They say that birds of a feather flock together. The expression can take on a negative nuance in some contexts, but it’s the norm in hip hop: They’re called a crew. And these days, Balming Tiger is the most original, most energetic crew in the Korean pop music scene. 

The first in the Balming Tiger crew to enter the spotlight was Suk Hoon Chang, otherwise known as Byung Un. He uploaded several acoustic covers on YouTube, but it was his cover of “It G Ma” by Keith Ape that really took off thanks to his completely unexpected acoustic rap arrangement of this world-famous trap song. He looks almost cartoonish in the video, dressed like a returning adult student living in his own world, but his performance never comes across as silly. It was easy to see he was onto something.  

As an up-and-coming new star, all the attention on Byung Un naturally led to people paying attention to Balming Tiger as well. The collective is helmed by head producer Sanyawn and includes rappers, singer-songwriters, DJs, beat makers, producers, filmmakers, graphic designers and more. They started as a group of six—Sanyawn, Byung Un, producer No Identity, DJ Abyss, filmmaker Jan’ Qui and graphic designer euni—who joined forces to put out their first mixtape, Balming Tiger vol.1: 虎媄304, in 2018. The hanja in the title, pronounced “homie,” is in reference to the name of the art supply shop in a building outside Hongik University. No Identity’s studio was set up in room 304, which is where all the songs were made. The place holds great meaning for their crew. It also refers, of course, to the tight bond between friends. You couldn’t ask for more from the crew’s first album (and their only crew album to date), which reveals both their musical style and worldview.

Balming Tiger’s music doesn’t fit into any one genre. According to them, it’s alternative K-pop. Their songs have rap at their center, but hip hop is just a part of the world of avant-garde music they have created. Amid a jumble of genres like psychedelic, experimental electronic, alternative R&B, IDM and abstract hip hop that escape from the confines of the ordinary, their melodies are in constant conflict and harmony with a mixture of silence, noise and every sound in between. The undefinable rap and the nonlinear production style share equal billing, neither outshining the other. The same goes for the lyrics, which, while sometimes focused on a message or telling a story, more often than not serve to emphasize the bizarre mood of the songs through interesting word choices and a stream-of-consciousness approach. “MOT UNDERSTAND,” with its expertly blended verses and melodic chorus, is a perfect example of Balming Tiger’s characteristic sound, as are the dry beat and soulful sound of “CHEF LEE.” No doubt about it—Balming Tiger has propelled beyond the Korean hip hop scene to become an unrivaled pop group.

When Balming Tiger was starting out, Byung Un’s fame overshadowed the group. In the DF Live version of “I’m Sick” released on the Dingo FreeStyle YouTube channel in June 2018, Balming Tiger is described as “Yoo Byung Un’s crew.” Balming Tiger had been centered around Byung Un up to that point, but things changed that year when he left the group to pursue a solo career. No Identity, who had previously produced every song on their first mixtape, left the group as well, citing personal reasons, leading to the unheard of (?) situation of a group missing both its lead performer and its head producer. Another crew would have probably thrown in the towel and all gone their own separate ways, but Balming Tiger is no normal group: They still had supernaturally talented artists like Omega Sapien and sogumm with them. Omega Sapien is a free-spirited rapper who cultivates a hip hop image but isn’t really confined to any one genre, and sogumm is a singer-songwriter with a distinct, captivating voice. These two didn’t simply fill the gap left behind by Byung Un—they brought about a new turning point in Balming Tiger’s career.

The group’s 2019 single “Armadillo” seemed to mark a conscious change in the frontman position from Byung Un to Omega Sapien. The song is more laid back than “CHEF LEE,” but the music video was still colorful and full of character, and it was a hit. Notably, American media company 88rising, which supports work by Asian artists, commented on the video and mentioned it on their YouTube channel, driving further attention to the song. It was with this video that Omega Sapien made himself stand out from Byung Un, whose deep, intense rapping stands in contrast to Omega Sapien’s mid- to high-toned tight rap style. His fashion choices in the video and the way he performs also deviate from the norm. He advanced his career further with the release of his debut solo album, GARLIC, in 2020. sogumm released two equally amazing albums in 2019 as well: Not my fault with producer dress and Sobrightttttttt, her solo debut. She rose to popularity as the winning contestant on the AOMG hip hop audition show Signhere but had already wowed fans of the genre before that, most notably for her unparalleled vocals. She adds a subtly different flavor to each of her songs with her characteristic mumbling and slurring. Sometimes she sounds almost childish, but can turn on a dime into a monotone chant. Her vocals grab you the moment you first hear them and you keep getting pulled back in for more.

Thanks to the inclusion of Omega and sogumm, Balming Tiger was reborn, and the group continued to recruit even more members even while performing at festivals in Korea and touring overseas. Joining the crew were Sobrightttttttt producer bj wnjn, producers Unsinkable and Leesuho who had previously worked with Omega Sapien, videographer Seoulthesoloist, promotor and editor Henson and the eccentric, madcap stylings of Mudd the student.

These are the same bonds that drove their new song, “SEXY NUKIM,” for which BTS’s RM was along for the ride. Production was handled by bj wnjn, Unsinkable and Leesuho arranged the song and Omega Sapien, Mudd the student and RM took care of rapping. This track perfectly shows what makes Balming Tiger the masters of their craft: a title that combines familiar words in an unfamiliar, cool way, a concept that shouts “Asian sexy” and “Asian cool,” and a funny, catchy music video overflowing with their distinct aesthetic.

The most impressive part of this unthinkable collaboration is RM’s contribution to it. Omega Sapien raps in a deeper voice than usual while Mudd the student cleverly messes around with the rhyme scheme and flow of the song. RM comes in with a carefully crafted rap that fits perfectly with the overall mood of the track. The whole thing sounds incredibly natural. RM is a global pop superstar, and Balming Tiger is an indie crew with a diverse sound; they live in different musical worlds, but they worked together and have created a fantastic-sounding song with global appeal. That’s real teamwork in action.

Eccentric, B-movie, borderless, peculiar, carefree, hipster, alien, alternative—Balming Tiger has been called all of them. That includes everything from their songs and the associated videos to the way their crew conducts themselves and looks to the future. Balming Tiger is a family brought together by nothing but passion and love of their craft, finding novelty in a way others might never be able to reach, but always faithful to the basics of what makes art fun.

In a day and age where people casually demand artists be fresh and original, Balming Tiger’s style was born out of their management philosophy (?) that, when you’re lucky enough to meet someone you click with, you should nevertheless have no problem going separate ways when needed. With loving homages and original material, Balming Tiger’s music is becoming a genre all its own.