H1ghr Music (stylized as H1GHR MUSIC; ) is an international

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

and R&B record label founded by Korean American musician

Jay Park Jay Park (born April 25, 1987), Korean name Park Jae-beom (), is an American rapper, singer-songwriter and dancer based in South Korea. He is a member of the Seattle-based breakdancing, b-boy crew Art of Movement (AOM), and founder and former ...

and long time Seattle affiliate

Cha Cha Malone Chase Vincent Malone (born May 25, 1987), more commonly known as Cha Cha Malone, is an American singer, music producer, songwriter, composer, and member of b-boy crew Art of Movement (AOM), from Seattle, Washington. Malone is widely known for hi ...

in 2017. Stationed primarily in South Korea, the label was created with the intent to "bridge the gap" between American and Korean artists, with a focus on adjacent Seattle talent. Currently, the label houses over 17 artists.

History

H1ghr Music is a hip hop record label started in 2017 by

and

with the hopes of creating a more globally oriented label than Park's other Korean label,

AOMG AOMG is a South Korean hip-hop and R&B record label founded in 2013 by rapper and singer-songwriter Jay Park. The label currently houses 20 musicians, UFC fighter Chan Sung Jung, and cartoonist Kian84. History Above Ordinary Music Group (AOM ...

. Park created the label to show support for up and coming artists from his hometown of

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is the List of municipalities in Washington, most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the List of Unit ...

and South Korea through collaborations and bridge the gap between Korean and American Hip Hop artists. The name symbolizes the artists' goal to keep growing and to get to the next level. Label artist Avatar Darko was the one who suggested to replace the 'i' in Highr to a '1'. The label launched with artists already signed. Aside from the founders, these artists included Yultron; Korean rappers

Sik-K Kwon Min-sik (; born February 26, 1994), known professionally as Sik-K (), is a South Korean rapper. He first garnered attention when he appeared on '' Show Me the Money 4'' in 2015. Early life and education Kwon Min-sik was born on February 26 ...

and pH-1; Seattle artists Avatar Darko,

Raz Simone Solomon Samuel Simone (born January 15, 1990), known by his stage name Raz Simone (), is an African-American recording artist and songwriter from Seattle, Washington. A hip hop artist who started under the name Razpy, he built his brand by relea ...

, Phe Reds, Jarv Dee. The label also began with producer roster consisting of

GroovyRoom GroovyRoom () is a South Korean Dj, DJ, Record producer, music producing and Composer, composing duo consisting of Park Gyu-jeong and Lee Hwi-min. They mainly produce hip-hop songs such as boom bap and Trap music, trap. The songs they produce hav ...

and Woogie. Sik-K joined after participating in ''

Show Me the Money 4 The fourth season of '' Show Me the Money'' (''SMTM'') premiered on June 26, 2015, airing every Friday evening on Mnet, and ended with its last episode aired on August 28, 2015. Mnet's fourth season of ''SMTM'' features YG judges Jinusean and ...

'' and after he parted ways with Grandline Entertainment, his former agency. His first single, titled "Fly", was released the same year. Raz Simone dropped his full-length album, ''Drive Theory'', after signing. Later on in 2017, H1ghr Music signed producer Thurxday (who was later resigned in 2019 under the new name Mokyo) and rapper Woodie Gochild. Woodie Gochild was signed after participating in ''

Show Me the Money 6 The sixth season of the series '' Show Me the Money'', known as ''Show Me the Money 6'' (also referred to as ''SMTM6''), premiered on June 30, 2017 and ended on September 1, 2017. It is on broadcast every Friday at 23:00 KST on Mnet. The season ...

''. In 2018, H1GHR signed rapper

Haon HaOn () is a kibbutz on the shore of the Sea of Galilee in northern Israel. Located at the foot of the Golan Heights about a twenty-minute drive from the city of Tiberias, it is part of Emek HaYarden Regional Council. HaOn formerly operated as a ...

after he won the Korean rap survival show ''High School Rapper'' (Season 2) The same year he released his first EP, ''Travel: NOAH''. Singer Golden, formerly known as G.Soul, also announced he had joined H1ghr Music after 17 years of being signed to

JYP Entertainment JYP Entertainment Corporation () is a South Korean Multinational corporation, multinational entertainment and record label Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in 1997 by Park Jin-young, J. Y. Park. Operating as a record label, talent ...

. In 2019, the label signed the rapper Big Naughty after his participation in ''

Show Me the Money 8 The eighth season of the series ''Show Me the Money'', known as ''Show Me the Money 8'' (also referred to as ''SMTM8''), premiered on July 26, 2019 and ended on September 27, 2019. It is broadcast every Friday at 23:00 (KST) on Mnet. Unlike the ...

