Tablo

Daniel Armand Lee (Korean: Lee Seon-woong; Hangul: 이선웅; born July 22, 1980), better known by his stage name Tablo (Hangul: 타블로), is a Korean-Canadian hip hop recording artist, lyricist, composer and record producer.

Tablo is best known as the leader and producer of veteran Korean hip-hop group Epik High, and the founder of independent music label HIGHGRND (High Ground), which housed bands Hyukoh and The Black Skirts.

Tablo became employed as a lyricist while still in high school.

Under the supervision of Tobias Wolff, Tablo graduated from Stanford University with honors in English literature and creative writing.

Tablo moved to Jakarta, Indonesia in 1980 shortly after his birth.

Due to his father's work, he spent around 3 years living in Jakarta before his family relocated again several times to Switzerland and Hong Kong for his father's career until Tablo was six, when they returned to South Korea briefly.

His family moved again to Canada when he was eight.

Tablo attended St. George's School in Vancouver, British Columbia.

He then transferred to Seoul International School.

As a coterminal student at Stanford University, Tablo simultaneously attained a Bachelor's Degree in English literature and a Master's Degree in creative writing in four years.

Tablo started playing piano at the age of six but later switched to violin, which he played for 10 years.

His music teacher, who had been a pupil of Isaac Stern, used to lecture him saying: "Music is communism, but you're playing democracy".

Tablo wrote the lyrics to legendary singer Kim Gun-mo's song "Rainy Christmas" when he was sixteen years old, as Kim took an interest in Tablo after reading a poem of his.

During his early life, Tablo suffered from bouts of depression.

Whenever he faced hardship, hip hop music served as an outlet.

However, Tablo's father disapproved of his career choice, so as a teenager, he frequently ran away from home.

Ostensibly, Tablo asked a friend to live out his dream, but when that friend died of cancer, it became an impetus for him to re-enter the music industry.

Tablo later admitted his family forced him to enroll in Stanford, and even after the release of his second album, was still persuading him to return to the United States to attend Law School.

While he was at Stanford, Tablo associated with an underground hip hop group, 4n Objectz.

Tablo met future bandmates Mithra Jin and DJ Tukutz while active in the underground hip-hop scene.

The three came together to form Epik High, with Tablo as their leader.

Under the tutelage of Movement crew members, especially the trio CB Mass, they attempted to record their first studio album alongside hip-hop duo and close friends TBNY (composed of Yankie and TopBob); however, CB Mass member Curbin allegedly embezzled Epik High and TBNY's funds for the album, effectively causing the disbandment of CB Mass (and the creation of Dynamic Duo without Curbin).

He then moved to Korea, where, in 2001, he formed Epik High alongside DJ Tukutz and Mithra Jin.

The group has since released 10 full-length albums and 1 EP, with Tablo having produced and co-written all the songs.

Tablo and Epik High were finally signed by Woollim Entertainment, which at the time focused on underground hip hop and modern rock, and the group officially debuted in 2003.

The group's first album, Map of the Human Soul, was released on October 21 of that year; however, due to hip hop's lack of popularity in South Korea at the time, the album was a commercial failure.

It wasn't until the release of their second album, High Society, that the group started to gain popularity.

Epik High's third album, Swan Songs, was originally intended to be their last album; however, upon release, the album reached the top of numerous charts, and swept the year-end hip-hop awards.

One of the lead singles from the album, "Fly", was featured on the soundtrack of the video game FIFA 07.

Due to the numerous offers to remake "Fly", as well as "Paris", the second single from the album, a CD sampler was released in Japan.

He made his film debut acting in Nonstop (2005).

In 2007, the group released their fourth studio album, Remapping the Human Soul, and managed to push Epik High to the number one spot for best upcoming artist after selling almost 90,000 copies in the first month of release.

The album ended up becoming South Korea's third best-selling album of 2007.

However, many songs from the album were banned from several TV channels, and the album buying age was restricted to 19+ due to some songs dealing with issues the Ministry of Culture and Tourism in South Korea deemed inappropriate for younger listeners.

The group later went on to release their next album, Pieces, Part One, which was also a commercial success.

His debut solo album, Fever's End, was released in 2011.

Outside of Epik High, Tablo is a record producer and songwriter for other artists and involved in collaborative projects such as Borderline, Eternal Morning, and Anyband.

His music incorporates numerous styles, ranging from trance, trip hop, to rock.

Tablo is also the author of the best-selling book Pieces of You, published in both English and Korean, and Blonote.

In 2016, Tablo left his radio show, MBC FM4U's Tablo's Dreaming Radio, after eleven years to focus on YG's music sub-label HIGHGRND.