Jed. A household name in Guam’s music industry has gone international. The self-taught artist contributed to the latest album for K-Pop sensation TWICE, a South Korean girl group formed by JYP Entertainment that boasts 21.7 million followers on Instagram and more than 10 million monthly listeners on Spotify.
The album “Formula of Love: O+T=<3” dropped Nov. 12 and features the single “Hello,”
a bilingual rap track created in part by two Guam musicians. Jed worked with David
Dior, another Guam artist, along with representatives of JYP on the single, writing the
lyrics and producing the beats.
“Hello” mixes English and Korean rap on top of a hip-hop heavy track. With lyrics like
“Hello, we up run this city, yo,” and “Ah yeah, ain’t no one compare to me, I know,” Jed
describes the song as an anthem for all TWICE fans. Voiced by group members
Nayeon, Momo and Chaeyoung, as of Nov. 19 the single had more than 1,000,000
streams on Spotify alone.
“The song is about feeling yourself and channeling your inner boss girl,” Jed said.
Jed began working with Dior on “Hello” in early July with the goal of giving fans
something different from TWICE’s usual pop sounds.
“David and I created a song with a big influence from female hip-hop artists like Doja
Cat and Saweetie. The sound we went for was a big 180 sonically from TWICE’s
previous tracks. The trio that voiced the song really showcased their rapping skills and
overall versatility as artists,” Jed added.
Though Jed and Dior have been grinding away at the music industry for more than a
decade, the success of “Hello” almost seems overnight. After a JYP representative
contacted Dior in search of rap demos fit for a girl group, he immediately contacted Jed.
“I sent Jed the ‘Hello’ instrumental and he recorded his vocals and sent it back the same
day. Jed did his thing and killed it. The demo sounded amazing and seemed perfect for
what JYP was looking for,” Dior said.
“I sent the demo to the JYP rep. They immediately loved it and decided that they were
going to use it for the upcoming TWICE album. I couldn’t believe we made the cut,” Dior
added.
With the success of “Hello,” the duo said they’ll continue to collaborate as they have
been for the last few years, trading instrumentals and vocals and sharing ideas.
“Producing for the K-Pop genre was something that never even crossed my mind, but
I’m so blessed that it happened. I have to thank David for helping me get this
opportunity. It wouldn’t have happened without him,” Jed said. “This placement opens a
bunch of new doors and I’m excited for what the future holds. ‘Hello’ is just the
beginning.”
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