Daniel Armand Lee (; born July 22, 1980), better known by his stage name Tablo (), is a South Korean-Canadian rapper, songwriter and record producer based in South Korea. Tablo is best known as the leader and producer of South Korean hip-hop group Epik High, and the founder of independent music label Highgrnd, which housed bands

Hyukoh Hyukoh () is a South Korean indie band signed to DooRooDooRoo Artist Company. The band was formed in May 2014 and consists of leader, singer, and guitarist Oh Hyuk, bassist Im Dong-geon, guitarist Lim Hyun-jae, and drummer Lee In-woo. Career Ba ...

and The Black Skirts. Tablo became employed as a lyricist while still in high school. Under the supervision of Tobias Wolff, Tablo graduated from

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

with honors in English literature and creative writing. He then moved to South Korea, where, in 2001, he formed Epik High alongside DJ Tukutz and Mithra Jin. The group has since released 10 full-length albums and 1 EP, with Tablo having produced and co-written all the songs. His debut solo album, ''Fever's End'', was released in 2011. Outside of Epik High, Tablo is a record producer and songwriter for other artists and involved in collaborative projects such as Borderline, Eternal Morning, and Anyband. His music incorporates numerous styles, ranging from

trance Trance is a state of semi-consciousness in which a person is not self-aware and is either altogether unresponsive to external stimuli (but nevertheless capable of pursuing and realizing an aim) or is selectively responsive in following the dir ...

trip hop Trip hop is a musical genre that has been described as a psychedelic music, psychedelic fusion of hip hop music, hip hop and electronica with slow tempos and an atmospheric sound. The style emerged as a more experimental music, experimental var ...

, to

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

. Tablo is also the author of the best-selling book Pieces of You, published in both English and Korean, and Blonote. He made his film debut acting in '' Nonstop'' (2005). In 2016, Tablo left his radio show,

MBC FM4U MBC FM4U is a K-pop, Pop music, Classical music and Entertainment station from Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation. Launched in September 19, 1971 it was South Korea's second FM station, with TBC Radio (Now KBS Cool FM KBS Cool FM (), also k ...

's ''Tablo's Dreaming Radio'', after eleven years to focus on YG's music sub-label Highgrnd.

Life and career

1980–2003: Early life and career beginnings

Tablo moved to

Jakarta Jakarta (; , Betawi language, Betawi: ''Jakartè''), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta (; ''DKI Jakarta'') and formerly known as Batavia, Dutch East Indies, Batavia until 1949, is the capital and largest city of Indonesia and ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

in 1980 shortly after his birth. Due to his father's work, he spent around 3 years living in Jakarta before his family relocated again several times to

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

and

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

for his father's career until Tablo was six, when they returned to South Korea briefly. His family moved again to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

when he was eight, and he gained

Canadian citizenship Canadian nationality law details the conditions by which a person is a national of Canada. The primary law governing these regulations is the Citizenship Act, which came into force on February 15, 1977 and is applicable to all provinces and ...

at age 12. Tablo attended St. George's School in

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

. He then transferred to

Seoul International School Seoul International School (SIS) is a secular international private college preparatory school situated in Seongnam, South Korea, As a coterminal student at

, Tablo simultaneously attained a

Bachelor's Degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

English literature English literature is literature written in the English language from the English-speaking world. The English language has developed over more than 1,400 years. The earliest forms of English, a set of Anglo-Frisian languages, Anglo-Frisian d ...

and a

Master's Degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

creative writing Creative writing is any writing that goes beyond the boundaries of normal professional, journalistic, academic, or technical forms of literature, typically identified by an emphasis on craft and technique, such as narrative structure, character ...

in four years. Tablo started playing

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

at the age of six but later switched to

violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

, which he played for 10 years. His music teacher, who had been a pupil of

Isaac Stern Isaac Stern (July 21, 1920 – September 22, 2001) was an American violinist. Born in Ukraine, Stern moved to the United States when he was 14 months old. Stern performed both nationally and internationally, notably touring the Soviet Union a ...

, used to lecture him saying: "Music is communism, but you're playing democracy". Tablo wrote the lyrics to legendary singer

Kim Gun-mo Kim Gun-mo (; born January 13, 1968) is a South Korean singer-songwriter who is considered the country's most successful musical artist of the 1990s. His 1995 album, ''Wrongful Meeting,'' previously held the Guinness World Records, Guinness Wor ...

