For this edition of our R&B Gem we are exploring the career of a singer, rapper and producer, who has surprised us with every single one of his releases. This week we are talking about Jiwoo.
Jeon Ji-woo officially debuted as a soloist in 2019 under the label WAVY. Before starting off his solo career, he was known as Hayake mainly for his hip-hop and producing projects.
Even after his debut he decided to use Jiwoo for his solo career, and Hayake as the producer and rapper. Under the latter he has released projects with his crew WYBH, and well-known artists such as GIRIBOY among others.
With his debut EP ‘Maison’ he decided to express “everything he wanted to say honestly” (source: namu.wiki) and decided to give a French name as he liked it a lot when learning the language.
Part of the lyrics for his title single ‘Comme des Garçons’ go as follows:
“(…) If only, if only
You’d shine like the diamond I took you for
Your surface reduced to reflections I’m looking for
You’ll show me what I want to see in me
Cause both of us got some gaps to fill (…)”
Source: Genius
Following his debut, he released the R&B single ‘ANTIRIVER’ with an immaculate vibe, and stunning instrumental. Enjoy this lovely listen below.
He came back in 2021, with his second EP ‘Esprit’, with this release he brought more experimental sounds that broadened his R&B sound, including jazz and his usual unreal orchestration.
In the MELON page, he described this release as:
“Nothing is remarkable about the mundane.
The mundane is special in that way.
Ordinary life is pure mystery,
The medium for renewal.
Here, I found Esprit.
My symbol of renewal”
The structure and flow of this release is absolutely stunning to listen to, and its songs can be listened to in another light when listeners read the description for each of them.
Evergray
His latest release is the EP ‘Evergray‘. As his previous release, Jiwoo expressed on the releases’ MELON description, a peak of the meaning behind this mini-album, stating: “We define what we desire, What we desire defines us”.
For this EP besides releasing the music video for the title song, he also released visualizers for every single of the tracks. You can watch them below.
Dive into his discography here, for unreleased singles and covers check his SoundCloud, and follow him on Instagram for AESTHETICS.
