DPR LIVE

Merging melodic rap with giddy pop and psychedelic tendencies, Korean rapper and singer DPR Live emerged in the mid-2010s. His debut EP, early 2017's Coming to You Live, landed in the Top 15 of the Billboard World Albums chart in addition to charting in Korea. The rapper's first long-player, Is Anybody Out There?, peaked at number five in Korea in 2020, and he climbed a spot higher a year later with the EP Iite Cool. DPR Live is the stage alias of Seoul-born Hong Da-bin, who grew up partly in Guam. After serving his mandatory military service in South Korea, he scrapped plans to go to college and put his focus on continuing to write and develop his music. He debuted with "Till I Die" in 2015, following it with collaborations with Punchnello and others before releasing Coming to You Live in 2017. After reaching number 14 on Billboard's World Albums chart and number 31 in Korea, the EP was supported by a tour of the same name. Later in 2017, the follow-up, the five-track Her, climbed to eight on the World Albums chart and 24 in Korea. Following a string of one-off singles, including "Action!" featuring Gray, he went all the way to number five on the Korean album chart with his full-length debut, 2020's Is Anybody Out There? His next release was another EP, Iite Cool. It returned him to the Korean Top Five in 2021. ~ Marcy Donelson, Rovi