's song "Rainy Christmas" when he was sixteen years old, as Kim took an interest in Tablo after reading a poem of his. During his early life, Tablo suffered from bouts of depression. Whenever he faced hardship, hip hop music served as an outlet. However, Tablo's father disapproved of his career choice, so as a teenager, he frequently ran away from home. Ostensibly, Tablo asked a friend to live out his dream, but when that friend died of cancer, it became an impetus for him to re-enter the music industry. Tablo later admitted his family forced him to enroll in Stanford, and even after the release of his second album, was still persuading him to return to the United States to attend Law School. While he was at Stanford, Tablo associated with an underground hip hop group, 4n Objectz.

2003–10: Success with Epik High and ''Pieces of You''

Tablo met future bandmates Mithra Jin and DJ Tukutz while active in the underground hip-hop scene. The three came together to form Epik High, with Tablo as their leader. Under the tutelage of Movement crew members, especially the trio CB Mass, they attempted to record their first studio album alongside hip-hop duo and close friends TBNY (composed of Yankie and TopBob); however, CB Mass member Curbin allegedly embezzled Epik High and TBNY's funds for the album, effectively causing the disbandment of CB Mass (and the creation of Dynamic Duo without Curbin). Tablo and Epik High were finally signed by Woollim Entertainment, which at the time focused on underground hip hop and modern rock, and the group officially debuted in 2003. The group's first album, '' Map of the Human Soul'', was released on October 21 of that year; however, due to hip hop's lack of popularity in South Korea at the time, the album was a commercial failure. It wasn't until the release of their second album, ''

High Society High society, sometimes simply Society, is the behavior and lifestyle of people with the highest levels of wealth, power, fame and social status. It includes their related affiliations, social events and practices. Upscale social clubs were open ...

'', that the group started to gain popularity. Epik High's third album, '' Swan Songs'', was originally intended to be their last album; however, upon release, the album reached the top of numerous charts, and swept the year-end hip-hop awards. One of the lead singles from the album, "Fly", was featured on the soundtrack of the video game ''

FIFA 07 ''FIFA 07'' (also known as ''FIFA Football 07'' and ''FIFA 07 Soccer'') is a football simulation video game developed by EA Canada and published by Electronic Arts under the EA Sports label for GameCube, PlayStation 2, Windows, Xbox, Xbox 360, P ...

''. Due to the numerous offers to remake "Fly", as well as "Paris", the second single from the album, a CD sampler was released in Japan. Tablo at MaptheSoul Concert SanFrancisco 2009

Tablo at MaptheSoul Concert SanFrancisco 2009

In 2007, the group released their fourth studio album, '' Remapping the Human Soul'', and managed to push Epik High to the number one spot for best upcoming artist after selling almost 90,000 copies in the first month of release. The album ended up becoming South Korea's third best-selling album of 2007. However, many songs from the album were banned from several TV channels, and the album buying age was restricted to 19+ due to some songs dealing with issues the Ministry of Culture and Tourism in South Korea deemed inappropriate for younger listeners. The group later went on to release their next album, '' Pieces, Part One'', which was also a commercial success. In late 2008, Tablo published a book entitled '' Pieces of You''. Although the stories were originally written in English, the book was first published in Korean. The Korean translation sold 50,000 copies in its first week of release and topped the bestseller's list in Korea. The original English version was released in February 2009 and also met with moderate success. The book garnered a positive reception from critics, with Tablo's writing praised for a first-time author. After the group's contract with Woolim Entertainment expired in 2008, Tablo, alongside his group members, founded their own independent label, Map the Soul, and went on to release an album of the same name. Through their independent label, the group went on to release two more albums; '' ' in 2009, and ''

Epilogue An epilogue or epilog (from Greek ἐπίλογος ''epílogos'', "conclusion" from ἐπί ''epi'', "in addition" and λόγος ''logos'', "word") is a piece of writing at the end of a work of literature, usually used to bring closure to the ...

'' in 2010. In November 2013, Tablo revealed in his interview with HiphopLE that "Map the Soul" was shut down due to one of its executive member embezzling the label's funds.

