Aeao


"Aeao" is a song by South Korean duo Dynamic Duo and American producer DJ Premier. It was released by Amoeba Culture on the former’s 2014 album A Giant Step.
After both artists performed at the K-Pop Night Out at MIDEM 2014 in Cannes, France, Dynamic Duo and DJ Premier collaborated and created the song. It was released in a live showcase in Seoul on July 16. The song discusses everyday hardships and the struggles of urban life. Critics highlighted the song as having "insane beats" and a "dramatic melody" while also being catchy. The song became a sleeper hit in 2023 after a surge in usage in short form media, including by other K-pop artists, and was included in the 2023 TikTok South Korean Song of the Summer Top 10. "Aeao" was featured in the video game NBA 2K16, and was included in the game series' soundtrack ten years later.

Background and composition

In February 2014, Dynamic Duo performed at the annual K-Pop Night Out at MIDEM 2014 in Cannes, France. DJ Premier also participated in the festival, with his manager contacting Amoeba Culture, the label of Dynamic Duo. After testing ideas, both artists collaborated in June and created the album A Giant Step with two songs. Gaeko reminisces giving "all" of his energy in the song due to it being a "meaningful moment" in his career; he was excited to collaborate with DJ Premier since he was long inspired by him. The song was released on July 16 as part of the album; on its release day, the album had a live showcase in Seoul which was described as "explosive" by Jessica Oak of Billboard.
The song discusses everyday hardships and the struggles of urban life. Representative lines include: "살기보단 생존하기 바쁜 / 정수리는 넓어지고 평수가 작아지는 마음 / 속에 피어나 줬으면 해 한 송이의 평화 / 평화 진흙탕 속에 연화"라는 가사가 대표적이다." The song samples a section from Starship Orchestra's "Yesterday", released in 1980. DJ Premier's producing was described by Newsis as repetitive while still carrying the narrative, further adding that DJ Premier's production aesthetic in the song consisted of heavy basslines and loops.

Reception and commercial success

Kathleen Herrera of The K Meal said the song had "insane beats" creating momentum throughout the single and added that it becomes "better and better" with the "sharp" rapping. Herrera further stated that the music video contained "expressive dancing" and "incredible" visuals. Yoon So-yeon of Korea JoongAng Daily said that the song's "dramatic melody" and an easy to sing hook resulted in its immediate acclaim. Newsis opined the song as "another modern classic of hip-hop" with Dynamic Duo's Korean style. Shin Hyun-tae, a committee member of the Korean Music Awards noted that challenge content has become "meme-ified", leading to cycles of media use. The refrain of "Aeao" is catchy and can appeal to numerous languages. DJ Premier's beat is "perfectly suited" for short form content, Shin said.
In 2023, nine years after its release, "Aeao" had a surge in popularity, alongside "Smoke", which was released for Street Woman Fighter 2. Both songs were popular among K-pop artists, who performed dances to the songs on short form platforms, including V and Jung Kook of BTS, Exo, and Seventeen. This resulted in "Aeao" being included in the 2023 TikTok top 10 summer songs from South Korea. The duo expressed gratitude for the song's resurgence, stating: "The resurgence of "Aeao" was equally surprising. It was astonishing to see a song we never anticipated gaining popularity, particularly due to the trend of short-form content." The song's videos accumulated 130 million views across Instagram Reels, TikTok, and YouTube Shorts. "Aeao" was announced to be included in the NBA 2K26 basketball game soundtrack after being featured in the franchise' soundtrack in 2015.

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from Apple Music.
  • Dynamic Duo – performer
  • Choiza – vocals, songwriter
  • Gaeko – vocals, songwriter
  • Chris Martin – composer
  • Jacques Burvick – composer
  • DJ Premier – producer

    Charts

Release history