Soul Company
| Private company (defunct) | |
| Industry | Music, Entertainment |
| Genre | Hip hop |
| Founded | 2004 |
| Founder | Kebee & the Quiett |
| Services | Record production, talent agency |
| Website | SoulCompany.net (via Internet Archive) |
Soul Company (Hangul: 소울컴퍼니) was an independent Korean hip hop record label and talent agency based in Seoul, South Korea. It was founded in 2004 by rappers Kebee () and The Quiett () and played a role in the foundations of the underground hip hop and R&B scene in South Korea, representing artists such as Crucial Star, RHYME-A-, and Loquence. Its releases were distributed by Soribada Inc. Soul Company's dissolution was announced in September 2011, and the company ceased operation in November of the same year.
Soul Company's founding artists Kebee and the Quiett met in the late 1990s through programmes at the Haja Centre (), an alternative vocational education centre for teenagers operated jointly by Yonsei University and the Seoul Metropolitan Government. They began the label with a compilation album released in 2004 entitled The Bangerz, featuring tracks by the Quiett and Kebee as well as Planet Black (플래닛 블랙), among others. Later that year, Kebee released a solo album, Evolutional Poems, which gained attention for both him and the label. In July 2005, in response to continued interest from fans, The Bangerz was re-released.
In 2007, Soul Company released the album Official Bootleg Vol. 2. It spoke out on a number of social issues in South Korea, with Kebee describing the stress of college entrance exams in his song "Epilogue to Senior Year" (고 3 후기, "Go 3 Hugi"), while Loquence, D.C., and Planet Black discussed difficulties and disappointments they faced in reintegrating into society after returning from mandatory military service in their song "Army Reserve" (예비역, "Yebiyeok"). P&Q on the tracks "I'll be watchin' you" (지켜볼게, "Jikyeobolge") and Kebee in "Oh Right!" (아 맞다, "A Matda") also criticised the perceived inauthenticity of mainstream hip hop in South Korea, attacking some unnamed targets as "hip hop cosplayers". However, The Quiett also set a precedent of collaboration between underground and mainstream South Korean hip hop artists such as Tasha Reid, Drunken Tiger, and Dynamic Duo in his album The Real Me later that year.
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