2010–11: Musical hiatus and Stanford controversy

In 2010, it was announced that Epik High would go on hiatus after DJ Tukutz enlisted in his mandatory military service, whilst Tablo and Mithra would be working on solo careers until DJ Tukutz's return. However, in mid-2010, a group of Internet users raised doubts about the academic background of Tablo, who majored in English and Creative Writing at

. Led by two fan sites, most notably "We Demand the Truth from Tablo" (), some

netizens The term ''netizen'' is a portmanteau of the English words ''internet'' and ''citizen'', as in a "citizen of the net" or "net citizen". It describes a person actively involved in online communities or the Internet in general.

claimed that Tablo could not have graduated from

with both a bachelor's degree and master's degree in English and Creative Writing, respectively, in just three and a half years. It became front-page news in South Korea in June 2010 when one of the fansite's managers, who went by the username "whatbecomes", claimed that Tablo's academic record was "not making any sense" and showed what he believed to be inconsistencies in Tablo's transcripts. Even though Tablo posted his official transcript and other legal documents online, many netizens refused to believe him, and called for other documents such as his immigration statement and diploma to be released. Tablo visited Stanford University in late August to disprove these allegations by having the university registrar re-print his documents on camera, and many of Tablo's acquaintances and former professors from Stanford attested to the validity of his academic background on camera. The documentary was shown in two parts: ''Tablo Goes to Stanford'' and ''Tablo and South Korea Online'', which aired on MBC October 1 and 8. However, despite the documentary and Stanford's administration clearly siding with Tablo, membership at "We Demand the Truth from Tablo" increased to as many as 190,000 within a few days, as numerous netizens refused to believe Tablo or the documentary. Tablo and members of his family received death threats and he became a virtual recluse. Tablo ultimately left Woollim Entertainment during the Tajinyo incident, not wanting to spread harm to the agency or to Infinite, who had only recently debuted when the controversy broke out. On October 9, however, police confirmed that Tablo had indeed graduated from Stanford, having requested information beyond what Tablo had already provided, directly from Stanford University. South Korean police filed an arrest warrant domestically and with Interpol for the arrest of "whatbecomes", who was revealed to be a 57-year-old Korean-American named Eungsuk Kim living in the United States. In addition, twenty-two netizens received summons indicating they had been sued by Tablo for criminal defamation. The fansite was shut down soon after by its host site,

Naver Naver (; stylized as NAVER) is a South Korean online platform operated by the Naver Corporation. The company's products include a search engine, email hosting, blogs, maps, and mobile payment. History Naver was the first Korean web provide ...

, following the results of the investigation, which also revealed that ''whatbecomes'' had fraudulently used a friend's ID number to create the website, violating Naver's terms of service. However, many members of the fansite joined another community called "We Demand the Truth from Tablo 2" (), which has a membership of over 33,000 netizens despite proof provided by both the university and the police that Tablo did indeed graduate from Stanford University.

2011–present: Return, solo career and Epik High comeback

On September 27, 2011,

YG Entertainment YG Entertainment () is a South Korean Multinational corporation, multinational entertainment agency established in 1996 by Yang Hyun-suk. The company operates as a record label, talent agency, music production company, event management and conce ...

announced that Tablo would be signing a 4-year contract with them and that his first solo album would be released on November 1. Although Tablo signed as a solo singer under

, he indicated that it did not mean that Epik High disbanded, nor that they would necessarily sign with YG as a group. On October 14, 2011, Tablo released the song "Airbag" from his new upcoming album. On October 21, 2011, YG announced that the new album, titled ''Fever's End'' (), had been split into two parts. The first part was released along with the recent announcement, and the second part was released on the planned release date. On September 27, 2012, YG officially announced through yg-life.com that Epik High would have their comeback in October 2012, after a three-year hiatus as a group. Their first single, "춥다" ("It's Cold"), featured SBS's ''

K-pop Star ''Survival Audition K-pop Star'' () is a South Korean reality competition television series where three entertainment/talent agencies in South Korea hold worldwide auditions to find the next potential K-pop stars. Preliminary auditions are held ...

'' finalist

Lee Hi Lee Ha-yi (; born September 23, 1996), known by her stage name Lee Hi, is a South Korean singer and songwriter. She first garnered attention as the runner-up of '' K-pop Star season 1''. She debuted with single "1, 2, 3, 4" on October 28, 2012, ...

and was released on October 9, while their comeback album, titled '' 99'', was released on the 19th. On December 30, 2012, during the ''SBS Gayo Daejun'', Tablo joined fellow Epik High bandmate Mithra Jin, Dynamic Duo and Simon D for ''Cypher 2012'', a remix of popular hip hop tracks of the year, to much acclaim. In October 2013, Tablo joined KBS variety show '' The Return of Superman'' with his daughter Haru. On April 21, 2014, Tablo returned as radio DJ. His show's name is ''Tablo's Dreaming Radio''. He was the DJ for this same program until 2016. In March 2014, Tablo carried out a collaboration with China's top female singer Bibi Zhou. On October 18, 2014, Epik High released their music video for " Born Hater", after the video was delayed by YG due to the Pangyo Techno Valley Festival Tragedy. The track is from their eighth album, '' Shoebox'', and features a myriad of hip hop artists including

Beenzino Lim Sung-bin (; born September 12, 1987), better known by the stage name Beenzino (빈지노), is a South Korean rapper. Beenzino first gained popularity through the duo Jazzyfact, which he formed with Shimmy Twice in 2008. And he made his f ...

