Biography
South Korea native Bang Yong-guk, also known professionally as Yongguk, works as a rapper, singer, songwriter, and producer. He first rose in the industry as leader of the TS Entertainment boy band B.A.P., guiding the act through five studio albums, among them the chart-topping First Sensibility released in 2014. In 2018 he parted ways with the agency and launched his independent path via the solo album BANGYONGGUK the following year.
Born in Seoul and raised in Incheon, Bang Yong-guk began sharing music while still in middle school after connecting online with the rap collective Soul Connection. Performing then under the alias Jepp Blackman, he contributed the track “Cherry Flower” and later appeared on the group’s 2009 album Rapsody. His association with Soul Connection proved brief; a TS Entertainment scout who had previously worked with Untouchable and Secret recognized his potential, leading to a 2010 contract under the new alias Yongguk.
His first TS release proved immediately impactful: Yongguk’s distinctive husky delivery propelled Song Ji-eun’s “Going Crazy” to the top of the Gaon Music Chart as well as the Gaon Digital and Streaming charts. Capitalizing on that visibility, TS named him leader and main rapper of its forthcoming boy group B.A.P. The ensemble entered the scene in early 2012 with the single “Warrior” and its accompanying single album, which reached number ten on Billboard’s World Albums chart. Further momentum arrived that same year through the single albums Power and Stop It plus the No Mercy EP, before the sophomore EP One Shot claimed the number-one position on the Billboard World Albums chart in early 2013. Yongguk’s presence remained central on the group’s debut full-length First Sensibility, which topped the Gaon albums chart.
Following a short break in 2014 and 2015 that included the solo single “AM 4:44,” B.A.P. maintained its output through the remainder of the decade with the Korean studio album Noir in 2016 and three Japanese-language projects: Best.Absolute.Perfect in 2016, Unlimited in 2017, and Massive in 2018. Choosing not to extend his contract, Yongguk exited the company in 2018 to pursue solo work. His first post-TS track, the introspective “Hikikomori,” examined personal struggles with fear and anxiety and was followed by the single “Journey” together with the short film A Short Film About Bang Yongguk in early 2019. Later that year he issued his debut album BANGYONGGUK, a wide-ranging and introspective project spanning jazz-rap and R&B. In 2022 he released the more anthemic follow-up 2, the first project on his self-founded label Consent.
Born in Seoul and raised in Incheon, Bang Yong-guk began sharing music while still in middle school after connecting online with the rap collective Soul Connection. Performing then under the alias Jepp Blackman, he contributed the track “Cherry Flower” and later appeared on the group’s 2009 album Rapsody. His association with Soul Connection proved brief; a TS Entertainment scout who had previously worked with Untouchable and Secret recognized his potential, leading to a 2010 contract under the new alias Yongguk.
His first TS release proved immediately impactful: Yongguk’s distinctive husky delivery propelled Song Ji-eun’s “Going Crazy” to the top of the Gaon Music Chart as well as the Gaon Digital and Streaming charts. Capitalizing on that visibility, TS named him leader and main rapper of its forthcoming boy group B.A.P. The ensemble entered the scene in early 2012 with the single “Warrior” and its accompanying single album, which reached number ten on Billboard’s World Albums chart. Further momentum arrived that same year through the single albums Power and Stop It plus the No Mercy EP, before the sophomore EP One Shot claimed the number-one position on the Billboard World Albums chart in early 2013. Yongguk’s presence remained central on the group’s debut full-length First Sensibility, which topped the Gaon albums chart.
Following a short break in 2014 and 2015 that included the solo single “AM 4:44,” B.A.P. maintained its output through the remainder of the decade with the Korean studio album Noir in 2016 and three Japanese-language projects: Best.Absolute.Perfect in 2016, Unlimited in 2017, and Massive in 2018. Choosing not to extend his contract, Yongguk exited the company in 2018 to pursue solo work. His first post-TS track, the introspective “Hikikomori,” examined personal struggles with fear and anxiety and was followed by the single “Journey” together with the short film A Short Film About Bang Yongguk in early 2019. Later that year he issued his debut album BANGYONGGUK, a wide-ranging and introspective project spanning jazz-rap and R&B. In 2022 he released the more anthemic follow-up 2, the first project on his self-founded label Consent.
Albums
Singles
