Epik High's Tukutz dethrones Tablo as leader after 23 years — by 4 points
Tukutz won Epik High's internal song competition and claimed the leader title Tablo held since debut, then immediately announced a full-group comeback track.
Tukutz is now Epik High's leader. After 23 years with Tablo at the helm, a four-point margin in a members-versus-members song competition flipped the group's hierarchy. A new single is already on the way.
How a YouTube song festival changed everything
Epik High ran the 'EPIKASE Song Festival' on their official YouTube channel in early September. Tablo, Mithra Jin, and Tukutz each dropped solo tracks simultaneously on September 4. anime from Tablo. Will I Be Okay from Mithra Jin. TUKUTZISM (투컷적 사고) from Tukutz. All three charted on Melon's Hot100. The prize: six months as Epik High's leader.
Tukutz swept all three judging categories — expert panel, public vote, and live clip views — edging Tablo by just four points. Per a pre-agreed rule, the winner would be called hyung (older brother) by the other two regardless of actual age. So 1981-born Tukutz is now hyung to 1980-born Tablo.
The new leader's first moves
On September 14, Tukutz posted his official rules for the next six months. Tablo handles all overseas English interviews. Mithra Jin brings Tukutz's lunch box to every schedule. Both members alternate morning wake-up calls to Tukutz. Tukutz controls all meal menu decisions and gets hair and makeup done last. A 'no sulking' clause is in effect. Tablo must praise Tukutz on his podcast Hey Tablo.
Tablo catalogued Tukutz's early leadership record: "Oversleeping. Monday morning work messages all unanswered." He also complained that Tukutz changed not just his own profile but theirs too, adding: "Tukutz era sucks."
Mithra Jin kept it short. Tablo asked him, "What do we do" — Mithra Jin replied, "It's hopeless."
EPIKISM drops September 17
Tukutz's first act as leader was to announce that TUKUTZISM would become a full-group track. Tablo and Mithra Jin complained — "You should tell us beforehand. You should give us time to write lyrics" — but the song is happening. EPIKISM (에픽이즘), a reworked version of TUKUTZISM featuring all three members, releases September 17. (Tablo also asked fans, "Is this the world you wanted?" No word yet on their answer.)
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