Kang Hee-gun (; born February 24, 1978), better known by his stage name Gary (, often spelled as Garie), is a South Korean rapper, songwriter, record producer, entrepreneur, and television personality. Besides being a solo artist, he is also the rapper and lyricist of the former hip hop duo Leessang. Since their formation in 2002, the group has produced a total of eight albums and had several hits under their belt. In 2014, Gary made his debut as a solo artist with the mini-album Mr.Gae. Despite the album being banned by all major TV broadcast stations for its 19+ content, his songs still managed to top several charts. He and long time collaborator Jung-in later went on to form the duo, Jung In & Gary. The two released the singles "Your Scent" and "Bicycle."
Aside from his own work, Gary has been featured in works by famous artists such as Psy, Baek Ji-young, Lee Hyori, Dynamic Duo, and MC Mong. He is also a former cast member of the variety show Running Man.
Early life
Gary was born on February 24, 1978. His nickname in middle school was "Gae" (meaning "dog" in Korean), which he adapted to become his stage name, after deciding between "gaemi" (ant) and "Gary". In his younger years, he was more interested in dancing than rapping. Gary revealed that he participated in a dance competition and actually won, defeating other competitors, Jang Woo Hyuk and Moon Hee Jun, who eventually became members of H.O.T. Lee Soo Man scouted all three boys, and offered them a contract to SM Entertainment. Ultimately, Gary rejected the offer. Gary went to Yong In University and trained as a bodyguard. He was an amateur boxer for 10 years.
Musical and film career
1997–2001: X-Teen and Honey Family In 1997, Gary joined X-Teen, a hip-hop group where he met his future Leessang partner, Gil. Gary participated in the group's album release in 1998 before being dropped along with Gil. In an interview, Gary said they had neither the look or the talent which made them quit the group.
Afterwards, Gary and Gil ended up joining "Honey Family" and released two albums in 1999 and 2000. Gary took part of the responsibility for the break up of the group by stating that he "started feeling like a celebrity" after their initial success. Gary, Gil, and fellow Honey Family member Diggity decided to form "Leessam Trio" ("sam" means "three" in Korean). They released a compilation album called 2000 Korea, in the year 2000. When Diggity left the group, Gary and Gil changed the name to LeeSsang.
2002–2017: Leessang
Leessang was created in 2002 by Gary and Gil. So far, the group has produced eight albums with numerous hits. Although the duo achieve critical success from their earlier albums, they remained underground. Their last three albums, Hexagonal, Asura Balbalta, and Unplugged broke numerous records and guided their entry to the mainstream Korean music industry. The title song from Asura Balbalta, "Turn Off the TV" managed to stay at the top of the Melon chart for 25 days in a row.
2010–2017: Running Man In 2010, Gary joined Running Man, an urban variety show, as a co-host, along with 6 other original cast members, including Yoo Jae-suk, Haha, Ji Suk-jin, Kim Jong-kook, Lee Kwang-soo and Song Joong-ki while the only female member, Song Ji-hyo, joined the cast a few episodes afterward. The popularity of Running Man helped Gary and the rest of the cast gain international recognition.
In October 2016, the producers of Running Man announced the departure of Gary, who wanted to focus on his music career after being a regular member for a little over six years. His last filming with the main cast was for episode 324. However, he made a brief return in the following episode 325 as a guest.
In January 2017, Gary appeared for Member's Week on episode 336.
2014–present: Solo career In January 2014, he released a mini album, Mr.Gae. Three major TV broadcast stations, MBC, KBS, and SBS, all deemed the album unfitting for broadcast, stating reasons such as explicit lyrics and being too sexually provocative. Despite the ban, Gary's title track "Shower Later" clenched the number 1 spot on 8 real-time music charts.
Gary later commented on the ban saying that he felt confined by his image and wanted to break the mold.
In May 2014, Gary and Jung-in released their first collaboration "Your Scent." The lyrics was penned by Gary while Jung-In and Duble Sidekick produced the music. Despite not having any live promotions, Gary and Jung-In took the win on June 7 Music Core. In a testament to its popularity, the Gaon Chart ranked the single #6 on the year end national digital single ranking. The two later released their second collaboration "Bicycle" in September 2014.
In September 2015, Gary released his second solo album, 2002. The title track of the album is "Get Some Air" featuring Mi-woo of Leessang Company. Several other tracks in this album also featured Koonta, Deepflow, Skull, Jay Park, DJ Pumkin, Park Myung-ho Double K, Don Mills, Jung-in, John Park and Young-jun of Brown Eyed Souls.
In January 2016, Gary released a single, "Lonely Night" featuring Gaeko of Dynamic Duo. A music video was released on the same day, featuring actress and fellow castmate of Running Man, Song Ji-hyo. Gary was nominated as a no.1 candidate on SBS Inkigayo on January 10, 2016, and subsequently won the award.
On January 6, 2020, KBS announced that Gary would be joining the cast of The Return of Superman after a three-year broadcasting hiatus. Gary and his family appeared on the show until their departure in December.
In March 2020, Million Market revealed that they had signed a non-exclusive contract with Gary through his agency Double 8. Contract negotiations were concluded when Gary joined as a cast member of The Return of Superman.
Personal life On April 5, 2017, Gary revealed on his social media account that he had married a non-celebrity woman known as "Miss Kim" who worked at Gary's company named 'Leessang' for 5 years before their marriage. Their first child, a son named Kang Ha-oh was born on October 15, 2017.
