David Yungin Kim

Biography

David "Yungin" Kim is a three-time Grammy-winning mix engineer whose precision and artistry have shaped some of the most influential records in modern music.

Born in Seoul, Korea, and based between Los Angeles and Seoul, Yungin forged his path in the music industry by attending Musicians Institute, where he graduated at the top of his class in audio engineering. He then secured an internship at Chalice Recording Studios, one of Los Angeles' top studios, where he spent six years working his way up from unpaid intern to head engineer.

Yungin’s breakthrough came when he was offered the opportunity to work full-time with Hit-Boy, the acclaimed producer behind N**as in Paris* by Jay-Z & Kanye West, Sicko Mode by Travis Scott, and Clique by Kanye West, Jay-Z & Big Sean. Since then, he has been responsible for engineering records for some of the biggest names in U.S. music, including Nas, Kendrick Lamar, Nipsey Hussle, Big Sean, Ariana Grande, Post Malone, DJ Khaled, and Kali Uchis. His work has earned him three Grammy Awards for To Pimp a Butterfly by Kendrick Lamar, Racks in the Middle by Nipsey Hussle, and King’s Disease by Nas.

In addition to his success in the U.S., Yungin has become a leading force in the Korean music industry. His work with top K-pop acts has helped shape the genre’s global sound, earning him credits with RM, Jimin, and j-hope of BTS, Kai of EXO, Taeyang of BIGBANG, and Zico. His influence extends beyond the studio as he continues to bridge the gap between Western and Korean music, establishing himself as a key figure in the international music scene.

With an ear for innovation and a career spanning multiple genres and continents, Yungin remains at the forefront of modern music, cementing his legacy as one of the industry's most sought-after engineers.

• What sparked your passion for music? Was there any specific moment that influenced you to pursue a career in music?

  I don’t know if there was technically a spark, but I’ve always been a music lover.

  When I was in high school, we didn’t have streaming— we barely even had iPods and still relied heavily on CDs.

  I used to pirate music off of these platforms called Napster and Limewire, and my pastime and hobby was finding music before it was officially out— I would look for leaks and put them all together on mixtapes that contained 15 songs on average.

  I would create themed mixtapes, like a summer mixtape, or every month I’d make a mixtape and sell it to the kids at school or I’d make it for my friends so when they’re in the car or listening to their CD players they’ll have the greatest and latest.

  My parents also come from somewhat of a musical background— they both grew up in church and my dad played multiple instruments; my mom taught herself how to play piano and now she conducts choirs and is a part of a local choir in LA. They really love music and we’ve always had music around the house— those two things together set a precedent and a good foundation for me when I was at my wit’s end and I didn’t know what do with my life.

  Music fell into my lap and I realised it has always been there.

• Do you have a favourite song? Is there a story behind it?

  I wouldn’t say I have one song in particular, but if I did have to talk about one, it would be One Mic by Nas.

  That was probably the song I listened to most as a kid, and a song that I listened to when I was going through my ‘teeny phase’ and felt like no one understood me, and I would be mad at the world. That’s the song I would turn on, and it would be my therapy and also my release of anger.

  I love so many different genres of music that it’s hard for me to pinpoint a favorite song.

• Which particular genre do you think you are able to work with best?

  My favourite genre to work in would probably have to be hip-hop or r&b.

  I’ve put so many hours into listening to it— being a fan— that it equipped me with the distinction to tell what’s good and what’s bad and how to get something that’s decent to good and something that’s okay to decent.

• Which project are you most proud of or resonates with you the most?

  I would say the whole King’s Disease project— just ‘cause the first hip-hop artist I listened to was Nas.

  Getting to win a Grammy with him was the most surreal moment I had working in the music industry, and also the biggest full circle moment I had.

  Never in a thousand years would I have imagined I would be working with this guy.

• Which musician do you like the most, or are you most influenced by?

  Nipsey Hussle. I got to work with him before he passed, and learned a lot from him— not in anything to do with music, actually, but just how to be a better human being, and what real humility looks like.

  There’s one particular story I’d like to share— we were in the studio together, and there were ten or so people in the studio. He goes out of the room, and I’m watching, wondering if he’s leaving, but he comes back with ten bottles of water and gives one to every person in the room.

  I always grew up hearing how you treat every person shows character— you should treat the janitor the same way you treat the CEO.

  Being in the music industry discourages you sometimes because you’re around a lot of assholes and people that are super pretentious— it starts making you jaded— but at that moment, it was proof to me that you can be a good person and still be successful, and have people respect you for that.

• What do you do outside of the studio that inspires your musical artistry inside of the studio?

  I picked up DJing not too long ago.

  For a while, I wanted to separate my hobbies and my job— I enjoy sports a lot so I play golf and basketball and watch sports.

  More recently, I started DJing and the joy I get from it makes me fall in love with music again. I’ve never had the opportunity to perform music, and DJing is the closest to me being able to. It’s through DJing I understand the joy of performance.

  While DJing, you have full control of everybody’s mood— you get to dictate and control that. It’s quite instant and objective with DJing.

• While making music and working with other people, do you have any routines specific to yourself?

  It’s not a special thing, but when I’m working with people, I like to have a real conversation and get to know them as a person, and what kind of energy they’re exuding or feeling, before slowly getting into the music part of the process.

  Music is so collaborative that if you don’t understand the person you’re making music with, it’s gonna affect the music that comes out.

  A lot of the miscommunications and misunderstandings get resolved before they happen, this way.

• Do you have a piece of advice for anyone who's looking to start out on music?

  Fail hard and fail often, because there’s no better teacher than failure. You don’t know what you’re made of until you try all the thoughts in your head.

  Most of the fear is make belief in our heads to avoid the possibility of pain. I would encourage people to just try if they have any inkling of wanting to do something— try it whole-heartedly.

  Give as close as you can to a 100% to everything you do. There’s times I’ve reflected on my life and I’ve realised that the things I love the most I never gave a 100% to. I would encourage people to try to do that before they determine if it’s not worth it.

• Was there ever a time you've felt that music was not the right thing for you? How did you pick yourself back up?

  There’s a lot of moments that I can remember that I was this close to quitting— I think I almost quit more times than I can count moments of success.

  I kind of just willed myself to not give up— ‘hey, if I came this far and I give up, then I have to start over at something, and I don’t even know what that is.’

  My fear of starting over became the reason I just kept pushing. There’s always something if you dig deep and hard enough, there’s always motivation and inspiration around you if you choose to see it that way.

  You can become a victim to all your issues and situations, but all those situations happen for a reason, and they play a part in your journey in the long run. It’s a journey, not a sprint. There are things beyond your knowledge that exists that are going to hold positive outlooks for you.

• Any exciting future plans you'd like to share?

  I’m gonna be a dad in two months.

  It’s really exciting because it’s the biggest event in my life that’s happened other than, you know, me being born.

  It’s the biggest responsibility and the most nervousness and fear that I’ve probably experienced.

  Besides from that, music-wise, I’m looking to educate people further in the creation of music, how to manipulate sound with feeling, other than the 1-2-3s, a-b-cs, and encouraging people to try things they’ve never done before.

  Music projects wise, of course there’s always stuff I’ve been working on, but what really excites me is making impact.

  Real impact to me is leaving something behind, and positively influencing the next generations, or the generations behind me so they can one day be better.

Learn more about David Yungin Kim on his Instagram and YouTube!