As the first hip-hop act to sell 700,000 copies of a single in South Korea, Jinusean pioneered the development of K-rap during the late 1990s and early 2000s. The duo formed in 1997 in Seoul, South Korea. Bandmates Kim Jin-woo (known as "Jinu") and Noh Seung-hwan (known as "Sean") had both performed publicly in different projects before teaming up, with Jinu releasing the single "I Was The Captain" as a solo act in 1994 and Sean working as a backup dancer for the multi-platinum K-pop act Seo Taiji and Boys. Together, they debuted with the song "Gasoline" in 1997, followed shortly thereafter by the career-launching hit single "Tell Me." The band's self-titled debut album, Jinusean, was also released in March 1997, with the gold-certified sophomore record The Real following 10 months later. Despite winning a Golden Disc Award as well as a Seoul Music Award in 1997, Jinusean didn't reach the Top 10 until the release of 1999's Taekwon V, which reached number 4 in South Korea. The Reign charted at the same position two years later, with both albums selling a combined 500,000 copies. With guest appearances by American rappers like Cypress Hill and Mobb Deep, The Reign also nodded to Jinusean's growing popularity in the international hip-hop market. Despite this momentum, Sean and Jinu launched a lengthy hiatus after releasing 2004's Let's Play, then reconvened in 2015 for the comeback single "Tell Me One More Time." Featuring Jang Hanna, the song was another Top 10 success, peaking at number 5 and selling more than 700,000 copies in South Korea alone.
