you feel like Guetthotech is a genre that could be in South Korea’s mainstream music one day?
B: The only reason the public does not know about or listen to Ghettotech is simply because it has never been on the mainstream market. With the rise of fast-paced rhythm sounds mixed with hardcore sounds like hyperpop, I don’t see any reason why Ghettotech won't also have its moment soon. Last year in June, I was playing in Paris for Fête de la Musique and people took an interest in this genre, asking me what Ghettotech was about. It is a genre that is known among us DJs, but it’s still quite unknown outside of this circle. I feel like there is hope that it can have a positive impact. I have had people come back to me telling me they learned about Ghettotech thanks to my sets. A lot of older rappers who are already very active and established in Korea contacted me, saying, “I'm curious about the genre you're doing, let's meet up.” Rappers like Paloalto and Giriboy reached out to me like that.
SJ: Besides Guettotech are there any other styles or genres you want to do?
B: I’m gonna keep imposing with my Ghettotech for a moment, but I would like to do UK Street Soul, as well as Chopped and Screwed... anything that has to do with instrumental inside hip-hop where I can show my true colors as a DJ and producer. Rap music (ex: Trap, Drill, etc) limits my artistry. And at the end of the day I still have to earn my daily bread, and I think Ghettotech might be the one that could help me for it.
SJ: Are you in studying in college?
B: No, I’m not. Furthermore, in my high school, out of 300 people, there were exactly two people who didn't take the Suneung [South Korean college entrance exam], and I was one of them. The real reason I started skateboarding was, at that time, I was actually preparing for a science high school. I was in a situation where going to a science high school was almost guaranteed, but I got very sick. I took a blood test and it turned out I had severe malnutrition. So I had to start doing some physical exercise, and that's when I started to skate. And then, because it was so fun, I decided, “I'm going to keep living for this. I won't go to science high school and I won't study.” And because of that, I fought a lot with my parents. For almost a month, I didn't say a single word to them. Eventually, my parents were like, “Okay, do what you want to do. But work hard at it.” But I have the kind of personality where if I commit to something, I work hard at it anyway. So now, my dad doesn't even know that I am a DJ. It's not that our relationship is bad. We talk often, but we rarely talk about work. It was only after I started modeling that my parents really started liking what I do. Once I started walking runways for brands like Versace, they finally had something they could brag about to their friends and acquaintances.
SJ: What are your goals for this year?
B: Honestly, I don't have any specific musical goals right now. Because all the upcoming projects are lined up ready to be released in the next months. My biggest goals for this year are just to start skateboarding again once my neck disc problem gets better, and eventually to land a hundred tricks on a skate ramp. That's my biggest goal for this year. Music wise, there's the album coming out with Y2MATE in February, and in May, a Converse BOJVCK signature shoe is coming out. It's not an official general release; it's coming out as an F&F [Friends & Family] drop. Still, I think it's very meaningful, and the project itself is really cool. And then... ah, in April, I signed a contract with a label, I signed with GroovyRoom. That will be officially announced around then too. And around the summer, I'll be doing a collaborative single with Jay Park. So yeah, everything is pretty much lined up for now.
SJ: Congrats, It's time to make some money now.
B: Yeah haha, it's time to get my money up.
SJ: What were your first impressions of Paris?
B: It was very shocking. I never expected so much graffiti. You can’t compare Paris with Seoul street-wise; I realized there’s levels to this thing. I was blasting JUSTICE in my earphones while taking my first steps in this city.
