Kim Hae-sol (born April 13, 1989), known as Zion.T (), is a South Korean
hip hop and
R&B singer signed to The Black Label, a subsidiary label of
YG Entertainment
YG Entertainment Inc. () is a South Korean multinational entertainment agency established in 1996 by Yang Hyun-suk. The company operates as a record label, talent agency, music production company, event management and concert production compa ...
managed by
Teddy Park
Teddy Park (born Park Hong-jun on September 14, 1978), is a Korean–American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Born in Seoul, South Korea, Park moved to the United States with his family as a young child. When he was 17 years old, P ...
and Kush.
He has released a studio album, ''Red Light'' (2013)
and two extended plays. He has also been featured on tracks by well-known
K-pop
K-pop (), short for Korean popular music, is a form of popular music originating in South Korea as part of South Korean culture. It includes styles and genres from around the world, such as pop, hip hop, R&B, experimental, rock, jazz, gos ...
artists such as
G-Dragon
Kwon Ji-yong (; born August 18, 1988), also known by his stage name G-Dragon (지드래곤), is a South Korean rapper, singer-songwriter, record producer, entrepreneur and fashion designer, known as the " King of K-pop". G-Dragon is the recipi ...
and
Zico.
Personal life
In an interview with ''Kpopeurope'' in 2014, Zion.T explained that he chose his stage name because "I am a Christian and so the "T" in my name is representative of the cross."
In a 2017 CBS ''No Cut News'' interview, he said he was influenced by the American musician
T-Pain. "There was a time when T-Pain's style of hip hop vocals were in. I really like T-Pain, so I used to emulate him a lot.
vident in his debut single 'Click Me'.This is something only my friends know, but I even had the nickname 'Zion.T-Pain'."
Career
Zion.T made his musical debut in 2011, collaborating with Korean hip hop artists such as
Dok2
Lee Joon-kyung (; born March 28, 1990) better known by his stage name Dok2 (, pronounced as Dokki), is a South Korean rapper, record producer and co-founder of now-defunct Illionaire Records.
Biography Early life
Dok2's mother is Korean, and h ...
,
Crucial Star
Park Se-yoon (; born October 16, 1989), more commonly known as Crucial Star (), is a South Korean rapper and record producer. He started writing music at the age of 17 and joined the hip hop duo Libra Twins in 2007, before debuting as a solo rapp ...
,
Simon D
Jung Ki-suck (; born 9 March 1984), better known by his stage name Simon Dominic (), is a South Korean hip hop recording artist. He debuted in 2009 as a member of the hip-hop duo Supreme Team, which disbanded in 2013. As a solo artist, he has ...
,
Primary
Primary or primaries may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels
* Primary (band), from Australia
* Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea
* Primary Music, Israeli record label
Works
* ...
and
Gray
Grey (more common in British English) or gray (more common in American English) is an intermediate color between black and white. It is a neutral or achromatic color, meaning literally that it is "without color", because it can be composed o ...
. His first single, "Click Me", featuring Dok2, was released in April 2011.
On April 9, 2013, Zion.T's first studio album, ''Red Light'', was released with the title track "Babay", featuring
Gaeko
Kim Yoon-sung (born January 14, 1981), known professionally as Gaeko (, literally ''dog's snout'') is a South Korean hip hop recording artist. He and Choiza comprise the hip hop duo Dynamic Duo, which rose to fame upon the release of their debu ...
.
The album was critically well-received.
That year, he featured on tracks by
Infinite H
Infinite H ( ko, 인피니트H) was the first official sub-unit of South Korean boy band Infinite (band), Infinite formed under Woollim Entertainment in 2013. The sub-group consisted of Infinite member Jang Dong-woo, Dongwoo and ex-Infinite member ...
,
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 ...
,
Swings and
G-Dragon
Kwon Ji-yong (; born August 18, 1988), also known by his stage name G-Dragon (지드래곤), is a South Korean rapper, singer-songwriter, record producer, entrepreneur and fashion designer, known as the " King of K-pop". G-Dragon is the recipi ...
. In December, he released the EP ''Mirrorball'' ("") with the title track "Miss Kim" ().
In 2014, he released the digital single "Yanghwa BRDG", which became a hit and contributed to his rising mainstream success as an artist in Korea. The song's honest, personal nature connected with a wide range of audiences.
