The rap and hip-hop scene in South Korea has been revitalized by the appearance of young artists such as pH-1. Born Park Jun-won on July 23, 1989, in Seoul, South Korea, pH-1 spent much of his life in the United States. His family moved from South Korea to Long Island, New York, when he was 12 years old, and he went on to study biology at Boston College prior to moving back to South Korea. He was contacted by rapper and producer Jay Park to join his new record label H1GHR MUSIC, through whom pH-1 released his debut EP The Island Kid in 2017. The release was a success, establishing pH-1 as a rising star in the K-hip hop world. The Island Kid was followed by more EP releases such as Gatsby and Harry. In 2018, pH-1 participated in the seventh season of the South Korean rap competition TV show Show Me the Money, and he released the track “Orange” as part of one of the show’s promotional EPs, making it to the semi-finals. In 2019, pH-1 released his debut full-length album titled Halo, which peaked at Number 21 of the Gaon Album Chart in South Korea. This was followed by the album X in 2020.
