Although he was born in the Bronx, John Park moved to Leonia, NJ at the age of 6 and has considered Jersey home ever since. As a child, he went through the Leonia public school system until attending high school at the
Academy for the Advancement of Science and Technology in Hackensack. He then relocated to Durham, North Carolina for four years and graduated from Duke University with a B.A. in Cultural Anthropology and a minor in Asian & African Languages & Literature. In addition, he was enrolled at the University of Ghana in Legon for a summer while writing a research paper on racial politics.
John Park grew up in the New York City area at a time when hip hop was thriving. Like many other youths at the time, he naturally experimented with rap. His lyrical consciousness intensified one summer as it became more personal following the passing of his paternal grandfather. His lyrics served as an emotional outlet and provided healing for the pain that came from experiencing the death of his grandfather who had been an indispensable part of the first seventeen years of his life. Months later, upon revealing his work to close friends, they encouraged him to continue writing and to eventually perform.
John Park's first performance was at a school-wide assembly where he performed with schoolmate and singer Sean Koh. The assembly coincided with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day and encouraged students to perform acts that promoted strength in diversity. Accompanied by a single acoustic guitar and a basic loop on a borrowed beat machine, they performed a rendition of One Voice, a classic devotional emphasizing the healing of a broken people. Everyone welcomed the refreshing display of honesty and musical talent. Soon thereafter, Park was not only invited to many open mic nights to share his message, but was also asked to accompany a student-led mission team to Kazakhstan.
Since then, John Park's musical content and lyrical maturity has continued to evolve. From light-hearted to deeply passionate, his songs cover a wide range of topics. Many songs are introspective and cover personal issues like ambition, family, love, and faith. Other songs cover sociopolitical issues like the marginalization of voices by societal hegemony ("Retaliation") or offer creative accounts of painful national histories ("Voice Out of War"). He released his self-titled debut single on February 15, 2003. All 3 tracks on the single were produced by Illmind (now signed with G-Unit), and were mixed and mastered by DJ Fraze at Art4MS Studio. The single was followed by the releases of "John Park Mixtape Volume 1" (2/26/05), "John Park Mixtape Volume 2" (4/9/06), and the most recent "Good Music" (5/5/07) with notable production from producer DJ Johnny Quest. To date, each release has independently sold over 1000 copies. Park is currently in the lab working on a new project that will debut in 2008.
John Park's life reflects a commitment to the performing arts and social justice. His interest in the arts lies not only in music but also in dance. His experiences as head choreographer of his high school hip-hop dance group, Gizmo, prepared him for even more performance opportunities in college. By his final active year as president of Defining Movement at Duke, he had helped build it into the premier dance and cultural organization on campus. By then, he had taken part in the choreography of 11 different full-length pieces that were performed for audiences of up to 1200 people at a time. As a facilitator for the Center for Race Relations, he was dedicated to raising awareness on issues of race, gender, and sexuality, which gained national media attention his senior year during the Duke Lacrosse Scandal. Since graduating, he has continued community work with youth both as a mentor and as a teacher at various non-profit and faith-based organizations.
Thnx for the add! really feelin dat song 'voices out of war' keep doin ur thing..i'll be checkin in for updates. Let me know if you doin any shows around ur area anytime soon.
JOHN PARKK hehe i was like looking for ur myspace for a LONG time =] yeaa like my cousin sold me ur cd when i was like 5th grade? haha yeaaa and i've been in love w. ur music ever since
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What up, what up??? i was literally sippin a corona. with a lime. as I listened to "my arirang". crazy! the music is dope, keep doin your thang. check out my man Halo (comment below), kooley high, & Inflowential. peace from NC!!!
hii thanks for the add i have no idea if you remember but you were like our dance instructor when we were going on paraguay mission you were a friend of marie's! anyways, nice music bye!
damnn.. i'm feelin' it, and i'm sure other are feelin' it too. this is some good hip-hop that feels like i haven't heard for a minute. thanx for the add.