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Dumbfoundead

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Dumbfoundead
Park at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival
Park at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival
Background information
Birth nameJonathan Edgar Park
Born (1986-02-18) February 18, 1986 (age 38)
Buenos Aires, Argentina
OriginLos Angeles, California, United States
GenresHip hop
Occupations
  • Rapper
  • songwriter
Years active2006–present
Labels
Websitedumbfoundead.com

Jonathan Edgar Park[1] (born February 18, 1986),[2] known by his stage name Dumbfoundead (/ˈdʌmˌfaʊndɪd/[3]), is an Argentinian-born American rapper.[4] He began his career in the 2000s as a battle rapper in Los Angeles and has since become one of the most prominent East Asian American rappers, known for his witty and socially conscious lyrics.[5][6][7]

Early life

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Park was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, to South Korean immigrants. He has one younger sister. When he was three years old, Park's family immigrated to the United States by crossing the Mexico–United States border without green cards. His family settled in the Koreatown neighborhood of Los Angeles, California.[4]

Park began rapping when he was fourteen years old, inspired in part by the rappers he saw perform weekly at Project Blowed, a local open-microphone workshop.[8] He dropped out of John Marshall High School in his sophomore year and moved into a one-bedroom apartment with his sister and a roommate at the age of sixteen. Before becoming a full-time rapper, he worked as a bail bondsman, among other odd jobs.[8]

Park became a U.S. citizen when he was nineteen years old.[4]

Career

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Park's first solo album, DFD, was released in 2011.[9] His second album, Take the Stares, was released in 2012.[10] In 2013, Park released his third album, Old Boy Jon, which was produced entirely by Duke Westlake.[11]

Park was a member of Thirsty Fish along with Open Mike Eagle and Psychosiz.[12] He has also collaborated with Epik High, Traphik, Wax, Jay Park, Kahi, Jessi, GSoul, MC Jin, Year of the Ox, Rekstizzy, and Anderson .Paak.[13] In 2015, he was featured on the remix of Keith Ape's "It G Ma", alongside Waka Flocka Flame, ASAP Ferg, and Father.[14]

Park began growing a web fan-base after video clips of his rap battles were posted to YouTube. In 2015, Park announced his return to battle rap, participating in Drake and OVO's event King of the Dot Blackout 5, with Drake expressing his excitement at Park's return.[15] Park competed against Wild 'n Out cast member Conceited, and the battle was the most popular English rap battle of 2015[citation needed].[16]

He has been featured on NBC for his viral video Jam Session 2.0, consisting of eight different musicians from around the world sharing the spotlight individually via split screen but collaborating on one cohesive track.[17] He has also been featured by Los Angeles Times,[18] Last Call with Carson Daly,[19] MTV Hive,[20] and Mnet.[21]

Park played a supporting role in Joseph Kahn's horror film Detention[22] and would later appear in Kahn's 2017 film Bodied as battle-rapper Prospek.[23]

In 2016, he released the music video "Safe," [24] which gained widespread attention for superimposing Park's likeness onto the faces of white actors in famous movie scenes. The objective of this was to call attention to the fact that there were no East Asian or East Asian American actors at the Oscars, and that "the only yellow men were all statues."[25] Furthermore, the music video was another call to "the obvious underrepresentation of people of color in Hollywood."[26] Park was also a starring member of the 2016 documentary Bad Rap, which outlined the lives of four East Asian American musicians trying to make it in the hip-hop scene. He also played Dylan Shin in the Starz drama Power.[27] In 2017, he co-wrote "Spirit Animal" and "Arrived" alongside Jessi for her debut EP Un2verse.

