Tiger JK

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Tiger JK (born July 29, 1974; as Seo Jung-kwon Korean: 서정권, Hanja: 徐廷權) is a Korean-American rapper, record producer and entrepreneur best known as one of the founding members of hip-hop group Drunken Tiger. He is the founder and former CEO of Jungle Entertainment an imprint distributed by CJ E&M. JK and Drunken Tiger are also noted collaborators of various South Korean hip-hop artists, and are the basis of the South Korean hip-hop joint movement known as simply "Movement" or "The Movement". He has released nine studio albums under Drunken Tiger, and continues to collaborate with that said group today.

His legendary status extends beyond that of South Korea, and is often compared with famed American rappers in terms of style and lyrical content. He and Drunken Tiger are also considered the true pioneers of the hip-hop scene in South Korea (the other said pioneer being Yang Hyun-suk).

Early life

Jung-kwon was born in Seoul, South Korea on July 29, 1974 the first of three siblings born to South Korean parents. At age twelve he and his family immigrated to the United States where the family briefly lived in Miami, Florida (an area with few South Korean residents) where he practiced Taekwondo and earned his 5th rank black belt in 1990. The family later moved to California and was raised in Los Angeles, where he attended and graduated from Beverly Hills High School where he was racially discriminated. As a teen living in Los Angeles he witnessed the violence between Korean Americans and African Americans during the 1992 Los Angeles Riots; JK was determined to close the gap between the two races within his community with his rhymes. He later attended and graduated from UCLA, with a major in English.