Gary (rapper)

In this Korean name, the family name is Kang.

Kang Hee-gun (Korean: 강희건; born February 24, 1978),^[1] better known by his stage name Gary (Korean: 개리, often spelled as Garie^[2]), is a South Korean rapper, songwriter, record producer, entrepreneur, and television personality. Besides being a solo artist, he is also the rapper and lyricist of the former hip hop duo Leessang. Since their formation in 2002, the group has produced a total of eight albums and had several hits under their belt. In 2014, Gary made his debut as a solo artist with the mini-album Mr.Gae. Despite the album being banned by all major TV broadcast stations for its 19+ content, his songs still managed to top several charts.^{[3][unreliable source?]} He and long time collaborator Jung-in later went on to form the duo, Jung In & Gary. The two released the singles "Your Scent" and "Bicycle."^{[4][unreliable source?][5][unreliable source?]}

Gary
Born	(1978-02-24) February 24, 1978 (age 47) South Korea
Education	Yong In University
Occupations	Rapper songwriter entrepreneur record producer television personality
Spouse	Kim Se-eun ​ (m. 2017)​
Children	1 (Kang Ha-oh)
Musical career
Genres	Hip hop
Instrument	Vocals
Years active	1996–present
Labels	Leessang Company Yangbans Nation Double 8 Million Market
Korean name
Hangul	강희건
Hanja	姜熙建
Revised Romanization	Gang Huigeon
McCune–Reischauer	Kang Hŭigŏn
Stage name
Hangul	개리
Revised Romanization	Gaeri
McCune–Reischauer	Kaeri

Aside from his own work, Gary has been featured in works by famous artists such as Psy, Baek Ji-young, Lee Hyori, Dynamic Duo, and MC Mong. He is also a former cast member of the variety show Running Man.^[6]

Early life

Gary was born on February 24, 1978. His nickname in middle school was "Gae" (meaning "dog" in Korean), which he adapted to become his stage name, after deciding between "gaemi" (ant) and "Gary". In his younger years, he was more interested in dancing than rapping.^[7] Gary revealed that he participated in a dance competition and actually won, defeating other competitors, Jang Woo Hyuk and Moon Hee Jun, who eventually became members of H.O.T. Lee Soo Man scouted all three boys, and offered them a contract to SM Entertainment. Ultimately, Gary rejected the offer.^[8] Gary went to Yong In University and trained as a bodyguard.^[9][10] He was an amateur boxer for 10 years.^{[11][full citation needed]}

Musical and film career

1997–2001: X-Teen and Honey Family

In 1997, Gary joined X-Teen, a hip-hop group where he met his future Leessang partner, Gil. Gary participated in the group's album release in 1998 before being dropped along with Gil.^[12] In an interview, Gary said they had neither the look or the talent which made them quit the group.^[13]

Afterwards, Gary and Gil ended up joining "Honey Family" and released two albums in 1999 and 2000. Gary took part of the responsibility for the break up of the group by stating that he "started feeling like a celebrity" after their initial success.^[13] Gary, Gil, and fellow Honey Family member Diggity decided to form "Leessam Trio" ("sam" means "three" in Korean). They released a compilation album called 2000 Korea, in the year 2000. When Diggity left the group, Gary and Gil changed the name to LeeSsang.^[14]

2002–2017: Leessang

Main article: Leessang

Leessang was created in 2002 by Gary and Gil. So far, the group has produced eight albums with numerous hits. Although the duo achieve critical success from their earlier albums, they remained underground. Their last three albums, Hexagonal, Asura Balbalta, and Unplugged broke numerous records and guided their entry to the mainstream Korean music industry.^{[15][unreliable source?][16]} The title song from Asura Balbalta, "Turn Off the TV" managed to stay at the top of the Melon chart for 25 days in a row.^[13]

2010–2017: Running Man

In 2010, Gary joined Running Man, an urban variety show, as a co-host, along with 6 other original cast members, including Yoo Jae-suk, Haha, Ji Suk-jin, Kim Jong-kook, Lee Kwang-soo and Song Joong-ki while the only female member, Song Ji-hyo, joined the cast a few episodes afterward. The popularity of Running Man helped Gary and the rest of the cast gain international recognition.^[17]

In October 2016, the producers of Running Man announced the departure of Gary, who wanted to focus on his music career after being a regular member for a little over six years. His last filming with the main cast was for episode 324.^{[18][unreliable source?]} However, he made a brief return in the following episode 325 as a guest.

