What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Teamfight Tactics (TFT)? There could be new Little Legends or some popular decks, but these days, I believe “DUDUNDUNGA!!” would be one of the hottest icons related to TFT. When the TFT Mobile advertisement is aired during LCK matches, the chat is spammed with DUDUNDUNGA!! or “ㄷㄷㄷㅈ”. Usually, the break time between matches is time to run to the bathroom or grab some snacks. However, people stay tuned to watch this ad.

We met Mushvenom, the voice of DUDUNDUNGA for an interview. He said that all he thinks about is being cool and having fun, which created DUDUNDUNGA!!

Hello, please introduce yourself first!

I’m Mushvenom, a guy filled with coolness. Nice to meet you.

The TFT Mobile advertisement is a big hit. How did you first get to work on this with Riot?

One day, Riot sent me an email, saying that they want to shoot the TFT Mobile advertisement with me. At first, I thought someone was trying to pull off a prank (Laughs), and when I called them, I found out it was real.

The advertisement is also quite popular among foreign LCK fans. They spam DUDUNDUNGA in the chat. Did you know?

I don’t have much time to watch the LCK live, so I didn’t know the reaction was that wild. Some fans and friends sent me screenshots and GIFs so it was kind of cool. I thought it would be fun when I made it, but since everyone likes it so much, it makes me feel good.

Why do you think Riot Korea chose Mushvenom out of the many musicians?

One of the video producers said that they’re a huge fan of mine. They could have said that to other people as well (Laughs). Anyways, I don’t think the advertisers knew me that well since I’m not as famous.

So how did the TFT Mobile song happen?

There were lines that Riot wanted to include, so I had to blend myself into the mold. I brought in the hook, “dudung deung jang” which I had prepared for my own album. It went well with Riot and that’s how DUDUNDUNGA came to life.

How did you come up with all the lyrics?

I was really busy with my own album, so I hadn’t played TFT Mobile. I just thought it was an arcade version of LoL. I requested for some videos and guides of the game, but it was hard to understand what the game was about with that. I didn’t have enough time to play and understand it, so I looked for phrases that are used often in communities like Inven.

I used those phrases in my own way of playing with words. One of my friends plays this game all day and he taught me about important items like Spatula or Neeko’s Help. It wouldn’t be much fun to just simply say, “Hey, this new game is here! Play it!” in the ad, so I tried to make it fun, using the words users use.

Do you like the final version of the video?

I think it came out fun and interesting. And you told me the reactions are wild… (Laughs)

Have you played the game after it came out?

I really want to, but I’m extremely busy preparing my new album (Laughs). I will when I have the time, though.

How about LoL?

It was a while ago, but I’ve been to Gold. My main position was ADC, because I liked to carry.

Did you often carry then?

I had up to 4.5 KDA back then. Mostly playing Ezreal, Lucian, and Graves when he was an ADC. I’m not able to play recently because of work now.

Were you originally interested in esports?

I really enjoyed watching Starcraft. I especially liked Song “Stork” Byung-gu and Kang “Nal_rA” Min, who used unique strategies. I liked using unconventional methods. I remember that Stork used the Carrier well and Nal_rA used Arbiter Recall well.

The esports scene is now more connecting with the pop music scene. What do you think of that?

It’s an era where seeing and hearing are important. It’s a good synergy since you can’t take out sound from games. I think the current trend is very positive for connecting the two different fields.

Are you willing to do another one of these in the future?

I’m simple. If it seems fun, I do it. More than anything, even when I work on my music, feeling fun is the most important.

What part did you think would be fun when you agreed to do the TFT ad?

It looked fun since it was related to LoL. As someone who once played LoL, I thought I’d be able to do it well. I tried really hard since I’m getting paid for this. I have to do well.

Other musicians like Jang Beom-jun or Kim Hee-cheol do content related to esports. Do you want to take part in something like that?

I was on WhyMan recently with Kim Min-ah. It looked fun. As I’ve been saying all day, I do whatever that seems fun. If someone suggests something that seems fun and that I’d do well, I do it.

When listening to your music or watching your music video, it really feels that you’re trying to have fun.

I’ve been doing this for a long time, so I have my own way of blurting out words in a fun and easy way. If the theme is more serious, I can be serious, but I mostly try to make it fun to watch and listen. It gets boring if I think too much. That’s what I concentrate on the most.

What’s the main idea of your music?

I think my music is just “coolness”. Being cool.

Can you define “coolness”?

Decorating yourself to show it to others. It shouldn’t be fake decorations, it should be something that shows yourself better.

Is there an artist that you’ve been influenced by?

I think I was influenced the most by my family. Especially the way I talk in my lyrics. I mostly try to get the lyrics from how I talk in everyday life. I don’t think I was influenced much by other artists.

We heard that you try to not use English in your lyrics. Is there a reason?

First of all, I hardly speak English (Laughs). I tried to put in some English in my lyrics before and it’s not that I don’t use English at all, but the main reason is that it’s not that essential to use English. Mostly Korean people listen to my music and besides that, many other artists proved that we don’t need to use English to reach foreign countries. I don’t feel the necessity to use other countries’ languages.

Do you have any last comments to the readers?

I did an interview… When my new album hits, listen to it a lot (Laughs).