Epik High shows no signs of slowing down
The trio had the energy of 300 Spartan men, rapping and jumping and running around like their lives depended on it
The show starts like this: the lights dimming, and Tablo’s voice over light piano strokes: “I’m here/ where no one is/ Sometimes I feel like I’m alone in this.”
But the Korean rapper isn’t alone, not really. Behind him his bandmates Mithra Jin and DJ Tukutz bounce onto the stage and before them stand hundreds of fans screaming “Epik High!” over the thundering beat.
Then it hits: hip-hop royalty Epik High is really here, in Manila, just as warm and lively and hilarious as ever. It was just the three of them on the New Frontier Theater stage for Makeitlive’s “Epik High is Here” Asia-Pacific tour last Nov. 30— no accompanying band or special guests—but they had the energy of 300 Spartan men, rapping and jumping and running around like their lives depended on it.
It was, pun intended, epic. Nearly 20 years since they debuted, the hip-hop kings still “perform like rookies,” as the stans might say; they’re just as passionate and charismatic as they were in 2003. Fans barely got out of their hour-long show with poise (or dry clothes— Tablo and Mithra never seemed to run out of water to spray unto the crowd while spitting 16s). They egged Tukutz on to do B-boying or dance to NewJeans’ “Hype Boy” with all the charms of a TikToker ahjussi.
“I’m so happy we’re back in Manila,” Tukutz said. “In my mind, Manila is the best city in the world.”
Epik High’s set list flowed like water, a testament to how cohesive their discography was. It’s hard not to overstate the caliber of their music. The three, especially Tablo, are known for being cerebral and deliberate about their art. So it’s no coincidence that they opened with “Here” and “Prequel,” the latter an homage to their entire discography (“We mapped the human soul/ got society high/ Sang our swan songs/ remapped to stay alive ...”). It’s a refresher course for both loyal and new fans, meant to assure that when they’re lost, “remember Epik High is here.”
Dad jokes
Of course, it wasn’t an Epik High concert without the dad jokes. Tukutz was introduced to us as the “inventor of K-pop,” while Mithra, now 39, was teasingly called the maknae (youngest). Tablo was simply “Haru’s appa (dad).”
The trio then segued to the hits: “Fly,” the 2006 classic cited by many K-pop artists, including BTS, as their inspiration for music; and their thumping anthems “Rosario” (2020) and “Face ID” (2021). They towered over the crowd with their energetic performance of “Burj Khalifa” (2014), the pulsating rhythm prodding the crowd to chant along (“Up in the sky/ man I’m feeling so high/ Wassup/ My high is epic”).
In contrast, “Bleed” (2017) was a reminder of the lows they continue to face as artists (“As time goes by, there are less things/ I want to, and can, talk about/ All that follow are expectations and heavy responsibilities.”) Here Mithra shone in his deep timbre (“As the sun must rise, even if the night fills up my empty heart/ It goes on and on”), a somber foil to Tablo’s nimble rap.
Tablo and Mithra barely stopped to catch a breath. Tukutz, who for the most part conducted the show from behind his sound desk, jumped in and out to rap the verses sung by the original collaborating artists. In between sets, they amused the crowd with quips, like when Tablo asked what the Filipino word for love was.
“Especially for many musicians like us, many of us mistakenly think that love lasts forever,” Tablo said. “But nothing in this universe is eternal. So when you find love, you have to realize how super rare it is.”
Without missing a beat, the trio jumped into “Super Rare” (2021) and “Love Love Love” (2007), and kept the momentum high as they rapped to their electropop hits “One” (2008) and “Fan” (2007). By then, the concert had turned into a rave as they performed their most energetic deep cuts “High Technology” (2009), “New Beautiful and Don’t Hate Me (2012).
Epik High finished off strong with their most famous tracks, “No Thanxxx” and “Born Hater,” that showcased the highs and lows of their 19-year career. They showed no signs of slowing down, out-dancing and out-singing even the loudest fans. There was no mistaking it: these guys are pros, and the stage is their home.
Even so, the Epik High men never take anything—their fame, their art and their time— for granted. “We want to be back but we don’t know with life,” Tablo mused. “But we hope that we made you laugh, smile and just for a little bit of time, made you forget about your problems in life.”
This is the enduring motif of most Epik High songs: the comforting idea that they will always share in their fans’ burdens and dreams. That if they “get lonely, sick with anxiety/ can’t trust nobody/ same here/ I’m here,” shining eternal sunshine through their music.