This 2 Days & 1 Night Star is the Founder of the Newest Kpop Label THE L1VE??
Ravi is second from the left.
Image credit: KBS2
If you hear the name Ravi, you might think of the maknae of popular Korean variety show 2 Days & 1 Night that stars Korean celebrities like actor Yeon Junghoon, original cast member Kim Jongmin, comedian Moon Seyoon, rookie Kim Seonho, and rapper DinDin.
Ravi (라비) is a South Korean rapper and singer under GROOVL1N.
He is a member of the boy group VIXX and their sub-unit VIXX LR.
He made his solo debut on January 9, 2017 with his first mini album R.eal1ze.
Image credit: GROOVL1N
But did you know that Ravi is also a rapper? Not only is he a rapper, he is also the founder and CEO of Hip Hop and R&B label GROOVL1N!
Image credit: THE L1VE
Most recently Ravi has announced the launch of his label THE L1VE, that has just revealed their first artist to be renowned soloist Ailee!
THE L1VE is a label that was founded to include artists of other genres and they are currently holding auditions for boys of any nationality born between 2005 and 2010. More information about the audition can be found at their Instagram, @thel1ve_audition.
While Ravi may not be the first Kpop idol to establish his own company, let us look at all work he has put in to get to where he is today: from his debut as a rapper in VIXX to the present as he opens his new label.
Ravi's History
Beginnings
Ravi's roots began in 2012 when he debuted as the rapper of VIXX under Jellyfish Entertainment. Back then, he already had a strong passion in music and even wrote his own rap in their debut song "Superhero". In 2013, he moved on to writing the full lyrics for songs like "Light Up the Darkness", where his lyrics were selected through a blind test against other established lyricists.
In the same year, Ravi released his first song "Secret Night" as the seventh song in VIXX's first mini album, Voodoo. This song was written wholly by him, and would go on to be the first of many by the artist.
Over the years, Ravi has become the most copyrighted Kpop idol with 197 songs under his belt (as of June 2021), overtaking PSY, BIGBANG'S G-Dragon, and BTS' RM.
VIXX LR
In August 2015, Ravi debuted in a subunit called VIXX LR with bandmate and main vocalist Leo. This subunit was created as an avenue to showcase the music written by both Leo and Ravi, who at that time were the most active within VIXX in terms of song writing.
Together, VIXX LR has released over 10 songs that are written by Leo and/or Ravi.
VIXX LR then had a comeback with "Whisper" in August 2017, two years after the inception of the subunit.
The duo would then go on to release a compilation album Complete LR in Japan in January 2018 that consisted of all the songs in the previous albums along with two new songs, "Poison" and the Japanese version of "Whisper".
Solo Debut
In March 2016, Ravi released his first solo mixtape R.EBIRTH on SoundCloud and YouTube. The rapper would then go on to releasing his single DamnRa featuring SAM&SP3CK on Jellyfish Entertainment's new music channel project Jelly Box.
Finally, in January 2017, Ravi officially debuted as a solo artist with his mini album R.EAL1ZE and its title track "Bomb".
By now, we all know why GROOVL1N and THE L1VE are spelled the way they are 🤣
GROOVL1N
Image credit: GROOVL1N
Following the expiration of their contracts with Jellyfish Entertainment in 2019, Ravi decided not to re-sign with the company and instead moved on to set up his own label, GROOVL1N. The name, a combination of the words groove and goblin, are meant to signify "the cool folk of the orient". Even though Ravi has left Jellyfish Entertainment, he would still be participating in VIXX's activities, just from a different company.
Image credit: GROOVL1N
Image credit: THE L1VE
After having a successful Hip Hop and R&B label for the past two years, Ravi announced on 20 July 2021 that he has set up a new label, THE L1VE to sign artists of different music genres.
With the revelation of his first artist to be Ailee, the future of THE L1VE looks promising and we are excited for the type of music him and his artists will release in the future!