, Verbal Jint, Mino of Winner, along with B.I and Bobby of

iKon iKon (; stylized as iKON) is a South Korean boy band formed in 2015 by YG Entertainment. The lineup consists of six members: Jay, Song, Bobby, DK, Ju-ne, and Chan. Originally a seven-piece band, B.I departed from the group in June 2019. ...

. On August 31, 2015, Tablo released a teaser clip for a collaboration track with American rapper and co-founder of

Pro Era Pro Era (short for Progressive Era) is an American hip-hop Musical collective, collective from Brooklyn, New York (state), New York. The group is a collective of Rapping, rappers and record producers that includes East Coast hip hop, East Coast ...

Joey Badass Jo-Vaughn Virginie Scott (born January 20, 1995), known professionally as Joey Badass (stylized as Joey Bada$$), is an American rapper and actor. Born in Brooklyn, New York City, he formed the regional hip-hop group Pro Era in 2011, with whom h ...

. Their collaborated song, "Hood," was released September 5, 2015. On January 26, 2017, he collaborated with Gallant and Eric Nam on the single release of "Cave Me In", and music video which was shot in Hong Kong. "Cave Me In" premiered worldwide on Zane Lowe's Beats 1 Radio Show and was trending globally on YouTube and Facebook for over 72 hours upon releasing. In 2021, he was featured in B.I's song "STAY". In September 2022, he collaborated with Jackson Wang for a new track "Imagine" on the hip-pop competition series, Rap Of China.

Personal life

Tablo married Korean actress Kang Hye-jung on October 26, 2009. Their daughter, Haru, was born on May 2, 2010. Tablo has an older sister, Lee Sun-joo, who graduated from

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

and an older brother, Lee Sun-Min, who graduated from

Brown University Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...

and

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

Musical style

Tablo has been a long-time fan of hip hop music, citing an almost lifelong affair with the culture itself. While listening to hip hop at an early age through artists such as Run-D.M.C. and acquiring Cold Crush tapes, he concurrently gained recognition as a rhymer. His major and enduring love affair with making hip hop music was sparked later in life, however; after hearing Drunken Tiger rapping, the group Epik High was formed in 2000 at an early time in the culture's local evolution. Tablo has since claimed to be the first emcee to have used the "rhyming rifle" technique. With the hip hop scene in Korea and Korean emcees being known for their fickle tendencies, Tablo has through the years kept alive his legacy and career through numerous shows, appearances on influential overseas (American most notably) hip hop artists work, such as

EPMD EPMD is an American hip hop duo from Brentwood, New York. The duo's name is an initialism for "Erick and Parrish Making Dollars", referring to its members: emcees Erick Sermon ("E" a.k.a. E Double) and Parrish Smith ("PMD" a.k.a. Parrish Mi ...

Writing

In 2008, Tablo published a collection of short stories he had written, titled '' Pieces of You''. The English translation was published in 2009. In 2016, his second book "BloNote" was published in Korea with a pink book cover. The English version, translated by Tablo himself and with a black cover, was published on December 21, 2016.

Podcast

On June 8, 2019, Tablo posted on his personal Instagram posing the question: ''"What if Tablo had an English-language podcast?"''. The podcast premiered with the release of three episodes on August 8, 2019. The Tablo Podcast is produced by Dive Studios. The last episode of The Tablo Podcast aired on September 4, 2020, though two follow-up episodes were released in 2021 to promote the release of ''Epik High Is Here''.

Discography

Filmography

Films

Television

Music videos

Awards

References

External links

Epik High's Official Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tablo 1980 births Living people 21st-century Canadian male actors 21st-century Canadian rappers Canadian male actors of Korean descent Canadian male film actors Canadian male rappers 21st-century male rappers Canadian male television actors Canadian musicians of Korean descent Electronic dance music DJs Epik High Korean-language singers of Canada K-pop singers Male actors from Seoul Male actors from Vancouver Musicians from Vancouver Naturalized citizens of Canada Rappers from Seoul Canadian hip-hop musicians Canadian electronic musicians South Korean emigrants to Canada Canadian hip-hop record producers Canadian hip-hop singers Canadian male singer-songwriters Canadian singer-songwriters Stanford University alumni St. George's School (Vancouver) alumni Writers from Vancouver YG Entertainment artists Canadian expatriates in South Korea