B.I (rapper)

B.I
B.I on the red carpet of the 2016 Gaon Chart K-Pop Awards
Background information
Birth name	Kim Han-bin
Also known as	B.I
Born	(1996-10-22) October 22, 1996 Goyang, South Korea
Genres	K-pop, hip hop
Occupation(s)	Rapper, lyricist, composer
Years active	2013 (2013)–present
Labels	YG Entertainment (2013–present)

B.I
Hangul	김한빈
Hanja	金韓彬
Revised Romanization	Gim Hanbin
McCune–Reischauer	Kim Hanbin

Kim Han-bin (Korean: 김한빈; born October 22, 1996), better known by his stage name B.I (Korean: 비아이), is a South Korean rapper, lyricist, and leader of the boy band iKON, signed under YG Entertainment.

In 2013, he made his first television appearance in the Mnet reality program WIN: Who Is Next as a member of "Team B". He later appeared in the 2014 follow-up Mix & Match, successfully forming part of iKON's lineup alongside bandmates Jinhwan, Bobby, Junhoe, Donghyuk, Yunhyeong and Chanwoo. Also in 2014, he appeared alongside Bobby in the third season of the rap contest Show Me The Money.

He is credited in the composition of fellow YG Entertainment group Winner's debut single "Empty", as well as Epik High's No. 1 single "Born Hater". As a member of iKON, he was credited with a role in the production and songwriting of all of the tracks in their 2015 debut album Welcome Back.

Career

1996–2011: Early life and appearances

B.I was born on October 22, 1996, in South Korea. He made his first musical appearance at the age of thirteen, featuring on MC Mong's 2009 single "Indian Boy", for which he appeared in the music video and live performances. He also had a cameo appearance in MC Mong's following music video, "Horror Show".

2011–2014: WIN: Who Is Next and Show Me The Money

He joined YG Entertainment in January 2011. Along with fellow trainees Bobby and Kim Jin-hwan, he went on to form part of the six-member trainee group "Team B", participating in Mnet's 2013 reality-survival program WIN: Who Is Next. Teams A and B competed in the show for the chance to debut as a group under the name "Winner", with the losing team either disbanding or being rearranged. The show comprised three battle rounds consisting of song arrangement, dance performance, and song arrangement, after which the public voted for the winning team. B.I took the leading role over Team B and their choreography and arrangements, earning composition credits for the songs "Climax" and "Just Another Boy". Ultimately, Team B lost the competition, with Team A going on to debut as Winner.

In May 2014, YG Entertainment announced that B.I and Bobby would be competing in the third season of Mnet's rap survival program Show Me the Money. B.I joined the YG team under mentors Masta Wu and Tablo of Epik High and progressed to the top 8, releasing the self-composed single "Be I" to chart success before being eliminated in the seventh episode. In August, Winner debuted with the single "Empty", which was co-composed by B.I as a gift, and went on to top multiple music charts.

2014–present: Mix & Match and iKON

Following the end of "Show Me The Money 3", YG announced that the Team B members would be returning to compete in another reality survival show entitled "MIX & MATCH", which they had already begun filming at the same time as B.I. and Bobby are filming for Show Me the Money 3. While B.I, Bobby, and Jinhwan were confirmed for three of the seven spots available as official iKON members, the remaining three members of Team B competed with three new trainees, Jung Chan-woo, Yang Hong-seok and Jung Jin-hyeong, for the four remaining places on the team. During the airing of "MIX & MATCH", B.I earned production credits for two more songs: the Team B single "Wait for Me" as a composer and lyricist and the Epik High collaboration track "Born Hater". Along with being a featured rapper alongside Beenzino, Verbal Jint, Winner's Mino, and , B.I was credited as a co-composer alongside DJ Tukutz.

Discography and filmography

See also: iKON (South Korean band) § Discography

Singles

Year	Title	Peak chart positions	Digital Sales	Album
		KOR Gaon
2009	"Indian Boy" (MC Mong, Feat.장근이, B.I)	—		Humanimal
2014	"BE I"	5	KOR: 409,985+	Show Me The Money 3 Part 1
2014	"Born Hater " (에픽하이, Feat. Beenzino, Verbal Jint, Mino, BOBBY & B.I)	3	KOR: 852,352+	Shoebox

Music video appearances

Year	Title	Artist	Length	Album	Notes
2009	"Indian Boy"	MC Mong	3:28	Humanimal	Featuring artist
2013	"Ringa Linga"	Taeyang	3:49	RISE	Cameo
2014	"Born Hater"	Epik High	5:36	Shoebox	Featuring artist
2015	"이리오너라 (Anthem)"	B.I & Bobby	3:55	Welcome Back	Artist

Production credits

Year	Artist	Song	Role	Album
2013	Team B	"Climax"	Co-lyricist and co-composer	Win Final Battle
		"Just Another Boy"
2014	Winner	"공허해 (Empty)"		2014 S/S
	Team B	"기다려 (Wait For Me)"		기다려 (Wait For Me) – Single
	Himself	"Be I"	Lyricist and co-composer	Show Me The Money 3
	Epik High	"Born Hater"	Co-Lyricist, co-composer, melody composition and vocals	Shoebox
	iKON	"Long Time No See"	Co-lyricist and co-composer	MIX&MATCH
		"시노시작 (Sinosijak)"
2015		"취향저격 (My Type)'"		Welcome Back
		"리듬 타 (Rhythm Ta)"
		"Airplane"
		"Welcome Back"
		"오늘따라 (Today)"
		"솔직하게 (M.U.P)"
		"이리오너라 (Anthem)"
		"지못미 (Apology)"	Co-lyricist
		"아니라고 (I Miss You So Bad)"
		"왜 또 (What's Wrong?)"	Co-lyricist and co-composer
		"덤앤더머 (Dumb & Dumber)"
		"리듬 타 (Rhythm Ta) Remix [Rock Version]"
2016		"Just Go"	Lyricist and co-composer	Welcome Back – Complete Edition
		"오늘 모해 (#WYD)"	Co-lyricist	오늘 모해 (#WYD) - Single
	Black Pink	"휘파람 (Whistle)"		Square One

Filmography

Television

Year	Channel	Title	Notes
2009	KBS	You Hee-yeol's Sketchbook	with MC Mong
2013	Mnet	WIN: Who Is Next	10 episodes; premiered on August 23, 2013
2014		Show Me the Money 3	Eliminated on August 14 (episode 7)
		Mix & Match	9 episodes; premiered on September 11, 2014
2015	JTBC	Mari and I	For a whole season; with iKON's Jinhwan
	SBS	Running Man	Episode 278 & 279; with iKON's Bobby
	KBS	Happy Together 3	Episode 429; with iKON's Bobby
2016		You Hee-yeol's Sketchbook	Episode 306; as iKON