Kwon Ki-bum (

Hangul The Korean alphabet, known as Hangul, . Hangul may also be written as following South Korea's standard Romanization. ( ) in South Korea and Chosŏn'gŭl in North Korea, is the modern official writing system for the Korean language. The let ...

: 권기범, born September 22, 1984), known as Bumkey (Hangul: 범키), is a South Korean R&B singer under

Brand New Music Brand New Music (Hangul: 브랜뉴 뮤직, also stylized as BrandNew Music and initialized as BNM) is a South Korean hip hop company founded in 2011 by rapper . History 2003–2012: Founding and first-generation artists Kim Se-hwan (Hangul: � ...

. He made his musical debut in 2010 as part of the hip hop duo 2winS and is currently a member of the

Korean hip hop Korean hip hop, also known as K-hip hop or K-rap, is a subgenre of Korean popular music. It is widely considered to have originated in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and has since become increasingly popular, both in Korea and abroad. While ...

and R&B quartet

Troy Troy ( el, Τροία and Latin: Troia, Hittite language, Hittite: 𒋫𒊒𒄿𒊭 ''Truwiša'') or Ilion ( el, Ίλιον and Latin: Ilium, Hittite language, Hittite: 𒃾𒇻𒊭 ''Wiluša'') was an ancient city located at Hisarlik in prese ...

Life and career

Kwon Ki-bum was born September 22, 1984 in

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...

. His family moved to Los Angeles in 1999, where he lived for five years before returning to Korea alone in 2004 to pursue a music career. Early in his career, he featured on songs by both underground and mainstream hip hop artists including

Dynamic Duo Dynamic duo may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups *Dúo Dinámico (Spanish for Dynamic Duo), a Spanish musical duo formed in 1958 and one of the main precursors of pop music in Spain *Dynamic Duo (South Korean duo), a South Ko ...

, Brown Eyes, and

Epik High Epik High (Hangul: 에픽하이) is a South Korean hip hop trio formed in 2001, composed of Tablo, Mithra Jin, and DJ Tukutz. Primarily based in Seoul, the group signed with Woollim Entertainment and released their first two studio albums, ...

, being credited as either Kwon Ki-bum or Bumkey. However, after undergoing vocal chord surgery to treat a chronic sore throat, he was left unable to speak. It was two years before he regained his singing ability. In 2010, Bumkey debuted as part of the duo 2winS (Korean: 투윈스) with TopBob, formerly of the hip hop group TBNY. The duo promoted actively on Korean music shows with Supreme Team and on various radio programs throughout 2010. Bumkey also featured in songs by Paloalto, Dok2, SouLime, and

. After signing with

, Bumkey made his solo debut with the single "Bad Girl," in April 2013. The song was produced by Primary and featured

E-Sens Kang Min-ho (; born 9 February 1987), better known by the stage name E Sens (), is a South Korean rapper. He debuted in 2009 as a member of the hip hop duo Supreme Team, which disbanded in 2013. In 2015, he released his first solo album, ''Th ...

of Supreme Team. Bumkey released his second single, "Attraction," in August with a music video starring

Crayon Pop Crayon Pop (Hangul: 크레용팝) is a South Korean girl group formed under Chrome Entertainment in 2012. The group consisted of four members: Geummi, Ellin, Choa, and Way. Their fifth member, Soyul, left the group in 2017. Crayon Pop officiall ...

's Ellin. The song was a success, ranking fifth on the Instiz iChart, a collation of all real-time Korean music charts, for the third week of August and topping the Gaon Digital Singles Chart. Bumkey performed in Crayon Pop's ''PopCon'' concert in Seoul on October 30. In 2014, Brand New Music introduced its new hip hop group

, with Bumkey as group leader. Bumkey was part of a world tour in May (as part of the Asian Music Festival) with

Verbal Jint Kim Jin-tae (Hangul: 김진태; born December 19, 1980), better known by his stage name Verbal Jint (Hangul: 버벌진트), is a South Korean rapper, record producer and musician who is known for his groundbreaking innovations in Korean hip hop ...

Beenzino Lim Sung-bin (; born September 12, 1987), better known by the stage name Beenzino (Hangul: 빈지노), is a South Korean rapper. His stage name is a play on that of Boston rapper Benzino, combined with "빈" (pronounced "been") from his birt ...

, Sanchez, and Troy bandmate Kanto, performing in New York City, Seattle, Los Angeles, and Sydney, Australia. He married former Planet Shiver member Kang Da-hye in June. In October 2014, Bumkey was arrested and charged with selling and taking illegal substances, specifically ecstasy and Philopon, a type of methamphetamine. Bumkey denied the allegations. In April 2015, the court found him to be not guilty.

Personal life

On June 13, 2014, Bumkey married DJ Kang Da-hye in

Samseong-dong Samseong-Dong is an affluent neighborhood or ward of Gangnam-gu in Seoul, South Korea. The area has a large concentration of upscale shopping malls, popular restaurants and hotels such as the Ramada Seoul Hotel and the Hyatt Park Hotel. Samseon ...

, Seoul. His wife gave birth to a son on July 27, 2016.

Discography

Studio albums

Singles

Collaborations

Awards

References

{{Authority control South Korean male rappers South Korean hip hop singers Brand New Music artists 1984 births Living people Musicians from Seoul 21st-century South Korean male singers