Samuel Seo (; born May 3, 1991) is a South Korean singer-songwriter,

rapper Rapping (also rhyming, flowing, spitting, emceeing, or MCing) is an artistic form of vocal delivery and emotive expression that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and ommonlystreet vernacular". It is usually performed over a backing ...

, and record producer. Born in

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

, he spent his youth living in his home country, as well as Japan, the United States, and Canada. An aspiring pianist, Seo's exposure to

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

in his teens led him to pursue the genre. He released a series of singles before enlisting and serving two years in

military service Military service is service by an individual or group in an army or other militia, air forces, and naval forces, whether as a chosen job (volunteer military, volunteer) or as a result of an involuntary draft (conscription). Few nations, such ...

. Seo released his first studio album ''Frameworks'' (2015), which earned him the award for Best R&B & Soul Album at the

Korean Music Awards The Korean Music Awards () is an annual South Korean music awards show that honors both mainstream and underground musical artists from a variety of genres. Unlike other major South Korean music awards, which largely rely on record sales to de ...

in 2016. He released his second album ''Ego Expand (100%)'' in May of that year, which earned him nominations for Best R&B & Soul Album, as well as Best R&B & Soul Song for its lead single "B L U E". As a solo artist, Seo released one of his most recent albums, "My Body and My Heart", which garnered awards for Best R&B and Soul Album. This was followed by a new release of his third album, the fourth volume of his book Eros, which garnered an award for Best Book.

Life and career

1991–2012: Early life and career beginnings

Samuel Seo was born Seo Dong-hyeon on May 3, 1991, in

, South Korea. He began to learn to play the piano between the ages of four and five. His father, who worked for the Japanese company

Hitachi () is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in 1910 and headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo. The company is active in various industries, including digital systems, power and renewable ener ...

at the time, was transferred to Tokyo; this resulted in Seo and his family moving to Japan at the age of five. He was enrolled in

kindergarten Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th cen ...

there, where he spent the following two to three years in the country and learned to speak Japanese. Throughout his remaining youth and adolescence, he lived in the United States and Canada. He learned English in the former between visiting family and studying at a

community center A community centre, community center, or community hall is a public location where members of a community gather for group activities, social support, public information, and other purposes. They may be open for the whole community or for a sp ...

. He attended and graduated

middle school Middle school, also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school, is an educational stage between primary school and secondary school. Afghanistan In Afghanistan, middle school includes g ...

in Canada, where he sought to become a lawyer. Upon returning to South Korea to attend high school, Seo began to focus on becoming a pianist. While exploring his university options, he entered a club and heard " Outta Control" by American rapper

50 Cent Curtis James Jackson III (born July 6, 1975), known professionally as 50 Cent, is an American rapper, actor, and television producer. Born in Queens, a borough of New York City, Jackson began pursuing a musical career in 1996. In 1999–2000, ...

, his first experience with

. Impressed by the genre, the exposure led him to pursue it. He came across Bigdeal's "Deal with Us", his first time listening to Korean hip hop. During this time period, the Bigdeal Squads collective was holding auditions; after successfully auditioning, Seo was signed to the record label in 2008 and became part of the collective. Unsatisfied with his given birth name, Seo chose his stage name after the biblical

Samuel Samuel is a figure who, in the narratives of the Hebrew Bible, plays a key role in the transition from the biblical judges to the United Kingdom of Israel under Saul, and again in the monarchy's transition from Saul to David. He is venera ...

: "His words became truths and people took them as sacred. I liked that position. I mean, not sacred, but I hope people hear my words seriously." In spite of his name, he identifies as irreligious. Encompassing ambient, electronic, and

new-age music New-age is a genre of music intended to create artistic inspiration, relaxation, and optimism. It is used by listeners for yoga, massage, meditation, and reading as a method of stress management to bring about a state of ecstasy rather tha ...

