The globalisation of K-pop has provided a fantastic chance for the various genres of Korean music to gain a wider audience, but it has also created a slew of misunderstandings with many people believing that every song produced in South Korea is ‘K-pop.’ While this may be an issue for some artists, BIBI (Kim Hyung-seo), a singer-songwriter and producer, has opted to use this unique dynamic to her advantage, establishing her position in the K-pop industry, as well as among more underground audiences.

BIBI has established herself in the hip-hop and R&B scene in South Korea and throughout the world, thanks to her songs with easy-sounding rhythms that address topics such as youth, mental health, sensuality and more. Join us to learn more about her beginnings, rise to fame, musical and visual style, and why you should be paying attention to BIBI, an artist who has created her own unique path.

The Beginning & The Rise

BIBI grew up in an artistic environment where creativity was abundant; her grandmother was a poet, and her father was a lyricist, songwriter and singer. She grew up surrounded by various types of music, finding herself particularly inspired by genres such as hip-hop and pop. BIBI has said she felt like an outsider and loner as a child, finding it difficult to initiate conversations with strangers and make friends, but music, especially Hip-Hop, provided a safe space for her to express herself freely.

In her teenage years, she saved her allowance to buy a microphone, downloaded some free music software, and began to record music in her tiny room. Eventually she would upload the self-produced songs to SoundCloud under the name Naked Bibi, which alludes to the nudity and innocence of a newborn and suggests her sincerity and unfiltered expression through music.

Then, one faithful day, BIBI's music caught the ears of rapper Tasha, who fell in love with her style and voice, and decided to sign BIBI to her agency. Tasha and her husband, Tiger JK, are hip-hop legends and pioneers in Korea with remarkable careers dating back to the 1990s. Nowadays they operate entertainment agency FEEL GHOOD MUSIC, which is known for detailing the contracts of their artists based on their particular needs and styles, giving them a lot of creative freedom and promoting them in both mainstream and alternative channels. Following her signing, BIBI was immediately cast as a contestant on ‘The Fan’, a music reality program on which she finished in second place, catapulting her to greater levels of fame in Korea.

After the show in 2019, she released the song 'BINU' which can be considered her formal debut. The song's lyrics seamlessly integrate Korean and English vocabulary and phonetics, as well as allusions to BIBI's past, which drew the attention of many industry artists and producers, as well as listeners.

The song's positive reaction preceded a long line of collaborations for her as a composer, rapper, and singer; all of which included her distinctive relaxed and interesting vocal colour.

In less than three years, BIBI has worked with over 15 artists, both underground and world famous; for example she co-wrote famous girl group Twice's ‘More and More’, participated in ‘Second’, a solo single by Hyoyeon, a member of the Girls' Generation, and lately one of the most significant for her career: the release of the all-English track ‘The Weekend’ in collaboration with the American music company 88rising.

The song performed well internationally, reaching #29 on Top 40 radio in the United States. On Spotify, it's been listened to over 17 million times, making her the first solo Korean female artist to reach such a high position, surpassing Lisa, a member of the K-Pop group BLACKPINK, who was ranked at #35 with the track ‘Money’. Following this accomplishment, BIBI performed at 88rising's festival 'Head In The Clouds,' leaving a huge impression on the audience.

A Hypnotic Style

BIBI is a one-of-a-kind artist who is unafraid to speak openly about love, intimacy, mental health and life, and freely expresses her ups and downs, joy and sorrow and much more in her challenging lyrical compositions. She's able to portray dark, melancholy, tragic concepts in a beautiful and artistic way with her seductive voice and smart metaphors.

Her music videos are very close to cinematographic, including storytelling as seen in her recent solo work "Life is a Bi..." released in April 2021, an EP with heavy psychological and dark lyrics. Four of the five songs have an official video, where unpleasant scenarios derived from romantic love are explored, displaying and provoking strong emotions.

With her ability to navigate both mainstream and underground channels, BIBI has the best of both worlds: giving her fans a fandom name, BIBI Bullets, and offering collectable photocards while also not worrying whether she curses, acts playful and mischievous, and makes mention of "19+" themes.

Another notable characteristic is her visual style, which is closely linked to her vision of life, as seen by her emulation of many characters in her narratives; all of them, according to her, are extensions of herself, referring to all of the various ideas and thoughts that swirl through her mind. Furthermore, if you look closely, BIBI always places two red beauty marks under her right eye; this is not just an aesthetic choice but also her way to stay grounded whenever and wherever she performs. The marks also pay homage to her late grandfather who had the same dots under his eyes and was a key role model in BIBI’s life.

The Future Holds Promise

BIBI has a lot of new challenges she wishes to pursue in the future: namely acting, webtoon writing, and more songwriting and music production, as she’s always seeking to make an impression on others and reminding us that no one is perfect and that it's okay to make mistakes. She also wants to make others proud by paving the road for future Korean underground artists to follow in her footsteps.

BIBI proves that the Korean wave and Korea’s artist repertoire is not limited to K-Pop. It's worth keeping an eye on her art and her distinct sound, style, and aesthetic. She aspires to become one of the most prolific creative minds in the world of music, not just in Korea, and make an impact in her own unique way, and we have no doubt she will achieve that goal.

We hope you enjoyed learning more about BIB and her work, if you would like to know more than you should check out her most recent work, "Best Lover," which is another collaboration with 88rising.

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Writer: Valeria Vilchis

Editor: Han (O.L)

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