ABOUT AUTHENTIC: THE STORY OF TABLO

VICE partners with iHeartRadio to release a weekly, ten episode podcast outlining the life and scandal surrounding Korean musician Tablo. Authentic: The Story of Tablo follows the Korean hip-hop superstar and his years-long struggle to prove to the world that he was not a fraud. The podcast will debut on February 24, with new weekly episodes airing every Thursday on iHeartRadio and everywhere else podcasts are heard.

In 2010 rapper Daniel Lee, known by his stage name Tablo, was on top of the world. Tablo, then 29, was the leader of the Korean hip-hop group Epik High. The trio's fan base had grown drastically in the States as they toured across the country and soared to the top of the hip-hop charts, beating out Jay-Z and Kanye West for the number one spot. But at the height of the group's fame, an unexpected twist would bring Tablo into the public eye like never before.

As Tablo's fame began to grow, an online forum popped up questioning his education credentials. People were skeptical of the validity of his bachelor's and master's degrees from Stanford University. The forum, titled Taijinyo (loosely translate to "Tell the Truth Tablo") quickly turned into the anti-fan club questioning everything from his passports, diplomas, military service and the very nature of his identity. With hundreds of thousands of people doubting all evidence presented in defense of Tablo, family members began receiving death threats, and massive media attention followed.

Over a decade later, Authentic: The Story of Tablo dives deep into how this came to fruition. With an exclusive interview, host Dexter Thomas Jr. brings us through Tablo and Epik High's success story, how the media played a role in the blow up of Tajinyo's hunt for the "truth", and the official investigation into the musician. Back then, the story seemed so shocking and bizarre. Today, we are all too familiar with the cacophony of disinformation that riddles popular culture and public figures. The internet's real-life effects still reverberate in Tablo's life more than a decade after the scandal. His story is the story of fake news before fake news had a name. It's the story of erosion of truth before a U.S. president had to be fact checked by Twitter. It's the story of the half-life of internet outrage before we even had words to describe it. And it's the story of the power of hip hop before it made its way into the K Pop mainstream globally.

ABOUT DEXTER THOMAS JR.

Dexter Thomas Jr. is a uniquely suited host of this series. An academic, DJ, hip hop scholar and journalist all in one. He holds a PhD from Cornell University where he wrote his dissertation on how hip hop culture has traveled around the world and has taught as a visiting professor at UCLA. As a journalist, he works as an on-camera correspondent for VICE News with documentaries appearing on HBO and Showtime, covering topics from drugs in the U.S. to trap music in China and presidential elections in South Africa. He was also host and producer of "RESET," a 10-episode TV series covering the unseen world of video games. He has also contributed to Pulitzer Prize-winning coverage at the LA Times, won an LA Press Club Award, is a Fulbright Scholar, and a three-time News Emmy nominee.

Authentic: The Story of Tablo is distributed by the iHeartPodcast Network.

- ABOUT TABLO

Tablo (real name Daniel Lee) is a globally celebrated artist, who's expansive discography includes 10 albums with pioneering Korean hip-hop group Epik High and Fever's End, his 2011 solo album. A best-selling author in both the U.S. and South Korea for Pieces of You, his multifaceted, illustrious career also includes producing some of the biggest artists in K-pop. In tandem with their 20th anniversary, Epik High is embarking on their headlining North American tour in March 2022 in support of their two-part album Epik High Is Here, which has been critically recognized by Vanity Fair, Rolling Stone, NME, The Ringer, Clash and more. The group is also making their second Coachella appearance this year.

EPISODES HERE:

https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1119-authentic-the-story-of-ta-92746732/