Embattled rapper MC Mong to release album

The embattled South Korean hip-hop artist MC Mong, who was once mired in controversy over draft evasion, will drop a new album in November, his agency DreamT Entertainment announced Tuesday. 

The 35-year-old rapper will unleash his sixth studio album, five years after he released his fifth full-length album “Humaniman” in 2009. 

A slew of well-known K-pop acts including veteran musician Lee Sun-hee, rapper Gary, singer Baek Ji-young, Huh Gak and Ailee participated in the recording of MC Mong’s upcoming album.

MC Mong plans to return to the music scene, but will not make any appearances on TV. K-pop insiders view the decision as a part of his attempts to soothe the public anger and disappointment triggered by the allegations regarding his draft dodging back in 2010. 

In fact, some welcome his comeback, but others think it is still premature for the controversial figure to resume his K-pop career. 

In late 2010, MC Mong was accused of paying dentists to remove some of his teeth in order to be exempted from the mandatory military service. He claimed that he had two of his teeth pulled out for medical reasons, but was charged with violating military service laws. The rapper was later sentenced to a suspended six-month jail term for deliberately delaying his military duty. 

MC Mong debuted as a member of the hip-hop group People Crew in 1998. The hip-hop artist rose to prominence after appearing on the MBC sitcom “Non-Stop 4.” After he started his solo career as a rapper in 2004, his upbeat music and comedic style gained broad popularity.

By Ock Hyun-ju (laeticia.ock@heraldcorp.com)