Teddy Park (born Park Hong-jun on September 14, 1978) is a Korean–American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Born in Seoul, South Korea, Park moved to the United States with his family as a young child. When he was 17 years old, Park and his friend Danny flew to South Korea during summer vacation to audition for YG Entertainment. Both were signed immediately, and after finishing high school in the States, moved to Korea to pursue music.
In 1998, Park debuted in the hip hop group 1TYM with his friend Danny, Jinhwan, and Baekyoung. Together, the group recorded five studio albums with Park as their primary songwriter and producer. After his performing career with 1TYM ended in January 2006, Park became an in-house producer for YG Entertainment and co-founded The Black Label in 2016. He has co-produced and co-written songs for YG artists such as Jinusean, Seven, Big Bang, 2NE1, Lee Hi, Blackpink and Jeon Somi, as well as Uhm Jung-hwa and Sunmi.
Life and career
Early life
Park was born in Seoul, South Korea, but moved to New York City as a young child. He learned the piano as a child, but as he grew up, he was more interested in playing the guitar and beatboxing. After his father was transferred to Diamond Bar, California, Park attended Diamond Bar High School and became friends with future bandmate Danny Im. Growing up, the two sang together at karaoke bars and tinkered with recording equipment. They were discovered when they were teenagers by a producer who worked with Yang Hyun-suk, founder of YG Entertainment. After auditioning for Yang and sending in demo tapes, the two were signed to his newly established label, and moved to South Korea. Although Park enrolled in a university when he returned to South Korea, he dropped out to focus on his career.
1998–2006: Work with 1TYM
Park and Im were joined by rappers Jinhwan and Baekyoung and debuted as 1TYM in 1998 with the album, One Time for Your Mind. It became one of the best-selling albums of the year and won several major awards. After the first album, Park began to have more input into the songs, and had a more prominent role in producing. In 2000, 1TYM released their second album 2nd Round. The songs 'One Love' and '쾌지나 칭칭' (Let's Sing and Dance Together), which he wrote and produced, won first place on TV music programs. This was followed by Third Time Fo' Yo' Mind in 2001. In 2003, 1TYM released their fourth album Once N 4 All, which yielded two singles: "Hot 뜨거", an up-beat hip-hop track with reggae rhythms, and "Without You", an emotional R&B ballad. The group went on a two-year hiatus in which member Im embarked on a brief solo career under the name of Taebin. The group reunited for the album One Way in 2005, their fifth and last studio album, before going on hiatus due to Jinhwan's mandatory military service. Their albums have sold a combined total of 780,000 copies.
Though they were predominately hip hop artists, 1TYM was influenced by reggae and R&B. 1TYM along with the duo Jinusean were credited for bringing hip hop music and YG Entertainment to the mainstream. At 22 years old, Park also began producing for other artists on the label, most of whom were much older and more experienced than him.
2006–present: Producer for YG Entertainment
With 1TYM on hiatus, Park transitioned into the role of producer for other YG artists, his first major contribution being "La La La" for Seven's album Sevolution. He also collaborated with Big Bang for several of their songs, most notably "Sunset Glow." When BigBang member Taeyang embarked on a solo career in 2008, Park produced his extended play, Hot. The following year, Park produced "Lollipop" for a collaboration between BigBang and 2NE1. The song went on to top the Gaon Chart during April.
Park would go on to have a hand in producing a majority of 2NE1's work, including their debut extended play, 2NE1 (2009) and studio album, To Anyone (2010). Two of the three main singles, "Can't Nobody" and "Go Away," from the latter were also composed by Park. To continue producing for 2NE1, Park rejected an offer to work with Lady Gaga. He collaborated with Seven again to produce the promotional single "Better Together," in addition to other songs for the EP Digital Bounce (2010) and was featured in G-Dragon's song "The Leaders." He also had a role in Taeyang's solo album Solar, including the singles "Where U At" and "Wedding Dress." At the end of the year, Park also participated in the production of GD & TOP's album, and co-composed both "High High" and "Oh Yeah".
In 2011, he wrote and produced 2NE1's second EP 2NE1, scoring three number-one hits: "Lonely", "I Am the Best", and "Ugly".