Filmography Film Year Title Role2008Dachimawa LeeCameo 2014 Wonderful Radio Cameo
Television series Year Title Role 2014 Emergency Couple Cameo 2015 A Girl Who Sees Smells Cameo with Running Man members
Variety shows Year Title Notes 2010–2016, 2017 Running Man Cast member (ep. 1–324)Guest (ep. 325, 336)2017Kang CeremonyChinese reality show 2020The Return of SupermanCast member with his son, Kang Ha-oh (ep. 315–362) 2020Law of the Jungle in Zero PointCast member with Kim Byung-man, Heo Kyung-hwan, Ki Do-hoon, , Pak Se-ri, Yoon Eun-hye 2021Law of the Jungle in Ulleungdo & DokdoCast member with Kim Byung-man, Chanyeol, Go Joon-hee, Julien Kang, Park Mi-sun 2022 Artistock Game User agent
Discography
Studio albums Title Album details Peak chart positions Sales KOR 2002 Released: September 21, 2015 Label: Leessang Company Formats: CD, digital download 3KOR: 6,819
Extended plays Title Album details Peak chart positions Sales KOR Mr. Gae Released: January 15, 2014 Label: Leessang Company Formats: CD, digital download 4KOR: 12,320Cumulative sales of "Mr Gae": 2020 Released: October 15, 2020 Label: Double Eight Formats: CD, digital download
Singles Title Year Peak chart positions Album KORAs lead artist:
Collaborations:
Soundtrack appearances: As lead artist "Shower Later" () 20141 Mr. Gae "Zotto Mola" (XX몰라)5 "Get Some Air" () 20151 2002 "JOA" ()8 "Lonely Night" ()1 rowspan="4" "Worry" () 201761 "Sun" () 201864 "Purple Bikini" 2019 Collaborations "Where Do You Wanna Go" () 2013 20 rowspan="3" "Your Scent" () 2014 1 "Bicycle" () 6
Soundtrack appearances Title Year Peak chart positions Album KOR "Tantara" () 201658 Entertainer OST
Featuring + Year Artist Song 2002 Brown Eyes I Wanna Fall in Love With You 2004 Kim Bum-soo About Eternity 2005 BMK Rainbow Dynamic Duo It's Alright Eun Jiwon Gotta Go 2006 Jang Hye-jin Firework 2009 Fly to the Sky Hide and Seek 2010 Lee Hyori Swing Kim Jong-kook Come Back to Me Dynamic Duo Keep The Change 2011 Primary Happy Ending 2012 Miryo Party Rock Baek Ji-young Voice C-Luv, Crush Where Do You Wanna Go? Kim Jong-kook, Haha Words I Want to Say to You Haha, Taw Love 2013 Jung-in Let's Walk a Little 2014 MC Mong Broken Fan 2015 Youngjun Thinking of You 2016 Park Myung-ho Bed RoomSan E Like An Airplane2021 Heize Like The First Time TRADE L Direction
Awards and nominations Year Award Category Nominated work Result 2002 Mnet Music Video Festival Hip-Hop Artist of the Year Leessang 2003 Hip-Hop Artist of the Year 2005 Korean Music Awards Hip-Hop Song of the Year 2007 Mnet/KM Music Awards Hip-Hop Song of the Year Music Video of the Year Song of the Year 2007 Cyworld Digital Music Awards Song of the Month 2009 Best Collaboration of the Year MIAK Golden Disc Awards Hip-Hop Artist of the Year Album of the Year Mnet Asian Music Awards Music Video of the Year Hip-Hop Artist of the Year 2010 4th SBS Entertainment Award New Star Award Running Man Cyworld Digital Music Awards Bonsang Leessang Cyworld Digital Music Awards Best Collaboration of the Year 2011 MelOn Music Awards Top 10 Artists Mnet Asian Music Awards Best Rap Performance 4th SBS Entertainment Award Netizen Popularity AwardRunning Man 2012 5th SBS Entertainment Award Excellence Award in Variety 2013 NATE Awards Best Couple with Song Ji-hyo 7th SBS Entertainment Awards Best Couple Award with Song Ji-hyo 7th SBS Entertainment Awards Viewer's Most Popular Award (with Running Man members) Melon Music Awards Rap/Hip-Hop Award Leessang – "Tears" MelOn Music Awards Song of the Year 2014 Mnet Asian Music Awards Best Rap Performance "Shower Later" Best Collaboration with Jung-in "Your Scent" Singapore Entertainment Awards OMY Hot Star with Song Ji-hyoSingapore E-Awards 2014 / 《新加坡e乐大赏》. Sgeawards.omy.sg (April 9, 2014). Retrieved on 2015-10-14.Singapore Entertainment Awards 2014 Winners . sph.com.sg 2nd Annual DramaFever Awards Best Kiss with Song Ji-hyo Running Man Best Couple Not Meant To Be with Song Ji-hyo 2015 2014 Youku Night Awards Entertainment Spirit AwardEXO, GOT7, and Kang Gary win awards at "2014 Youku Night" – Koreaboo. Koreaboo.com. Retrieved on October 14, 2015. Mnet Asian Music Awards Best Rap Performance "Get Some Air" UnionPay Song of the Year 9th SBS Entertainment Awards Top Excellence Award in Variety with Song Ji-hyo Running Man 2016 Mnet Asian Music Awards Best Rap Performance "Lonely Night" UnionPay Song of the Year
References
External links