Maps of Music

PSY from the PSYcho World! (2000)

Where the lyrics of PSY from the PSYcho World! take you, and where it was really made.

The album title comes from his stage name, a derivative of 'psycho', and the record was made right after he returned from Berklee College of Music.

Place unknown

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PSY from the PSYcho World!: debut studio album by South Korean singer Psy
Released January 19, 2001
Contains 19 songs; later released worldwide through iTunes
Sold nearly 124,000 copies by the end of 2001, ranking 75th best-selling album of the year in South Korea
Title refers to his stage name, a derivative of 'psycho'
Track 11 'I Love Sex' re-makes Lee Jung-hyun's 'I Love X' from her debut album Let's Go to My Star

Made just after he attended Berklee College of Music and returned to South Korea
Listed rappers Eminem, 2Pac, Jay Z and Dr. Dre as musical influences
Title track 'Bird' released with a music video that showed him as a performer with his own style and fashion
Follow-up song '끝' was slightly remixed to continue promotion

Park Jae-sang (born December 31, 1977), known as Psy, is a South Korean singer, songwriter, and record producer.
He debuted with the album Psy from the Psycho World! in 2001.
He was nicknamed "The Bizarre Singer" in South Korea for his blunt lyrics, peculiar dance moves, and unconventional appearance.

He joined YG Entertainment in 2010 and left the label in May 2018.
In 2012, "Gangnam Style" reached the top 10 of the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and became a global viral phenomenon.
Its music video was the first on YouTube to reach 1 billion views.
His follow-up "Gentleman" in 2013 also reached the top 10 of the Hot 100.
In 2019 he founded his own label, P Nation, and signed Jessi as its first artist.
He released his ninth studio album, Psy 9th, in 2022.

He has received an American Music Award, a World Music Award, and 10 MAMA Awards.
He received the Okgwan (4th Class) Order of Cultural Merit.

Gil Kaufman of MTV News said the album opened the world to his oddball dancing and lyrics that made him a target of censorship in his country
Joseph Lapin of OC Weekly said the tracks 'I Love Sex' and 'Bird' echo early '90s rap and R&B beats, and that inappropriateness and controversy are reasons to like Psy
Jeff Benjamin of Billboard said the debut single 'Bird' established him as a true force of entertainment
Corey Deiterman of Houston Press described 'Bird' as a catchy funky hip-hop track that sounds like an updated American new jack swing

Multiple reviews appeared in 2012 after 'Gangnam Style' was released
Critics debated whether his performance style in 'Bird' and 'Gangnam Style' fit the genre of comedy hip-hop
Comedy hip-hop was compared with acts such as Digital Underground and The Fat Boys

Track 11 'I Love Sex' is a re-make of Lee Jung-hyun's 'I Love X', which was on her 1999 debut album
About four months after release, the album was labelled explicit in South Korea and unsuitable for children, because its booklet had pictures of condoms, male genitalia, nipples and female underwear
Civic groups stopped its sales five months after release, citing a negative influence on youth; he was fined for the explicit language