Bobby: 'I Wanted To Become A Versatile Artist'

The South KoreanAmerican rapper talks about the creative process behind his solo debut LP ‘Love And Fall,’ baring his soul on a public platform and wanting to visit India

- Riddhi Chakraborty

WHEN BOBBY FIRST started working on his debut album back in 2015, he was clear about what he wanted to showcase and where he wanted it to take him. In fact, there’s always been clarity. Born Kim Jiwon in Seoul before moving to America shortly after, the South Korean-American rapper quickly built a reputation as the ‘rookie foreigner’ who defied all odds to stand out in K-pop’s hip-hop-heavy scene. He initially gained attention by shooting to fame as the youngest artist to win Show Me The Money in 2014, a cutthroat rap competition on TV, and went on to carve out a space for himself in K-hip-hop via hit collaborations with the likes of Epik High, Dok2, Beenzino and more all while he was just 18 years old.

His much-awaited debut as a member of YG Entertainment’s seven-member boy group iKON soon followed in 2015, granting him mainstream K-pop stardom as well, but he was definitely far from done. “I wanted this album to be refined,” the now 21-year-old rapper tells Rolling Stone India about the goals he mapped out ages ago around his solo debut. “I also wanted to show that I could make a go at a wider spectrum of music genres.”