''. In late 2019, Jarv Dee parted ways with H1ghr Music. In 2020, the label released a remix version of Rain's song "Gang", which topped the Korean music charts. The same year, they signed a new artist,

Trade L Lee Seung-hoon (; born July 21, 2004) better known by his stage name Trade L (Hangul: 트레이드 엘), is a South Korean rapper and singer. He signed with H1ghr Music in 2020, and became the winner of the fourth season of ''High School Rapper ...

. In August 2020, the label announced a compilation album featuring all the artists on the roster with ''Red Tape: H1GHR'' version being released on September 2, followed by “Blue Tape; : H1GHR” on September 16. In March 2021,

announced that they are launching a new label called AREA (), in partnership with the label. On December 31, 2021, Jay Park announced his resignation as Co-CEO of H1ghr Music. In 2022, the label announced the end of their exclusive contracts with Woogie,

, and

JAY B Lim Jae-beom (; born January 6, 1994), better known as Jay B (; stylized in all caps), and formerly JB, is a South Korean singer, songwriter, and actor. Jay B is the leader of South Korean boy band band Got7, a member of boy band duo JJ Proje ...

. Park Ji-hoo and Han Seo-bin, male trainees under the agency, appeared on ''

Boys Planet ''Boys Planet'' () is a 2023 South Korean reality competition show created by Mnet. It aired on Mnet from February 2, 2023, to April 20, 2023, every Thursday at 20:50 ( KST). Out of thousands of applicants, 98 contestants from various backgrou ...

'', their first audition program since the agency's founding. After the show ended, Han Seo-bin left the agency and joined another agency, while Park Ji-hoo transferred to WakeOne and debuted on September 18, 2023, as part of the project group

Evnne Evnne (; stylized in all caps) is a South Korean boy band formed by Jellyfish Entertainment. The group consists of seven members: Keita, Park Han-bin, Lee Jeong-hyeon, Ji Yun-seo, Yoo Seung-eon, Mun Jung-hyun, and Park Ji-hoo. They debuted on ...

with Park Han-bin, Lee Jung-hyun, and Mun Jung-hyun from WakeOne, Yoo Seung-eon and Ji Yoon-seo from Yuehua Entertainment Korea, and Keita from R.A.I.N. Company. On August 24, 2024, it was announced that a spin-off group of '' I-Land 2: N/a'' would be launched.

Key people

(Founder, Advisor , CEO, 2017–2021) *

(Co-CEO, 2017–2021) *Yu Deok-gon (CEO) *Kang Hyun-jin (CEO) *Ok Yeongju (Inside Director)

Artists

Rappers and singers

Big Naughty Seo Dong-hyeon (; born June 2, 2003), known professionally as Big Naughty (; stylized as BIG Naughty), is a South Korean rapper, singer and songwriter. He first garnered attention when he appeared on the rap competition TV show '' Show Me the M ...

* pH-1 *Woodie Gochild *

* Lilboi *simaron

Groups

*H1ghr Girls (Temporary Name)

Producers and DJs

*Yultron *DJ SMMT

At Area

* Mirani *Gemini *

Hyuna Kim Hyun-ah (; born June 6, 1992), known professionally as Hyuna (stylized as HyunA), is a South Korean singer-songwriter, rapper and model. She debuted as a member of the girl group Wonder Girls in February 2007. Upon leaving the ensemble sho ...

Dawn Dawn is the time that marks the beginning of twilight before sunrise. It is recognized by the diffuse sky radiation, appearance of indirect sunlight being Rayleigh scattering, scattered in Earth's atmosphere, when the centre of the Sun's disc ha ...

*Blasé *Boycold *Goneisback *Kwaca * Yuju

Former artists

G.Soul Kim Ji-hyun (; born June 16, 1988), professionally known as G.Soul or GSoul, is a South Korean singer-songwriter. He first made his debut under JYP Entertainment with the release of his EP ''Coming Home'' on January 19, 2015. On June 6, 2017, it ...

(Golden) *Ted Park *Souf Souf *28AV *Jarv Dee *Mokyo *Woogie *

Jay B Lim Jae-beom (; born January 6, 1994), better known as Jay B (; stylized in all caps), and formerly JB, is a South Korean singer, songwriter, and actor. Jay B is the leader of South Korean boy band band Got7, a member of boy band duo JJ Proje ...

HAON HaOn () is a kibbutz on the shore of the Sea of Galilee in northern Israel. Located at the foot of the Golan Heights about a twenty-minute drive from the city of Tiberias, it is part of Emek HaYarden Regional Council. HaOn formerly operated as a ...

Discography

Awards and nominations

Tours

H1ghr Music US Tour 2018

References

External links

Official Facebook
{{Authority control Talent agencies of South Korea Labels distributed by CJ E&M Music and Live South Korean hip-hop record labels CJ E&M Music and Live subsidiaries CJ E&M Music Performance Division