Epik High's TUKUTZ ranks first in solo song competition with 'TUKUTZISM'... Effect of collaboration with Three Racha

Epik High’s Tukutz ranked first in the judges’ evaluation in the solo song competition among the members. In the final round of the ’Epikase Gayo Festival’ released on the YouTube channel ’Epik High’ on the 3rd, Tablo, Mithra, and Tukutz competed with solo songs they each created. Judges included Ha Dong-kyun, Davichi, and Kiki. Tukutz presented his first solo rap song ″TUKUTZISM,″ which he collaborated on with Stray Kids’ producing team 3RACHA. He revealed that the song reflects his perspective on the world, and 3RACHA was responsible for rap making, directing, and the challenge choreography. Tukutz explained, ″I tried writing rap myself but changed direction.″ The stage, featuring GroovyRoom’s beat, Crush’s featuring, and 3RACHA’s rap, received reactions from the judges saying, ″If the track is released, I would listen to it all the time.″ Tablo joked about the impressive featuring, saying, ″This is cheating. If that’s the case, I should have worked with BTS too.″ Tukutz took first place with 47 points. Tablo performed his self-composed song ″Anime,″ featuring Bang Ye-dam. He said, ″It expresses the feeling of wanting to stay home and watch animation on tough days,″ and revealed that the real protagonist of the song is his wife, Kang Hye-jung. Tablo shared, ″Even when she has a hard time, my wife doesn’t show it, but one day she looked different and was watching old animations in the living room for a long time,″ adding, ″I realized she was calming herself by watching works she loved as a child.″ Tablo and Kang Hye-jung married in 2009 and have a daughter named Haru. Mithra took the stage with ″Will I Be Okay?″ produced by Nell. Through this song, he conveyed a message to believe in oneself. The judges responded cheerfully to the explanation that Nell produced the song, saying, ″We’ll give 5 points as a base.″