Zico

Woo Jiho is a famous Korean Pop rapper known on the stage as Zico. Zico acquired his creative flair from his hometown of Seoul, South Korea. He is also known for his leadership of the K-Pop group Block B, debuted on the Seven Seasons Co. Ltd. In recent years, thanks to his exposure in the music industry with Block B, Zico has started to venture out of hip hop and has added more pop repertoire into his solo endeavors. When asked about his multifaceted work Zico summarizes,”I’m an idol group member and at the same time, I’m a young-blood rapper and producer as well.” 

Currently, Zico is celebrating his new album Television that was released July 12, 2017. Television reached No.3 on both Billboard’s World Albums chart and on South Korea’s music chart. A week after his sophomore album hit charts, the documentary of Television's creation was posted on YouTube. When asked about his single on his debut album Genius Zico expresses,“I’ve never once thought of myself as a genius. I’m not being humble. I’m just using the small talent that I have and trying to magnify it through my music.” He claims that hard work is the key factor to his success.

Zico discovered his love for rapping during his years as a vocal performance major at Seoul Music High School. He joined the underground rapping scene under the name Nacseo, which means ‘scribble’ or ‘doodle.’ During this time he worked with some of today’s top rappers in the South Korean music Industry including Kyung and Rap Monster. In 2009 Zico was signed to Seven Seasons Co. Ltd. and in the span of a year, he was able to put together his first mixtape Zico on the Block B.

After two years of industry training, Block B was formed, then debuted with Zico as the leader of the K-Pop group. Zico wrote lyrics and has produced all of Block B’s albums. The 2011 HiphopPlaya award show honored Zico as the first Idol rapper to be nominated for the award “Featuring of the Year”. While the band was promoting their first album Welcome to the Block, Zico began working on his second mixtape Zico On The Block 1.5. This second mixtape was dropped in 2012 where it gained much traction in the Hip Hop sector, taking "Mixtape of the Year" at the HiphopPlaya awards.  Zico then began studying at the Dong - ah Institute of Media and Arts in 2013, in hopes to further his education as a producer and lyricist. Then at the 2014 Mnet Asian Music Awards show,  Zico was provided a unique opportunity to share the stage with cultural icon Seo Taiji to perform “Come Back Home.” 

In 2015 Zico released his first solo album Gallery. Gallery topped at No.4 in the Korean music charts. Shortly after Zico joined the panel of judges for Show Me The Money on season 4. This experience is where he started to earn more recognition for his merits as a producer. During this time he struggled with his identity as an Idol and an artist. Zico commented, “I wanted to appeal to people who really enjoy music. It’s fine if they see me as just another idol, but it would be nice if they would see me as an artist as well.” That sentiment of finding balance inspired the song “Bermuda Triangle,” a collaborative effort with popular R&B artists Dean and Crush. “Bermuda Triangle” broke No.3 on Billboard’s World Digital Songs chart.

In early 2017 it was announced Zico along with his fellow rapper Dean would be returning to Show Me The Money for the show’s sixth season. He performed with WIZ KHALIFA on his South Korean Tour in the summer of 2017. Zico has proven that he is able to stay relevant as a solo rapper and as an idol, with both dualities of his life climbing to new heights of success that has yet to plateau.Moving forward Zico hopes to make more advances in his career as a full circle artist. He  remarked,“It’s good for me to do well [in my own activities as a musician]; however, I would also like to help artists who haven’t realized their own potential to experience a change after working with me.”In the future, more collaborations and solo ventures are expected from this superstar artist.