, Seo released his first single "Raindrop" in 2010. The following year, he released his first

mixtape In the modern music industry, a mixtape is a musical project, typically with looser constraints than that of an album or extended play. Unlike the traditional album or extended play, mixtapes are labeled as laid-back projects that allow artists mo ...

''Now or Never'' before being subject to

conscription in South Korea Conscription in South Korea has existed since 1957 and requires male citizens between the ages of 18 and 35 to perform compulsory military service. Women are not required to perform military service, but they may voluntarily join the militar ...

and enlisting in

2013–2016: ''Frameworks'' and ''Ego Expand (100%)''

Seo completed his military service and was discharged in 2013. A member of the New Block Babyz and Guereallaz collectives, he released his debut

extended play An extended play (EP) is a Sound recording and reproduction, musical recording that contains more tracks than a Single (music), single but fewer than an album. Contemporary EPs generally contain up to eight tracks and have a playing time of 1 ...

''Welcome to My Zone'' in October of that year. The singles "Vibe" and "Ocean of You" followed in the subsequent months. After a year and a half hiatus, Seo released "New Dress Girl" on September 14, 2015, in precedence of his first full-length album. Contributing to the songwriting, composing, and arrangement on the record, as well as playing all instruments with the exception of bass, ''Frameworks'' was released on October 2. The album earned Seo the award for Best R&B & Soul Album at the 13th annual

. Seo released the digital single "Kafka" on February 17, 2016. Influenced by

Franz Kafka Franz Kafka (3 July 1883 – 3 June 1924) was a novelist and writer from Prague who was Jewish, Austrian, and Czech and wrote in German. He is widely regarded as a major figure of 20th-century literature. His work fuses elements of Litera ...

's novel '' The Metamorphosis'', the song is a collaboration with rapper Verbal Jint. He released his second studio album ''Ego Expand (100%)'', along with its lead single "B L U E" on May 27. After holding a showcase for the album, he embarked on his first series of concert tours in Asia. On October 28, he released the post-album single "Float" featuring C Jamm. Seo was nominated for Best R&B & Soul Album and Song, respectively, for the 14th Korean Music Awards for ''Ego Expand (100%)'' and "B L U E".

2017–present: Collaborative works

Seo released a collaboration single with former

4Minute 4Minute (, often stylized in all caps) was a South Korean girl group formed by Cube Entertainment, consisting of members Jihyun, Gayoon, Jiyoon, Hyuna and Sohyun. The group was known for its edgy dance-pop style and " girl crush" image t ...

member Jeon Ji-yoon in March 2017. On June 8, he released the collaborative project

''Elbow'' with Qim Isle.

Musicianship

Due to his extensive involvement in his music, Seo has been referred to as a "genius artist". In addition to singing and rapping, he contributes to the songwriting, composition, arrangement, and production of his material. He also incorporates various genres into his work, including R&B,

soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...

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- ...

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the ...

electronica Electronica is both a broad group of electronic-based music styles intended for listening rather than strictly for dancing and a music scene that came to prominence in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term is mos ...

, and

synthpop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a music genre that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s ...

. He has been complimented on his "unique style".

Discography

Albums

Studio albums

Extended plays

Singles

As lead artist

As featured artist

Soundtrack appearances

Guest appearances

Filmography

Variety show

Awards and nominations

Korean Music Awards

! , - , 2016 , ''Frameworks'' , rowspan="2", Best R&B & Soul Album , , align="center", , - , rowspan="2", 2017 , ''Ego Expand (100%)'' , , align="center" rowspan="2", , - , "B L U E" , rowspan="2", Best R&B & Soul Song , , - , 2018 , "Off You" , , align="center",

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Seo, Samuel 1991 births 21st-century South Korean male singers Electronica musicians Korean Music Award winners Living people South Korean male singer-songwriters 21st-century South Korean singer-songwriters Rappers from Seoul South Korean contemporary R&B singers South Korean hip-hop singers South Korean male rappers South Korean hip-hop record producers