Since 2018, Park has hosted the Fun With Dumb podcast.[citation needed]

In April 2020, Peacock began development on a half-hour comedy television series based on Park's life entitled Big Dummie.[28]

Park's talk show with Sasha Grey, Grey Area, debuted on the online television network VENN on August 5, 2020.[29][30]

During the coronavirus pandemic, Park promoted support for restaurant workers affected by COVID-19.[31]

Discography

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Studio albums

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Title Details Peak chart positions
US
R&B/
Hip-Hop
[32] 		US
Rap
[32]
DFD 41 24
Take the Stares
  • Released: October 16, 2012
  • Label: Transparent Agency
  • Formats: CD, digital download
 56 —
Old Boy Jon
  • Released: February 18, 2013
  • Label: Transparent Agency
  • Formats: CD, digital download
 — —
We Might Die
  • Released: November 10, 2016
  • Label: Transparent Agency
  • Formats: CD, digital download
 — —

Extended plays

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Title Details Peak chart positions
KOR
[33]
Fun with Dumb
  • Release: May 12, 2008
  • Label: Swim Team Records
  • Formats: CD, digital download
 —
Foreigner
  • Released: May 23, 2017
  • Label: Born CTZN
  • Formats: CD, digital download
 87
Rocket Man
  • Released: December 13, 2017
  • Label: Born CTZN
  • Formats: CD, digital download
 —
Café Bleu
  • Released: November 2, 2018
  • Label: Born CTZN
  • Formats: CD, digital download
 —

Singles

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Title Year Peak chart positions Sales Album
KOR
[34]
As lead artist
"Different Galaxies"
(featuring Sam Ock) 		2010 — — Non-album singles
"Clouds"
(featuring Jay Park and Clara) 		—
"Respect 16's"
(featuring Dok2, Myk, Yankie, Rakaa, Mithra Jin, Tablo, Bizzy, Sean Rhee, and Tiger JK) 		—
"Mellow Yellow" 2015 —
"Coachella" —
"Domies" (도우미)
(featuring Keith Ape and Okasian) 		—
"Mijangwon" (미장원)
(featuring Loopy and Nafla) 		—
"Safe" 2016 — We Might Die
"Hyung" (형)
(featuring Dok2, Simon Dominic, and Tiger JK) 		2017 — Foreigner
"3890" — Non-album single
"Every Last Drop" — Rocket Man
"P.A.A.C. (Protect at All Cost)" —
"Kill Me" —
Collaborations
"100 Grand"
(with Keith Charles Spacebar) 		2015 — — Non-album singles
"Banned From The Motherland"
(with Josh Pan featuring Jay Park, Simon Dominic, and G2) 		2016 —
"K.B.B" (가위바위보)
(with Jessi, Microdot, and Lyricks) 		—
"Inside"
(with SATICA) 		2020 — Inside/Outside
"Outside"
(with SATICA) 		—
As featured artist
"It's Me"
(Kahi featuring Dumbfoundead) 		2013 45 Who Are You?
"Exquisite Corpse"
(Watsky featuring Dumbfoundead, Grieves, Adam Vida, Wax, Rafael Casal, Daveed Diggs, & Chinaka Hodge) 		2016 — — Infinity
"Please"
(DPR Live featuring Dumbfoundead, Kim Hyo-eun, and G2) 		2017 — — Coming to You Live
"—" denotes releases that did not chart.

