B.I (rapper)
Kim Han-bin (; born October 22, 1996), known professionally as B.I () is a South Korean rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. In 2014, he was one of the contestants on "Show Me the Money 3". In 2015, he debuted as the leader of the boy band iKon under YG Entertainment and is credited with the production and songwriting for all releases by the group. After his departure from iKon in 2019, B.I was appointed as the executive director of IOK Company in 2020 and continues to record under IOK Music affiliate 131 Label. B.I debuted as a solo  artist in 2021, with the release of his self-written charity single album "Midnight Blue (Love Streaming)" and full-length charity studio album "Waterfall". He released the first part of his self-written second studio album, "Cosmos", on November 11, 2021. Early life. Kim Han-bin was born on October 22, 1996, in Gyeonggi-do, South Korea. In 2009, B.I made his first appearance by featuring and participating in promotions for MC Mong's single "Indian Boy". He also appeared in the music video for the song and had a cameo appearance in MC Mong's music video, "Horror Show . B.I joined YG Entertainment as a trainee in January 2011. Career. 2013–2014: Pre-debut activities. After over two years of training, B.I took part on the Mnet reality survival program WIN: Who Is Next" as a contestant under Team B. Because Team A won the program, B.I continued as a trainee under YG Entertainment. On May 14, 2014, it was revealed B.I and label-mate Bobby would compete in Mnet's "Show Me the Money 3". During the show's run, B.I released the digital single "Be I", which he wrote and co-produced with Choice37 and became the first  single from the show to top charts. He was only 17 years old and a trainee at the time. In September 2014, it was announced Team B would return to compete on survival program "Mix & Match", where filming began in midst of B.I's appearance on "Show Me The Money". The show resulted in the debut of Team B, alongside trainee Jung Chan-woo, under the group name iKon. In October 2014, B.I featured in label-mate Epik High's lead single "Born Hater" alongside Beenzino, Verbal Jint, Bobby, and Winner's Mino; they performed track together at the 2014  Mnet Asian Music Awards. 2015–2019: Career with iKon and solo endeavors. On September 15, 2015, iKon released the warm-up single "My Type", followed by lead singles "Rhythm Ta" and "Airplane". In December 2015, B.I and fellow member Jinhwan joined the cast of JTBC's "Mari and I". In June 2017, B.I along with member Bobby, featured in label-mate Psy's studio album "4X2=8" on the track "Bomb". B.I also featured in Seungri's debut studio album, "The Great Seungri", released on July 20, 2018, on the track "Mollado". In December 2018, B.I received the Songwriter of the Year  award at the 10th Melon Music Awards for iKon's single "Love Scenario" from their studio album "Return". B.I was cast for JTBC2's variety show "Grand Buda-guest" in 2019. He featured on label-mate Lee Hi's single "No One" and co-produced the track "1, 2" from her extended play (EP) "24°C". 2020–present: Continued solo activities. Despite leaving iKon and YG Entertainment in June 2019, B.I wrote and composed four of the five songs in his former group's 2020 EP "I Decide", including the title track "Dive", released by YG Entertainment on February  6, 2020. On September 28, 2020, B.I was appointed as the executive director of IOK Company. On January 11, 2021, it was revealed that B.I would feature on Epik High's upcoming tenth studio album "Epik High Is Here 上 (Part 1)" on the song "Acceptance Speech", which was released on January 18, 2021, along with the rest of the album. On March 19, 2021, B.I released the charity single album, "Midnight Blue (Love Streaming)", through IOK Music affiliate 131 Label, whose name is derived from the shape of the letters "B" and "I" together. His debut single album contained  three self-written and self-composed songs. An animated music video for lead single "Midnight Blue" was also released on the same day. All tracks had been previously released, partially, as demos via B.I's SoundCloud between 2020 and 2021. On May 7, 2021, 131 Label announced the release schedule for B.I as a solo artist. This included a global single "Got It Like That" featuring Destiny Rogers and Tyla Yaweh, released on May 14, 2021, and his first full-length studio album, "Waterfall", released on June 1, 2021. A cinematic music video for the title track "Illa Illa" was  also released alongside the album. The music video surpassed 12.7 million views on YouTube within the first 24 hours of its release, breaking the record for the most viewed K-pop male solo artist debut music video within the first 24 hours. On August 25, 2021, it was revealed that B.I would feature on his former label-mate Lee Hi's upcoming third studio album "4 Only" on the song "Savior", which he wrote and composed. The music video for "Savior" was released on September 3, 2021. Supposedly distributed on August 27, the song was officially released on all platforms  on September 9, 2021, along with the rest of the album. On October 1, 2021, B.I released the digital single "Lost At Sea (Illa Illa 2)", a reinterpretation of "Illa Illa", featuring Bipolar Sunshine and Afgan. On November 11, 2021, B.I released the first half of his second studio album, "Cosmos", including the lead single of the same name. On November 25, he made an appearance on TV5's "Lunch Out Loud", a Philippine variety show. In January 2022, B.I became the first K-pop and Asian act to participate in the digital performance series made by The Recording Academy  to spotlight artists from around the world, called "GRAMMY Global Spin". He performed the song "Nineteen", which was part of his album "Cosmos". Philanthropy. Since 2016, B.I has been anonymously donating to the Seungil Hope Foundation, a non-profit organization aiming to spread the awareness of ALS. The foundation