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Keith Ape

키스 에이프

  • Solo · Male
  • Hip-hop
  • Debuted 2011
  • Active
Debut
201102.08
Birthday
12.251993
Genre
Hip-hop

Basic info

Keith Ape is a rapper who drew international attention in 2015 with 〈잊지마 (It G Ma)〉. He was active as a member of the crew Cohort.

Debut
February 8, 2011
Birthday
December 25, 1993
Years active
2011–
Meaning of the Name
'Keith' comes from the artist Keith Haring, and 'Ape' from the Japanese clothing brand BAPE.
Genre
Hip-hop
Real name
이동헌
Debut reference
Listed by debut year rather than idol generation.

걸어온 길

He was born in Seoul. He debuted in 2011 as a featured artist and worked under the name Kid Ash.

In 2014 he released the joint album 《Project: Brainwash》 with G2. He later changed his name to Keith Ape.

On January 1, 2015, he released 〈잊지마〉 with the crew Cohort. That same year he also performed at SXSW in the U.S.

In 2018 he released the EP 《Born Again》 on 88rising. Since 2020 he has been releasing records on the label Underwater. In February 2015, American rapper OG Maco criticized 〈잊지마〉, saying it copied his song 〈U Guessed It〉 and that its music video used Black stereotypes. As of August that year, OG Maco was receiving copyright revenue from the song.

Signature songs

  1. 잊지마 (It G Ma) 2015 YouTube Spotify

Links go to each service's search results. Lyrics are not included for copyright reasons.

Key releases

  1. 2014.01 Project: BrainwashJoint albumWith G2, under the name Kid Ash
  2. 2018.10 Born AgainEP
  3. 2021.09 MOD: Ape's Basics in Time and PlayFull-length album
  4. 2022.11 Ape Into SpaceEP
  5. 2024.07 On! the RunEP

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Key records and stories

  • He debuted in 2011 by featuring on other artists' songs.
  • He previously used the name Kid Ash.
  • 〈잊지마〉 was ranked No. 5 on Billboard K-Town's list of the best K-pop songs of 2015.
  • In February 2015, OG Maco claimed that 〈잊지마〉 involved plagiarism and cultural appropriation, and he later received a share of the song's revenue.
  • His real name is Lee Dong-heon.
  • 〈잊지마〉 is a song featuring both Korean and Japanese rappers.

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Videos & music

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6 photo source(s)