In January 2017, Gary appeared for Member's Week on episode 336.

2014–present: Solo career

In January 2014, he released a mini album, Mr.Gae.^{[19][unreliable source?]} Three major TV broadcast stations, MBC, KBS, and SBS, all deemed the album unfitting for broadcast, stating reasons such as explicit lyrics and being too sexually provocative. Despite the ban, Gary's title track "Shower Later" clenched the number 1 spot on 8 real-time music charts.^[20]

Gary later commented on the ban saying that he felt confined by his image and wanted to break the mold.

In May 2014, Gary and Jung-in released their first collaboration "Your Scent." The lyrics was penned by Gary while Jung-In and Duble Sidekick produced the music.^{[21][unreliable source?]} Despite not having any live promotions, Gary and Jung-In took the win on June 7 Music Core. In a testament to its popularity, the Gaon Chart ranked the single #6 on the year end national digital single ranking.^{[22][unreliable source?]} The two later released their second collaboration "Bicycle" in September 2014.^{[23][unreliable source?]}

In September 2015, Gary released his second solo album, 2002. The title track of the album is "Get Some Air" featuring Mi-woo of Leessang Company. Several other tracks in this album also featured Koonta, Deepflow, Skull, Jay Park, DJ Pumkin, Park Myung-ho Double K, Don Mills, Jung-in, John Park and Young-jun of Brown Eyed Souls.

In January 2016, Gary released a single, "Lonely Night" featuring Gaeko of Dynamic Duo. A music video was released on the same day, featuring actress and fellow castmate of Running Man, Song Ji-hyo. Gary was nominated as a no.1 candidate on SBS Inkigayo on January 10, 2016, and subsequently won the award.

On January 6, 2020, KBS announced that Gary would be joining the cast of The Return of Superman after a three-year broadcasting hiatus.^[24] Gary and his family appeared on the show until their departure in December.

In March 2020, Million Market revealed that they had signed a non-exclusive contract with Gary through his agency Double 8. Contract negotiations were concluded when Gary joined as a cast member of The Return of Superman.^[25]

Personal life

On April 5, 2017, Gary revealed on his social media account that he had married a non-celebrity woman known as "Miss Kim" who worked at Gary's company named 'Leessang' for 5 years before their marriage.^{[26][unreliable source?]} Their first child, a son named Kang Ha-oh was born on October 15, 2017.^{[27][unreliable source?]}

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role
2008	Dachimawa Lee	Cameo
2014	Wonderful Radio	Cameo

Television series

Year	Title	Role
2014	Emergency Couple	Cameo
2015	A Girl Who Sees Smells	Cameo with Running Man members

Variety shows

Year	Title	Notes
2010–2016, 2017	Running Man	Cast member (ep. 1–324) Guest (ep. 325, 336)
2017	Kang Ceremony[28]	Chinese reality show [29]
2020	The Return of Superman	Cast member with his son, Kang Ha-oh (ep. 315–362)[30]
2020	Law of the Jungle in Zero Point	Cast member with Kim Byung-man, Heo Kyung-hwan, Ki Do-hoon, Lee Seung-yoon [[[:ko:이승윤 (<span title="Korean-language text"><span lang="ko-Hang">희극인</span></span>)|ko]]], Pak Se-ri, Yoon Eun-hye[31]
2021	Law of the Jungle in Ulleungdo & Dokdo	Cast member with Kim Byung-man, Chanyeol, Go Joon-hee, Julien Kang, Park Mi-sun[32]
2022	Artistock Game	User agent[33]

Discography

Main article: Leessang discography

Studio albums

Title	Album details	Peak chart positions	Sales
		KOR [34]
2002	Released: September 21, 2015 Label: Leessang Company Formats: CD, digital download	3	KOR: 6,819[35]

Extended plays

Title	Album details	Peak chart positions	Sales
		KOR [34]
Mr. Gae	Released: January 15, 2014 Label: Leessang Company Formats: CD, digital download	4	KOR: 12,320[36]
2020	Released: October 15, 2020 Label: Double Eight Formats: CD, digital download

