Zico

Woo Ji-ho (; born September 14, 1992), known professionally as Zico, is a South Korean rapper, record producer, singer and songwriter. He debuted as the leader of the boy band Block B in 2011 and made his first solo release in 2014. Zico is notable for his crossover skills within the Korean hip hop scene, maintaining an underground reputation along with mainstream appeal as a Korean idol. He is a record producer of both K-pop and Korean hip hop music. He is also part of the crew Fanxy Child, which he formed in 2016. In 2019, he released his first full-length solo album, Thinking. Early life and career beginnings Zico was born in Dohwa, Seoul on September 14, 1992. He was a Vocal Performance major at Seoul Music High School. In the lyrics of his song "Release", he mentions that he spent a year studying abroad in both Canada and China, as well as three years in Japan. Meanwhile, he had referred to his time in Japan within his song "Osaka" with fellow Korean musician ELO. He began his musical career as an underground rapper, going by the name "Nacseo" (Hangul: 낙서), meaning 'doodle' or 'scribble' in Korean. He promoted as Nacseo in the Japanese underground hip hop scene alongside the crews "Dope Squad" and "Undisputed". He auditioned for SM Entertainment as a teenager.