Gary (rapper)

Gary
Kang Gary in 2011
Background information
Native name	강희건
Born	(1978-02-24) February 24, 1978 South Korea
Genres	Hip hop
Occupation(s)	Rapper Songwriter Entrepreneur record producer Television personality
Instruments	Rapping
Years active	1996–present
Labels	Leessang Company
Associated acts	Leessang Honey Family

Kang Hee-gun (born February 24, 1978),^[1] better known by his stage name Gary (Korean: 개리, often spelled as Garie^[2]), is a South Korean rapper. Besides a solo artist, he is also the rapper and lyricist of the hip-hop duo Leessang. Since their formation in 2002, the group has produced a total of eight albums and had several hits under their belt. In 2014, Gary made his debut as a solo artist with the mini-album Mr.Gae. Despite the album being banned by all major TV broadcast stations for its 19+ content, his songs still managed to top several charts.^[3] He and long time collaborator Jung In later went on to formed the duo, Jung In & Gary. The two released the chart topping single "Your Scent" and "Bicycle."^[4][5]

Aside from his own work, Gary has been featured in works by many famous artists such as Psy, Baek Ji Young, Lee Hyori, Dynamic Duo, and MC Mong. He is also currently a cast member of the variety show Running Man.^[6]

Biography

Gary was born on February 24, 1978. His nickname in middle school was "Gae" (meaning "dog" in Korean), which he adapted to become his stage name, after deciding between "gaemi" (ant) and "Gary". In his younger years, he was more interested in dancing than rapping.^[7] Gary revealed that he participated in a dance competition and actually won, defeating other competitors, Jang Woo Hyuk and Moon Hee Jun, who eventually became members of H.O.T. Lee Soo Man scouted all three boys, and offered them a contract to SM Entertainment. Ultimately, Gary rejected the offer.^[8]

Gary went to Yong In University and trained as a bodyguard. He was an amateur boxer for 10 years and his qualifications in various martial arts sum up to 8th dan.^[9]

Musical career

X-Teen & Honey Family

In 1997, Gary joined X-Teen, a hip-hop group where he met his future Leessang partner, Gil. Gary participated in the group's album release in 1998 before being dropped along with Gil.^[10] In an interview, Gary said they had neither the look or the talent which made them quit the group.^[11]

Afterwards, Gary and Gil ended up joining "Honey Family" and released two albums in 1999 and 2000. Gary took part of the responsibility for the break up of the group by stating that he "started feeling like a celebrity" after their initial success.^[11] Gary, Gil, and fellow Honey Family member Diggity decided to form "Leessam Trio ("sam" means three in Korean)". They released a compilation album called 2000 Korea, in the year 2000. When Diggity left the group, Gary and Gil changed the name to LeeSsang.^[12]

Leessang

Leessang was created in 2002 by Gary and Gil. So far, the group has produced 8 albums with numerous hits. Although the duo achieve critical success from their earlier albums, they remained underground. Their last three albums, Hexagonal, Asura Balbalta, and Unplugged broke numerous records and guided their entry to the mainstream Korean music industry. All the songs in the albums entered the top positions on all major and minor charts upon release and held the position for at least three days, achieving a very rare "all kill".^[13][14] The title song from Asura Balbalta, "Turn Off the TV" managed to stay at the top of the Melon chart for 25 days in a row.^[11]

Their success on the chart was dubbed the "LeeSsang syndrome", "all-kill of music charts", "long-term control of charts", "music textbook", and "musicians' mentor."^[15]

Solo Debut

In January 2014 he released a mini album, Mr.Gae.^[16] Three major TV broadcast stations, MBC, KBS, and SBS, all deemed the album unfitting for broadcast, stating reasons such as explicit lyrics and being too sexually provocative. Despite the ban, Gary‘s title track “Shower Later” clenched the number 1 spot on 8 real-time music charts.^[17]

Gary later commented on the ban saying that he felt confined by his image and wanted to break the mold.

Collaboration With Jung-In

In May 2014, Gary and Jung-in released their first collaboration "Your Scent." The lyrics was penned by Gary while Jung-In and Duble Sidekick produced the music.^[18] The song was an immediate hit. Two hours after the release, the song already placed first on five real-time charts, MelOn, Olleh, Genie, Bugs, and Cyworld. The song eventually reached the top position on all eleven charts, thus achieving an all kill. It also managed to keep its throne on top of the charts for 5 days straight, showing it's high popularity.^[19] Despite not having any live promotions, Gary and Jung-In took the win on June 7 Music Core. In a testament to its popularity, the Gaon Chart ranked the single #6 on the year end national digital single ranking.^[20]

The two later released their second collaboration "Bicycle" in September 2014.^[21]

Second Solo Album

In September 2015, Gary released his second solo album, 2002. The title track of the album is "Get Some Air" featuring Mi-woo of Leessang Company. Following its release, "Get Some Air" took the no.1 spot on major musical charts in South Korea for several days. It also reached no.1 on iTunes in several countries around Asia and no.1 on YinYueTai, one of China's biggest musical portals.

Several other tracks in this album also featured Koonta, Deepflow, Skull, Jay Park, DJ Pumpkin, Park Myung-ho Double K, Don Mills, Jung-in, John Park and Young-jun of Brown Eyed Souls.

Collaboration with Gaeko

In January 2016, Gary released a single, "Lonely Night" featuring Gaeko of Dynamic Duo. A music video was released on the same day, featuring actress and fellow cast mate of Running Man, Song Ji-hyo. The single charted at no. 1 on iTunes in several countries, including Malaysia, Indonesia, Hong Kong and Singapore. It also peaked at no.1 on Baidu's Real-time Music Chart. Following the track's charting success, Gary was also nominated as a no.1 candidate on SBS Inkigayo on January 10, 2016 and subsequently won the award.

Filmography

In 2010, Gary joined Running Man as co-host, an urban variety show, along with 6 other cast members, including Yoo Jae-suk, Haha, Ji Suk-jin, Kim Jong-kook, Lee Kwang-soo and Song Ji-hyo. He also had a cameo on the movie Wonderful Radio, and in February 2014 on Emergency Couple.^[22]

Discography

EP

• Mr.Gae (2014)

Albums

• 2002 (2015)

Singles

• "Your Scent" (사람냄새) with Jung-in (May 27, 2014)
• "Bicycle" (자전거) with Jung-in (September 1, 2014)
• "Lonely Night" (또 하루) with Gaeko (December 31, 2015)

Featuring

Awards and nominations

Music programs

Show! Music Core

Inkigayo

References

External links

• Kang Gary on Twitter