Seo Taiji

Seo Taiji
Seo Taiji on October 20, 2014
Background information
Native name	서태지
Birth name	Jeong Hyeon-cheol (정현철)
Born	(1972-02-21) February 21, 1972 (age 45)
Origin	Seoul, South Korea
Genres	Pop nu metal alternative rock rap rock hip hop new jack swing
Occupation(s)	Singer-songwriter musician record producer
Instruments	Vocals guitar bass guitar keyboard synthesizer
Years active	1989–1996 1998–present
Labels	Bando Entertainment Seo Taiji Company Yedang Entertainment
Associated acts	Sinawe Seo Taiji and Boys
Website	http://www.seotaiji.com/

Jeong Hyeon-cheol (hangul: 정현철; born February 21, 1972), better known as Seo Taiji (서태지), is a South Korean singer, musician, songwriter and record producer. After dropping out of high school to pursue a music career, he has risen to become one of the most prominent and influential cultural icons in South Korea, with many referring to him as "the President of Culture".

Following a brief stint in the heavy metal band Sinawe, Taiji formed Seo Taiji and Boys in 1992 with whom he found immediate success. They introduced incorporating elements of popular musical genres from the United States and contributed considerably larger to Korean pop culture and Korean pop's development in the 1990s. Although he initially announced retirement upon disbanding the group in 1996, Taiji released his first solo album two years later and continued his successful career.

At an early age, Hyeon-cheol had a fascination with music. At 14, he participated in several amateur rock bands. He took the stage name of "Seo Taiji" at age 17, when he was recruited into the heavy metal band Sinawe as bass guitarist by Shin Daechul. He chose to drop out of school because he felt that continuing to be enrolled in school would not be useful in pursuing a career in music.

Seo Taiji and Boys was a South Korean boy band. Although also including Yang Hyun-suk and Lee Juno, Taiji was the leader and main songwriter and began his signature of mixing many different genres of music. They had several controversies with songs and lyrics, but became the first modern highly successful band in the South Korean music industry.

Two years after Seo Taiji and Boys' retirement, Taiji resumed his career as a musician. His solo career has and continues to be successful. He then returned to his true roots and perform rock music. Without any appearances or activity in South Korea, he released an album with a couple of music videos in 1998. There was some controversy over his sudden reversal of retirement, but his first Solo album Seo Tai Ji sold more than a million copies, even without any promotion in Korea. His first solo work included heavy metal and nu metal songs, but the main genre was still alternative rock. Although it was his first solo work, fans refer to it as his 5th album.