Learn More About The Real Hitmaker—The K-Hip-Hop Trio CB Mass
K-Pop is one of the most interesting music genres in the world. There are many people who enjoy K-Pop because the music is unique and also gives a very good spirit. But it’s not only K-Pop that has become a well-known genre from South Korea. Since the early 2000s, there is also Korean Hip-Hop and RnB with successful and popular musicians.
CB Mass are among the musicians who started their career in the early 2000s and are now famous for their success. Without waiting any longer, let’s find out more about CB Mass’ profile, discography, debut era, and disbandment; all of which information you can explore in the article below!
CB Mass Group Profile
CB Mass (Hangul: CB 매스) is a three-member hip-hop group that was active from the late 1990s to the early 2000s. The name is short for Critical Brain Mass. After the team practically disbanded due to internal division in 2003, they became Dynamic Duo consisting of Choiza and Gaeko.
At that time, CB Mass, along with Drunken Tiger, 1TYM, and Jinusean, was a representative of the first generation of overground rappers, and not only the individual members’ musical abilities. They were a hip-hop group that was a big hit with the public.
Let’s find out more about CB Mass’ members’ profiles in the section below:
CB Mass Curbin
Real Name: Kim Jong-heon (Hangul: 김정훈)
Stage Name: Curbin (Hangul: 커빈)
Birthday: July 4th, 1977
Height: 180 cm (5ft 10in)
Weight: 75 kg (165 lbs)
Blood Type: A
Position in the group: Leader, Rapper
CB Mass Choiza
Real Name: Choi Jae-ho (Hangul: 최재호)
Stage Name: Choiza (Hangul: 최자)
Birthday: March 17th, 1980
Height: 180 cm (5ft 10in)
Weight: 85 kg (187 lbs)
Blood Type: O
Position in the group: Rapper
CB Mass Gaeko
Real Name: Kim Yoon-sung (Hangul: 김윤성)
Stage Name: Gaeko (Hangul: 개코)
Birthday: January 14th, 1981
Height: 173 cm (5ft 8in)
Weight: 60 kg (132 lbs)
Blood Type: B
Position in the group: Rapper
CB Mass Discography
CB Mass, who actively released music videos and songs in the early 2000s, made very memorable works of Hip-Hop and RnB for their fans at the time. With a simple concept, CB Mass were able to present excellent music and performances through their simple music videos.
Let’s watch some CB Mass music videos in the section below!
On September 6th, 2000, CB Mass released their 1st studio album titled Massmediah with a music video titled “Compass” (Hangul: 나침반). In the music video, you can see the concept given by CB Mass during their debut era with a strong impression as rappers and the Korean Hip-Hop genre that they brought.
CB Mass released the “Whistle” music video which is included in their album tracklist entitled Massmatic on October 9th, 2001. You could say this is the beginning of the moment where CB Mass shines by uploading a new music video that is simple and full of stories typical of the early 2000s.
CB Mass then released their 3rd studio album with one of the tracks entitled “Around the Block” (Hangul: 동네 한 바퀴). This single is one of the last singles with a music video released before CB Mass decided to disband. As you can see from the video above, the quality of the music video seems better than before and shows off some slightly explicit scenes, such as being drunk or sleeping with a woman.
What do you think about CB Mass’ music videos and songs?
CB Mass Debut Era
The history of CB Mass began in 1998. Curbin was a member of BLEX, a hotel black music club, and was showing his personal works through the compilation album Black Sound Vol. The early CB Mass members were Curbin, Vinnie, Shin Gun, and later Joosin who was recruited as an additional member to form a four-member group.
However, Curbin thought that Shin Gun did not match the group’s style. Then, Make-1 participated as a feature on the track “Fighting Dog” included in 2MC’s debut album, released in 1999.
However, shortly after the formation, Vinnie and Make-1 moved to Ill Skillz, leaving a huge gap in the team. Curbin, who had to form a ‘hip-hop group’ in Cream Records, asked his close brother, Insain Digi (Kim Won-jong) to introduce him to a good member. Choiza and Gaeko also asked Dizzy if they had a good label, so they put their feet up.
CB Mass, reorganized into a three-member group, debuted in 2000 with the track “Compass” recorded in Korea in 2000, released by Chollian, and released their first full-length album Massmediah the same year. The title song “Compass” did not get a great response from the public probably because it was heavy. The follow-up song, “Real”, gained some popularity for its exciting club-style sound.
Afterward, CB Mass was participating as a feature in the b-side song “No” part of Park Jung-hyun’s 3rd album, which was released on October 28th, 2000, but somehow the credits are missing.
The 2nd album Massmatics, which was released a year after their debut, is considered one of the best Korean hip-hop albums with better sound and advanced rapping. Curbin’s unique soul and funk sampling shine through, and this is an album remembered as a masterpiece. Collaboration with giants beyond borders such as DJ Honda was also remembered as one of the best works.
However, there was an unfortunate incident that the album was re-released with the part in question deleted, as the open diss between SM and Sidus on the track “Wake Up” became a problem. However, the quality of their 3rd album Massappeal in 2003, which many people had been waiting for, was very strange. There were only about 3 tracks in which Curbin participated, and the rest were sung only by Gaeko and Choiza or were filled with remixes of other tracks altogether.
CB Mass After Disbandment
In the end, the activities did not happen very often and CB MASS disbanded after a few months. However, the remix is also full of high-quality tracks, such as Kim’s Asoto Union’s live performance. If it had been released as a special album rather than the 3rd album, it would have been well received.
Despite the unfortunate ending, CB Mass’ disbandment was a big disappointment to hip-hop listeners at the time, as it was a team that had nothing to give up on, such as Curbin’s ability as a producer, and the right balance of high/middle/low tones.
Although Curbin became a black historian in the hip-hop world with this scam, many critics say that his abilities are unquestionable. He was one step ahead in the hip-hop world at the time in beat-making and sampling, and hip-hop fashion also showed sophistication by following the trends.
He also made a group such as Tashani (Yoon Mirae, Annie) and was the first contributor to engraving the four letters of the crew called Movement in the early days of Drunken Tiger. He would have been highly respected at this point if he had developed and grown the musical ability he had, but it is regrettable in many ways.
On December 17th, 2021, Choiza appeared in a show and talked about the days of CB Mass. In response to Choi Bul-am’s question of when to drink soju, he said, “I worked hard for 4 years after I started music, but I was scammed by a colleague. After that, the soju was sweet.”
Even without mentioning his real name, it seems that he was talking about Curbin, either from the time of the VIP incident or from mentioning that he was a colleague. The footnote states that a lot of emotions have been released, but in fact, there seems to be quite a bit of sediment left.
Well, that was all the information about CB Mass’ full profile, discography, career journey from their debut era until disbandment. CB Mass have now become musicians who have a history in Korean Hip-Hop and RnB, even though they are no longer active. But let’s still send support to each member, hope that their career will shine even more in the future. If you like this article, please don’t forget to kindly share it on your social media and stay tuned for more interesting upcoming articles from Byeol Korea!
