ONE NOT TO BE RECKONED WITH
ONE is known for his deep smooth voice that will entrap you through his rap and R&B beats. After the long wait of almost two years, the rapper is finally making a comeback with his first full length album PRVT 01.
WHO IS ONE?
Let’s get to know a bit more about the rapper:
Born March 29, 1994
Blood type: A
Height: 176 cm
He loves film and is inspired by many film directors such as Quentin Tarantino
He was almost put in WINNER after the departure of Nam Taehyun
He was also the first male solo artist after 14 years from YG Entertainment, following SE7EN’s debut in 2003
He has many tattoos including a portrait of musician Kurt Cobain, and the Dove of Peace artwork by Pablo Picasso
Although he is now a solo artist, ONE made his rap debut in 2015; he was in the duo 1Punch along with Kim Samuel. Their debut song was “Turn Me Back” off their album The Anthem, with the concept for tracks inspired by old school ‘90s hip-hop. The group did not last long, disbanding after only eight months. However, both are now successful solo artists, with Samuel becoming well-known after his participation in Season 2 of Produce 101.
In September 2016, ONE moved to the label YG Entertainment. While under YG, he was able to learn more about writing and composing music, and he soon became known from his time on the fourth and fifth season of Show Me the Money. In season four, ONE was a member of ZICO’s team, Team Zipal, until he was eliminated in episode six. He placed tenth in season five and became particularly popular after participating as an AOMG team member alongside Simon Dominic and Gray with the single “Everyone be comfortable,” achieving a perfect all kill and charting on all South Korean charts at the time. Check out the iconic performance below!
While with YG, ONE made an appearance in Lee Hi’s “My Star” music video, as well as an appearance in MOBB’s music video for “Hit Me”. It was not until mid-2017 that he began his solo debut. ONE released the self-written and produced EP album “One Day” in July of 2017, with only two songs including “heyahe” and “Gettin’ by,” which was co-produced by AOMG’s own Cha Cha Malone. “Heyahe” was inspired by movie characters, whereas “Gettin by” was written to express the numbness one gets after love.
Through 2017 to 2019, ONE primarily began a focus on his acting career and was featured in many dramas including A Korean Odyssey (2017), Room No. 9 (2018), Her Private Life (2019) and Arthdal Chronicles (2019). He even participated in a lead role for the movie Goodbye Summer (2019) before ending his contract with YG Entertainment.
At a press conference in Seoul after terminating his contract with YG Entertainment, ONE shared his first dream of becoming a film director, stating “I wanted to become a director, but at the time, I was also making music. Which is why, naturally, the career of an actor seemed respectable to me...It wasn’t like I chose just one dream. I envisioned that I would start off with music, then transition into acting, and nurture my dreams that way.”
When asked about his music, ONE mentioned “This year, I want to try to focus on my music. But because my contract with YG entertainment is now over, I am currently on my own. I think that for the time being, I will be on my own while focusing on making music.” ONE did continue to pursue music as an independent artist with the label Private Only. In November 2019, he released his first full album PRVT 01. It contains sixteen songs including:
“Hard to Love”
“Nineteen”
“You Love It”
“Victoria”
“GZB”
“What a Night”
“Instinct”
“Night Time Ride”
“Angel”
“Who”
“I Don’t Know Anything”
“Soljik”
“Alive”
“Swift”
“Stone”
“Last Cigarette”
ONE has currently released music videos for “Hard to Love” and “Stone” that can be viewed below.
PRVT 01 has shown us that he is not constrained to just one musical genre. This album includes a wide range of music styles from his usual R&B and hip-hop style to more rock and grunge influenced tracks. This is seen in his quote from 2017 to Another Man Magazine stating, “Rather than categorizing myself as an idol or K-Pop star, I want to be ‘ONE.’” With a distinct voice and style, ONE will not easily be forgotten.