revealed in 2018 his donations had thus far totaled to ₩30,220,000. In 2019, B.I donated ₩10,000,000 to the Hope Bridge National Disaster Relief Association to support the victims affected by the forest fires in Sokcho, Gangwon Province. On June 10, 2019, B.I, and the cast and crew of "Grand  Buda-Guest" donated two tons of dog food worth ₩30,000,000 to a dog shelter in Gyeonggi-do for stray dogs. In 2020, B.I donated 100,000 face masks—worth a total of ₩200,000,000—which were distributed to fans in South Korea, China, Thailand, Japan, Indonesia, and Vietnam amidst the COVID-19 outbreak. On August 10, 2020, B.I donated shoes to "Angel's Haven for Children". On December 19, 2020, he surprised fans volunteering in Incheon helping deliver coal briquettes to families in need. B.I and IOK Company provided additional support to the briquette sharing project by donating 10,000 KF94 masks . On December 18, 2020, B.I, and IOK Company donated ₩200,000,000 worth of items, including 200,000 masks and 10,000 innerwear, to World Vision, an international relief and development NGO. On January 5, 2021, B.I and IOK company CEO Jang Jin-woo delivered an additional ₩200,000,000 worth of KF94 masks and innerwear to Osan City to help the vulnerable during the COVID-19 pandemic. On March 19, 2021, B.I released a charity single album called "Midnight Blue (Love Streaming)". He pledged to donate all of the proceeds of the sound sources, recordings, and copyright fees of the single album to World  Vision to support children in crisis across the globe. On May 4, 2021, B.I personally met with chairman Cho Myung-hwan at the World Vision Office in Seoul to donate all the profits from the sale of 10,000 limited edition single albums of "Midnight Blue (Love Streaming)". In addition, B.I promised to continuously donate all the revenue from the digital music sales and copyright fees that the single album would accrue. On September 17, 2021, IOK Company announced that B.I had made a second donation to World Vision. B.I decided to conduct a "monthly donation project" to continuously provide his  music and copyright profits from his "Midnight Blue (Love Streaming)" and "Waterfall" albums. The donations include all copyright fees, music and album sales, and content revenue generated following the album's release and go towards the Basic for Girls project, which aims to improve help construct women's restrooms in Zambia, Africa and support the provision of sanitary napkins. Drug allegation controversy and departure from iKon. On June 12, 2019, it was revealed that B.I had allegedly attempted to purchase marijuana and LSD in 2016 from an undisclosed female dealer. He was also accused of evading police charges. B.I acknowledged  the validity of the allegations, explaining that he was going "through a hard and painful time" and wanted something to rely on, but denied taking any drugs. Following the reports, B.I announced his departure from iKon and terminated his exclusive contract with YG Entertainment. His appearances on television series "Law of the Jungle", "Grand Buda-Guest", and "Stage K" were edited out by the networks prior to their broadcast. The dealer was revealed to be Han Seo-hee, a former female idol trainee who was involved in drug issues with former label-mate T.O.P and received four years of probation  in 2017. In February 2020, results of a drug test conducted on B.I were released, revealing no detection of illegal drugs from a sample of B.I's body hair sent by South Korea's Gyeonggi Southern Provincial Police Agency to the National Forensic Service. On May 28, 2021, B.I was indicted without detention by the violent crimes department of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office for violating the Act on the Control of Narcotics. On September 10, 2021, the Seoul Central District Court sentenced B.I to a probationary period of four years, including 80 hours of community service, 40 hours  of drug education courses, and a fine of ₩1.5 million (approximately US$1,300) on the charges of three accounts of illegal marijuana usage and one account of purchasing illegal LSD in 2016. Artistry. Musical style. B.I's music is generally hip hop, although he incorporates R&B, pop, soul, and acoustic into his songs as well. In 2018, B.I discussed the process behind his songwriting, admitting, "Because I don't have much experience, I typically draw a lot of my inspiration from movies or dramas. I'm also the type to draw inspiration from things like poetry". He explained that  it was a way of "making up for things I'm unable to experience or feel for myself". When asked what type of music he wanted to make, he stated, "There are just two things. Music that people can relate to and music that draws imagination. Aside from that, the reason that I compose and make music is simply because it’s fun. My hobby doesn’t feel like work just yet". Songwriting. B.I is credited with writing and composing all the songs in his debut studio album "Waterfall", second album "Cosmos", and his first single album "Midnight Blue (Love  Streaming)", which he released as a solo artist through 131 Label and IOK Music. As a member of the K-pop group iKon, B.I was the leader and credited with the production and songwriting for all their releases. These include the group's full-length studio albums "Welcome Back" and "Return"; compilation album "The New Kids"; and singles and EPs "#WYD", "", "", "Rubber Band""," and "." B.I wrote and composed four of the five songs on the group's latest EP, "I Decide". For his work on "Return", B.I won Songwriter of the Year at the 10th Melon Music Awards. On January  22, 2019, B.I became a full member of the Korea Music Copyright Association (KOMCA). As of April 2022, the KOMCA has 84 songs registered under his name. Additionally, B.I has written songs for various current and former artists under YG Entertainment, such as Epik High, Winner, Blackpink, Psy, Seungri, Lee Hi and Eun Ji-won.