Bang Yong Guk, also known professionally as Jepp Blackman, is a South Korean singer, dancer, producer and former member of B.A.P (비에이피). He graduated from Yuhan Industrial High School and later obtained a bachelor's degree in Global Business Administration from Kyunghee Cyber ​​University and a master's degree in Business Administration from Soongsil University.

He made his debut in mid-2008 (under the stage name Jepp Blackman) as a member of the underground crew SOUL CONNECTION (소울 커넥션), and he featured in Maslo's single "Rhapsody". He then signed with TS Entertainment (TS엔터테인먼트) and featured in former SECRET member Song Ji Eun's single "Crazy", which became #1 in South Korea for several weeks.

The agency had already plans for him to debut as a member of their new boy group, B.A.P., but first, they decided to pair him with fellow trainee Zelo to form the sub-unit BANG & ZELO (방&젤로). They debuted in December 2011 with their self-titled single.

He made his debut in January 2012 as B.A.P's leader and main rapper with their first single, "Warrior". They debuted in Japan in October 2013 with a new version (in Japanese) of the same single.

However, in November 2014, the members announced they had filed a lawsuit against TS Entertainment, looking to nullify their contracts, claiming unfair working conditions and profit distributions. The agency denied the allegations and threatened to sue the members for defamation. In August 2015, they reached an undisclosed settlement and resumed their activities.

In August 2018, he left B.A.P after his contract expired, 6 months before the group disbanded. He made his debut as a solo artist in March 2019 with the full album, "BangYongGuk". He enlisted for his mandatory military service on August 1, 2019, and was discharged on May 18, 2021.

In September 2021, he created a one-man agency called Consent and used it to represent himself during his comeback. The agency was dissolved in late 2022.

In March 2023, he signed with YY Entertainment (YY엔터테인먼트) for his individual activities while he is still part of Soul Connection.

In June 2024, 4 B.A.P members (including him) announced plans to reunite and release new music. As they could not use the B.A.P name due to copyrights, they re-debuted as BANG & JUNG & YOO & MOON (방용국&정대현&유영재&문종업) in August 2024 with the album, "Curtain Call". For group activities, they are represented by MA Entertainment (MA엔터테인먼트).

(Source: kisskh) Edit Biography