Find Out More About The Controversial Female Rapper Jessi
Jessi is a Korean-American female rapper who gained huge popularity in 2015. Many people didn’t realize that she is a veteran in Korean entertainment industry having debuted as a singer in 2005. Jessi became a popular figure in variety shows after her appearance in female rapper’s survival show Mnet’s Unpretty Rapper. She was known for her straightforward character, husky voice and excellent rapping skill.
Caring less with other people’s opinions, she caused many controversies during her music career. She was charged for assaulting a Korean woman in a nightclub. Recently, she caused huge controversy due to her inappropriate airport fashion. She gained huge groups of anti-fans and ever-growing criticism for her blunt comments in variety shows. In this article, Byeol Korea will show all information about her debut in Korean music industry, controversy, discography and many more.
Full Profile of Jessi Ho
- Name : Ho Hyun-joo/Jessica Ho
- Stage name : Jessi
- Date of Birth : December 17th, 1988
- Place of Birth : New York, United States
- Height : 165 cm
- Weight : 51 kg
- Blood type : O
- Management : P Nation
- Zodiac : Sagittarius
- Chinese Zodiac : The Year of the Dragon
- Instagram : jessicah_o
Interesting Facts of Jessi Ho
- Jessi’s ideal type is actor Ha Jung-woo
- Jessi is close with Girls Generation’s Tiffany, Sistar’s Hyorin and singer Ailee
- Her surname Ho is a rare surname in Korea
- She has various tattoes on her face and ear
- She attended Korea Kent Foreign School, the same school as Girls Generation Tiffany and Jessica
- She moved to Korea when she was 15 years old.
- She was accepted as SM Entertainment trainee but decided to not joining because of different music style
- Jessi’s parents are Korean immigrants and she has two older brothers
- She was born in New York and was raised in New Jersey
- She was recommend by Suzy to feature in one of Park Jin-young’s single track
Pre-debut Story of Jessi Ho
Before debuting as a singer, Jessi dreamed of becoming a makeup artist or fashion designer. She received praise from her school teacher after hearing her singing. Her teacher said that Jessi’s voice had an African-American soul, strong and powerful. After hearing her teacher’s praise, her dream instantly changed into becoming a singer.
Jessi’s parents were highly supportive and provided her with karaoke machine and vocal trainer. Brimmed with confidence, she left United States and flew to Korea without her parents at the age of 14 years old. She wrote her own song and sent a demo tape to four entertainment agencies. All of the agencies were keen on giving her a contract. She selected Doremi Record that managed hip hop group Drunken Tiger.
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Jessi Ho’s Debut As Soloist
Jessi debuted as Jessica H.O on December 1st, 2005 by releasing a debut album titled “Get Up”. She debuted at the age of 17 years after going through a training period for two years. Jessi performed the title track “Get Up” on TV series Music Bank. Jessi revealed that Korean didn’t like her husky voice, dark skin and piercing. She removed all her piercing but she wasn’t getting any love from Korean audiences.
Jessi received a chance to feature on hip hop group Uptown Band’s album, replacing the band’s original vocalist. She released her second album titled “The Rebirth” in January 2009. Jessi returned to the United States in 2009 and took a long hiatus from music. In 2014, she came back to Korea and joined a hip-hop trio Lucky J.
Jessi Ho Appear at Mnet Unpretty Rapstar
Jessi’s popularity skyrocketed after her appearance in Mnet’s Unpretty Rapstar. Unpretty Rapstar was a female rapper survival show aired in January 2015. Being a seasoned Korean rapper that debuted in 2005, she competed with much younger junior rapper. Although she didn’t win top prize, her performance and unique character earned praised from viewers.
As the contestant with most experience, Jessi used her strong sister image and eagerly confronted other contestant. Being born and raised in United States, she conversed with a mixture of Korean and English language. In the second episode, she formed a team with two other contestants, Yuk Ji-dam and Jolly V. They were given a mission to make a video for cipher but her part got delayed and became the latest to appear causing her to flare. Due to her outburst, other contestants selected her as the worst rank. Being the worst rank, she can’t participate in a single track produced by Zico.
In the third episode, Jessi competed with Cheetah for a chance to perform in one of Verbal Jint’s songs. Cheetah won against Jessi and got paired with singer Kangnam. However, due to Jessi’s strong performance, she can perform on Verbal Jint’s song. Jessi collaborated with Cheetah to record a single track titled My Tipe that featured Kangnam in Unpretty Rapstar Compilation Album. Jessi became the runner up in Unpretty Rapstar, losing to Cheetah.
Jessi Ho Move From YMC Entertainment Into P Nation
Jessi decided to not extending her contract with YMC Entertainment after her contract ended in October 2018. In January 24th, 2019, she signed an exclusive contract with PSY’s P Nation, making her the first artist to be recruited by the new agency. Both agencies have a different music base, YMC Entertainment focused on singers, bands and actors while P Nation currently focused on hip hop music.
PSY said that he approached because he admired her rapping, singing and dancing abilities. He planned to add a touch of commercial pop music to Jessi’s hip hop image. PSY envisioned P Nation as an agency which based on hip-hop and performance but also aimed to contribute to mainstream music.