He also appeared on the soundtrack of the television drama series ''
Pinocchio
Pinocchio ( , ) is a fictional character and the protagonist of the children's novel ''The Adventures of Pinocchio'' (1883) by Italian writer Carlo Collodi of Florence, Tuscany. Pinocchio was carved by a woodcarver named Geppetto in a Tuscan vil ...
'' with the song "Kiss Me", and featured on songs by
Seo In-young
Seo In-young (Hangul: ; born on September 3, 1984), also known as Elly, is a South Korean singer, dancer, model, television host, and actress. She was a member of girl group Jewelry and featured on the reality show ''We Got Married'' with Cro ...
and
The Quiett
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
.
On February 1, 2015, he collaborated with the Korean R&B singer
Crush on the single "Just" (). The same year, he released the digital singles "Zero Gravity" (), "Eat" () and "No Make Up" () and featured on singles by
SHINee
Shinee ( ; ko, 샤이니, Syaini; ja, シャイニー, Shainī; stylized as SHINee) is a South Korean boy band formed by SM Entertainment in 2008. The group's musical impact in their native country has earned them numerous accolades and th ...
's
Jonghyun, Yankie and
Psy
Park Jae-sang (, ; born December 31, 1977), known professionally as Psy (stylized in all caps as PSY) (; ; ), is a South Korean singer, rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Psy is known domestically for his humorous videos and stage per ...
. That July, he participated in the biennial music festival event hosted by the
MBC variety show ''
Infinite Challenge
''Infinite Challenge'' (; abbreviated as ''Mudo'') is a South Korean television entertainment program, distributed and syndicated by MBC, that ran from 2005 to 2018.
As of January 2013, it had the largest market share for its timeslot; with ...
'', which resulted in a spike in domestic sales of his previously released singles. For the event, he partnered with the ''Infinite Challenge'' cast member
Haha
Haha or ha ha is an onomatopoeic representation of laughter.
Haha and variants may also refer to:
People
* Ha Ha Clinton-Dix (born 1992), American football player
* Haha (entertainer) (born 1979), Entertainer
Places
* Saint-Louis-du ...
to perform under the name Eutteugeottasi () with the song "$ponsor", later released in an album of the songs performed at the event.
Zion.T finished the year with two wins at the annual
Mnet Asian Music Awards
The MAMA Awards (formerly Mnet Asian Music Awards) is a major music awards ceremony presented annually by entertainment company CJ E&M. First held in South Korea, the majority of prizes has been won by K-pop artists, although there are other As ...
,: Best Vocal Performance (Male) for "Eat " and Best Collaboration, with Crush, for the song "Just" , beating more well-established artistes in an idol-focused industry.
In 2016, following the end of his contract with the hip hop label
Amoeba Culture
Amoeba Culture () is a South Korean independent record label established in 2006 by Dynamic Duo and Go Kyung-min. The label is home to prominent artists such as Dynamic Duo, Rhythm Power, and Ha:tfelt. The label had the third largest sales amo ...
, he signed with
The Black Label
The Black Label Inc. (; stylized as THEBLACKLABEL or THEBLΛƆKLΛBEL) is a South Korean record label and an associate company of YG Entertainment. It was founded in 2015 by YG producer Teddy and Kush.
History
On September 22, 2015, YG Entertain ...
, a sub-label of
YG Entertainment
YG Entertainment Inc. () is a South Korean multinational entertainment agency established in 1996 by Yang Hyun-suk. The company operates as a record label, talent agency, music production company, event management and concert production compa ...
.
On February 1, 2017, he released his first EP under The Black Label, ''
OO.''
In December 2017, he released his collaboration with the veteran singer Lee Moon-se, the song "Snow". It topped all major music charts in South Korea. Lee Moon-se said he listened to Zion.T's song more than 200 times to faithfully represent his song, and showed great affection towards Zion.T and his musical career.
In August 2022, Zion.T established his own entertainment company, Standard Friends, and signed
Wonstein
Jeong Ji-won (), better known by the stage name Wonstein () is a South Korean rapper and singer. He debuted in 2018 with the single "Spider Web" under the label Beautiful Noise. He achieved mainstream popularity after participating on the hip-hop ...
as his first artist. He will still be represented by The Black Label as a singer.
Discography
Studio albums
* ''Red Light'' (2013)
Filmography
Television shows
Awards and nominations
Listicles
References
External links
{{Authority control
1989 births
Living people
South Korean hip hop singers
South Korean pop singers
South Korean record producers
MAMA Award winners
Korean Music Award winners
21st-century South Korean male singers
Melon Music Award winners
South Korean male singer-songwriters