Filmography

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Film

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Television series

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References

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  1. ^ Grigsby Bates, Karen (April 15, 2013). "Dumbfoundead: A Rising Star In A Genre In Transition". NPR. Retrieved May 28, 2018.
  2. ^ "덤파운데드" [Dumbfoundead]. Daum 100 (in Korean). Retrieved May 28, 2018.
  3. ^ "[Next Wave] Rapper Dumbfoundead talks about the LA Korean-American experience". YouTube. Archived from the original on December 20, 2021. Retrieved May 18, 2021.
  4. ^ a b c Kivanc, Jake (December 10, 2015). "LA's Hidden Gem: Dumbfoundead Speaks on Battle Rap and Finding His Place as an Asian Rapper in America". Noisey. Retrieved May 28, 2018.
  5. ^ "Korean-American rapper Dumbfoundead on why representation in hip-hop matters". CBC News. March 19, 2018. Retrieved May 28, 2018.
  6. ^ Doo, Rumy (May 22, 2017). "[Next Wave] Dumbfoundead on Koreatown, 'Foreigner'". The Korea Herald. Retrieved May 28, 2018.
  7. ^ Tabios, Nina (March 20, 2018). "Trump's tweets inspire rapper Dumbfoundead's new EP". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved May 28, 2018.
  8. ^ a b Weiss, Jeff (November 18, 2011). "Dumbfoundead On Dropping Out Of High School, Working As A Bail Bondsman, And The Advantages Of Being An Asian Rapper". LA Weekly. Retrieved May 28, 2018.
  9. ^ Son, Linda (November 9, 2011). "Dumbfoundead Gets Personal and Professional with 'DFD'". KoreAm. Archived from the original on March 25, 2013. Retrieved March 23, 2013.
  10. ^ Lam, Charles (October 26, 2012). "Dumbfoundead can't 'Take the Stares'". Northwest Asian Weekly.
  11. ^ Bauman, Matrin (October 22, 2013). "Interview: Dumbfoundead talks "Old Boy Jon," changing his name to Parker, and representing Asian-Americans". The Come Up Show. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
  12. ^ Quinlan, Thomas (May 28, 2011). "Thirsty Fish Watergate". Exclaim!. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
  13. ^ "Dumbfoundead & Epic High interview with". Popseoul.com. May 22, 2009. Archived from the original on May 23, 2009. Retrieved January 15, 2012.
  14. ^ "OWSLA KEITH APE – IT G MA REMIX (FT. A$AP FERG, FATHER, DUMBFOUNDEAD & WAKA FLOCKA FLAME)". owsla.com. Retrieved July 27, 2015.
  15. ^ "Dumbfoundead". Facebook. Retrieved April 30, 2017.
  16. ^ "Organik - KOTDTV.com on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved April 30, 2017.
  17. ^ "MusicRaw: Dumbfoundead". KNBC.
  18. ^ Weiss, Jeff (July 8, 2011). "The arrival of Dumbfoundead: Koreatown rapper's 'Are We There Yet?'". Los Angeles Times.
  19. ^ "Last Call with Carson Daly". NBC. December 17, 2012. Archived from the original on January 13, 2012.
  20. ^ "Dumbfoundead: A Rap Battle Vet Grows Up". MTV. November 11, 2011.
  21. ^ "Dumbfoundead". Mnet. Archived from the original on August 18, 2012. Retrieved September 12, 2012.
  22. ^ Kang, Y. Peter (June 16, 2011). "Sony Buys Rights To Joseph Kahn's Indie Horror Film". KoreAm. Archived from the original on April 27, 2013. Retrieved March 23, 2013.
  23. ^ Yamato, Jen (November 28, 2018). "The stars of battle rap satire 'Bodied' on the politics of wokeness: 'The whole world is in a battle rap right now'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
  24. ^ DUMBFOUNDEAD (May 26, 2016), Dumbfoundead - SAFE, archived from the original on December 20, 2021, retrieved February 15, 2017
  25. ^ Thomas, Dexter (June 4, 2016). "Dumbfoundead breaks down the lyrics in his anti-whitewashing anthem 'Safe'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 15, 2017.
  26. ^ "Don't Mistake Dumbfoundead For Safe". The Fader. Retrieved February 15, 2017.
  27. ^ Film, Bad Rap. "About". Bad Rap Film. Retrieved June 5, 2017.
  28. ^ Petski, Denise (April 15, 2020). "Rapper Dumbfoundead To Front Comedy Inspired By His Life For Peacock". Deadline. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
  29. ^ Armecin, Catherine (July 23, 2020). "Ex-Porn Star Sasha Grey To Tackle The Hard Questions In 'Grey Area' Series". International Business Times. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
  30. ^ Browne, Ryan (August 5, 2020). "A new TV network aims to lure a generation brought up on video games in the coronavirus era". CNBC. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
  31. ^ Park, Brian (July 3, 2020). "Talking takeout and Koreatown with Dumbfoundead". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 4, 2020.
  32. ^ a b "Dumbfoundead Chart History". Billboard.
  33. ^ "Gaon Album Chart" (in Korean). Gaon Music Chart.
  34. ^ "Gaon Digital Chart" (in Korean). Gaon Music Chart.
  35. ^ Cumulative sales of '"It's Me":
  36. ^ Son of Rap Bear, Adventure Time, September 17, 2017, retrieved April 12, 2022
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