Cho PD, a South Korean rapper and record producer, formed the 7-man South Korean boy band Block B in 2011. Cho PD is also Stardom Entertainment’s owner, who has handled groups such as Top Dogg and EvoL. Block B debuted with 7 members. The group came into existence when Cho PD announced that he would be spending approximately $1.4 million to create a hip-hop group under his “Creating Korea’s Eminem Project”. Their debut MV for Freeze, one of the songs on their album was banned because it was too sexy for Korean television.
Block B Members Profile
Zico
Zico was born Woo Ji-ho on September 14, 1992. He’s a rapper, record producer, and songwriter. Among Block B members, he’s the leader. In November 2018, Block B’s management company, Seven Seasons announced that Zico had not renewed his contract to remain in Block B. Zico is part of the crews Buckwilds and Fanxy Child. He also has a successful solo career as a rapper. He and Kyung are childhood friends.
Kyung
Park Kyung was born on July 8, 1992, and he is the lead rapper and vocalist among Block B members. Kyung studied abroad in the US for one year and in New Zealand for two. He is childhood friends with Zico and they both produced all of Block B’s albums. Kyung also has a budding solo career having released his debut as a solo act on January 18, 2017.
P.O
Born Pyo Ji Hoon on February 2, 1993, P.O has a remarkable voice that’s deep, warm, and raspy. He is the lead rapper, vocalist, and maknae among Block B members. P.O was a regular cast member for reality show New Journey to the West 5, alongside Mino from WINNER. He also appeared in the tvN drama Encounter, starring Song Hye Kyo and Park Bo Gum.
Taeil
Taeil is the lead vocalist of the group’s four vocalists. He was born Lee Tae Il on September 24, 1990. He has a broad vocal range and can comfortably sing high notes. Taeil is part of the sub-unit T2U with U-Kwon. They debuted their mini-album, T2U, on September 26, 2018.
Jaehyo
Ahn Jae Hyo was born on December 23, 1990. Known by his stage name Jaehyo, the singer has the lowest voice of Block B’s four vocalists. On December 4, 2018, news reports announced that Jaehyo would be enlisting into the military on December 20. He will serve as a public service issue due to some health issues.
U-Kwon
U-Kwon is the stage name of Kim Yoo Kwon, born on April 9, 1992. He is a lead dancer and a vocalist among Block B members. He and Taeil are in the sub-unit T2U. He’s also in a sub-unit called Bastarz with P.O. U-Kwon started dating model Jun Sun Hye in 2012. He was awarded the Maxim K-Model Icon Idol Award in June 2017.
B-Bomb
B-Bomb’s name is a play on the Korean word for “exceptional,” and he certainly lives up to it with his mad dancing skills. He was born Lee Min Hyuk on December 14, 1990. On September 28, 2019, B-Bomb officially announced his plans to enlist in the military. He was accepted to serve as a conscripted police officer at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency. He enlisted on October 10 and plans to devote himself to his military service.
Info & Trivia About Block B
1. Upon the release of their comeback album Welcome To The Block, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family also known as the MOGEF decided to ban a handful of the group’s songs. Two of the songs in question, LOL and Did You Or Did You Not were banned by both the MOGEF as well as KBS.
2. In February 2012, Block B was attacked on social media for behaving inappropriately during an interview that had taken place in Thailand a month earlier. They had made offensive remarks regarding the flood disaster that was taking place and were criticized by other celebrities and the media. In response, the members issued letters of apology and released a video on their YouTube channel. As a result of this incident also, the leader of Block B, Zico, shaved his head to demonstrate his remorse.
3. BLOCK B got off to an excellent start with its tour in Europe which was very successful, starting with the first and second concerts on February 27, 2015, and March 1, 2015, in Paris, France and Helsinki of Finland respectively. The ticket sales topped the ‘Bestselling Performance’ chart of FNAC, France’s largest on/offline advance ticket sales company, marking even higher sales than Imagine Dragons and Kendji Girac.