Jo Sung-woo (; born December 18, 1989), better known by his stage name Code Kunst (), is a South Korean composer and music producer. In 2015, he released his second studio album Crumple and joined Highgrnd. In 2017, he released his third studio album Muggles' Mansion. In 2018, he signed to AOMG and appeared as a judge alongside Paloalto on Show Me the Money 777. He released his fourth studio album People in 2020 and won Producer of the Year at the Korean Hip-hop Awards in 2021. In 2023, he released his fifth studio album Remember Archive.
Early life and education Jo Sung-woo was born on December 18, 1989, in Yeonsu, Incheon. He became interested in hip hop after listening to Nas' "Doo Rags". He decided to pursue a career in music after serving in the military. He studied design at Dong-ah Institute of Media and Arts, but got expelled.
The word "Kunst" means "Art" in German, so the stage name Code Kunst has a meaning of "the music I produced will become arts."
Career
2013–2017: Signing to Highgrnd In 2013, Code Kunst released his debut single "Lemonade", starting his music career relatively late in his life. Upon being asked whether he was nervous about his career in the beginning, he said, "At first, I wasn't nervous because in the beginning I was really going to do music as a hobby. I was already somewhat old and I didn't have the skills at first, but I felt that I needed to hurry. I'm too late, I'm too late... this thought was so strong. So I made the decision to spend the years I was 24 and 25 years old, 2 years--2 years, let me use that as if it were 4 years."
In April 2015, he released his second studio album Crumple, which was later nominated for Best Rap Album at the Korean Music Awards. In September 2015, Code Kunst joined the label HIGHGRND under YG Entertainment due to the impact of Tablo. He specifically cited Tablo's willingness to work together in person, such as on tracks like "Hood" featuring Tablo and Joey Bada$$, made him believe HIGHGRND was a good label for him. He released his third album Muggles' Mansion in February 2017, which received critical acclaim.
2018–2023: Signing to AOMG Code Kunst left HIGHGRND and joined AOMG in June 2018. In September 2018, he officially appeared in the Korean Hip-Hop survival show Show Me the Money 777 as one of the judges. "Good Day", a song he composed on the show, received positive reviews from critics. Loopy and Kid Milli from his team won second and third place in Show Me the Money 777.
In 2019, Code Kunst, along with Jay Park, Simon Dominic, Woo Won-jae, and Gray, appeared as judges on the audition program Signhere started by Korean Hip-hop label AOMG and MBN. In the same year, he appeared in another Hip-hop reality survival program High School Rapper 3. He was in the same team with The Quiett. Together they produced "Go High" (feat. Changmo, Woo Won-jae), sang by female rapper Lee Young-ji, who became the final winner to the show.
Code Kunst released his fourth studio album People in 2020. In the same year, he was announced as a producer for 'Show Me the Money 9' along with Paloalto as a team. In 2021, he won Producer of the Year at the Korean Hip-hop Awards. He then appeared as a winning producer for Show Me the Money 10 along with Gaeko of the rap group Dynamic Duo.
In 2023, he released his fifth studio album Remember Archive.
2024–present
On May 31, 2024, it was announced that Code Kunst co-founded the independent label "duover" with Gray and Woo Won-jae, with the three artists serving as co-CEOs and former AOMG planning and production director Hwang A-ram joining as general director.
Television Jo has appeared on I Live Alone as a regular cast since 2022. For his appearance on the show, he won the Rookie Award in 2022 and Popularity Award in 2023 at the MBC Entertainment Awards.
In March 2024, Jo was announced as one of the panelists for South Korean dating reality show, My Sibling's Romance.
Artistry Code Kunst said that looking at his mother's paintings while growing up has greatly influenced and aided him in visualizing music. Additionally, in an interview-style conversation with fellow AOMG member Punchnello, he has said that he draws musical inspiration from the simple and common experiences of everyday people which he also had before signing with larger labels (including "financially troubling situations and the kinds of things that happen in such situations"). As a result, he thought signing with a label too early might hinder his ability to experience the things regular people go through in their mid-20s. For similar reasons, he had decided to name his 2017 album, "Muggles' Mansion." Specifically he has said that the world "muggles" has two meanings to him, one which means very common and one that does not. For the album he wanted to "tell common stories with sources that reflect myself, yet includes sounds which aren't so common."