Singles

Title	Year	Peak chart positions	Album
		KOR [37]
As lead artist
"Shower Later" (조금 이따 샤워해) feat. Crush	2014	1	Mr. Gae
"Zotto Mola" (XX몰라)		5
"Get Some Air" (바람이나 좀 쐐) feat. Miwoo	2015	1	2002
"JOA" (엉덩이) feat. Jay Park		8
"Lonely Night" (또 하루) feat. Gaeko		1	Non-album singles
"Worry" (고민)	2017	61
"Sun" (태양) feat. Chancellor	2018	64
"Purple Bikini"	2019	TBA
Collaborations
"Where Do You Wanna Go" (어디 갈래) with Crush, Taewan	2013	20	Non-album singles
"Your Scent" (사람냄새) with Jung-in	2014	1
"Bicycle" (자전거) with Jung-in		6

Soundtrack appearances

Title	Year	Peak chart positions	Album
		KOR [37]
"Tantara" (딴따라) feat. Miwoo	2016	58	Entertainer OST

Featuring

Year	Artist	Song
2002	Brown Eyes	I Wanna Fall in Love With You
2004	Kim Bum-soo	About Eternity
2005	BMK	Rainbow
	Dynamic Duo	It's Alright
	Eun Jiwon	Gotta Go
2006	Jang Hye-jin	Firework
2009	Fly to the Sky	Hide and Seek
2010	Lee Hyori	Swing
	Kim Jong-kook	Come Back to Me
	Dynamic Duo	Keep The Change
2011	Primary	Happy Ending
2012	Miryo	Party Rock
	Baek Ji-young	Voice
	C-Luv, Crush	Where Do You Wanna Go?
	Kim Jong-kook	Words I Want to Say to You
	Haha, Taw	Love
2013	Jung-in	Let's Walk a Little
2014	MC Mong	Broken Fan
2015	Youngjun	Thinking of You
2016	Park Myung-ho	Bed Room
	San E	Like An Airplane
2021	Heize	Like The First Time
	TRADE L	Direction

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Nominated work	Result
2002	Mnet Music Video Festival	Hip-Hop Artist of the Year	Leessang	Won
2003		Hip-Hop Artist of the Year		Nominated
2005	Korean Music Awards	Hip-Hop Song of the Year		Nominated
2007	Mnet/KM Music Awards	Hip-Hop Song of the Year		Nominated
		Music Video of the Year		Nominated
		Song of the Year		Nominated
2007	Cyworld Digital Music Awards	Song of the Month		Won
2009		Best Collaboration of the Year		Won
	MIAK Golden Disc Awards	Hip-Hop Artist of the Year		Nominated
		Album of the Year		Nominated
	Mnet Asian Music Awards	Music Video of the Year		Nominated
		Hip-Hop Artist of the Year		Won
2010	4th SBS Entertainment Award	New Star Award	Running Man	Won[38][full citation needed]
	Cyworld Digital Music Awards	Bonsang	Leessang	Won
	Cyworld Digital Music Awards	Best Collaboration of the Year		Won
2011	MelOn Music Awards	Top 10 Artists		Won
	Mnet Asian Music Awards	Best Rap Performance		Won
	4th SBS Entertainment Award	Netizen Popularity Award	Running Man	Nominated[39][full citation needed]
2012	5th SBS Entertainment Award	Excellence Award in Variety		Won[40][full citation needed]
2013	NATE Awards	Best Couple with Song Ji-hyo		Won
	7th SBS Entertainment Awards	Best Couple Award with Song Ji-hyo		Nominated
	7th SBS Entertainment Awards	Viewer's Most Popular Award (with Running Man members)		Won
	Melon Music Awards	Rap/Hip-Hop Award	Leessang – "Tears" (Korean: 눈물)	Nominated
	MelOn Music Awards	Song of the Year		Nominated
2014	Mnet Asian Music Awards	Best Rap Performance	"Shower Later"	Nominated
		Best Collaboration with Jung-in	"Your Scent"	Nominated
	Singapore Entertainment Awards	OMY Hot Star with Song Ji-hyo[41][42]		Nominated
	2nd Annual DramaFever Awards	Best Kiss with Song Ji-hyo	Running Man	Won
		Best Couple Not Meant To Be with Song Ji-hyo		Nominated
2015	2014 Youku Night Awards	Entertainment Spirit Award[43][unreliable source?]		Won
	Mnet Asian Music Awards	Best Rap Performance[44]	"Get Some Air" (Korean: 바람이나 좀 쐐)	Nominated
		UnionPay Song of the Year[45]		Nominated
	9th SBS Entertainment Awards	Top Excellence Award in Variety with Song Ji-hyo[46]	Running Man	Won
2016	Mnet Asian Music Awards	Best Rap Performance	"Lonely Night"	Nominated
		UnionPay Song of the Year		Nominated