He adds a lot of vocal chopping in his music which became one of his unique music styles. Rolling Stone India commented that "he takes deep dives into old-school blues, rock, soul and hip-hop, tying it all neatly together with his signature vocal chopping techniques and flawless loops of instrumentals."
He cited Mac Miller as his biggest influence.
Philanthropy In 2020, Code Kunst donated to the Official George Floyd Memorial Fund, stating that Black music made a big impact on his life.
Personal life Code Kunst has two cats named Panda and Sheero.
Filmography
Television shows Year Title Role Notes 2018 Show Me the Money 777Judge and producer2019 Signhere High School Rapper 3 2020 King of Mask Singer ContestantShow Me the Money 9Judge and producer 2021 Show Me the Money 102022–presentI Live AloneRegular cast 2023 My Friends Are Smarter Than Me Host Sing Again Judge Season 3 2024My Sibling's RomanceHost 2025 Good Day Cast member
Web shows Year Title Role Notes 2022 Change Days Host Season 2 Witch Hunt 2022
Music video appearances Year Song Title Artist 2021 "Lipstick" Lee Hi (feat. Yoon Mirae)
Discography Studio albums Title Album details Peak chart positions Sales KORCircle Chart peaks:
NovelReleased: April 7, 2014 Label: Luminant Entertainment Formats: CD, digital download — CrumpleReleased: April 28, 2015 Label: Luminant Entertainment Formats: CD, digital download 34KOR: 864 Muggles' MansionReleased: February 28, 2017 Label: HIGHGRND, Genie Music Formats: CD, digital download 26KOR: 1,231 People Released: April 2, 2020 Label: AOMG, Kakao M Formats: CD, digital download, streaming 10 KOR: 6,466Remember Archive Released: March 16, 2023 Label: AOMG Format: CD, Digital download 19 KOR: 12,784Cumulative sale of Remember Archive:"—" denotes releases that did not chart.
Extended plays Title EP details Hear ThingsReleased: June 28, 2013 Label: Genuine Music Formats: CD, digital download
Singles Title Year Peak chart positions Album KORCircle Digital Chart peak positions
"Parachute": "Beside Me": "XI": "Flower": "For the Gone": "55": "Jumper" and "Circle": "Lemonade" feat. Blnk-Time 2013 — Hear Things "1-2" feat. C Jamm — "Betting" feat. Don Mills 2014 — Novel "Edison" () feat. Nucksal 2015 — Crumple "Golden Cow" feat. C Jamm and DJ SQ — "Hood" feat. Tablo and Joey Badass — "Parachute" feat. Oh Hyuk and Dok2 24 Muggle's Mansion "Beside Me" feat. BewhY, YDG and Suran 2016 92 "Fire Water" feat. G.Soul and Tablo 2017 — "Rain Bird" feat. Colde and Tablo 2018 —rowspan="4" "Bless"feat. Loco and Woo Won-jae—"XI"feat. Lee Hi2019199"Too Late"feat. JMSN—"Treat Her Better"feat. Niia—All About Us"Joke!"Feat. C Jamm and Simon Dominic2020—People"Knock"feat. Baek Ye-rin— "Flower" () feat. Jay Park, Woo and Giriboy 140"For the Gone" ()with Choi Jung-hoon and Simon Dominic106rowspan="5" "You Get Off"2021—"Cheers" ()with Lee Chan-hyuk, Colde and Sogumm—"Take Me"with Meenoi2022—"The Ball Is Round"with Woo Won-jae and Jeon So-yeon—"Bad Bad"(feat. Tabber and Jay Park)2023—Remember Archive"55"(feat. Baek Ye-rin and Wendy)99"Jumper"(feat. Gaeko and Mino)102"Circle"(feat. Crush)183"—" denotes releases that did not chart.
Awards and nominations AwardYearNomineeCategoryResultRef. Blue Dragon Series Awards 2024 My Sibling's Romance Best Male Entertainer Brand Customer Loyalty Awards2023HimselfMultitainer – MaleKorean Hip-hop Awards2018Muggles' MansionHip-hop Album of the YearHimselfProducer of the Year2019202120222024Korean Music Awards2016CrumpleBest Rap Album MBC Entertainment Awards 2022Himself Rookie Award – Male 2023Popularity Award – Reality
References
External links Code Kunst on AOMG