Kangnam (singer)

In this Japanese name, the family name is Namekawa.

KangNam
Background information
Birth name	Yasuo Namekawa(滑川康男)
Born	(1987-03-23) March 23, 1987 Tokyo, Japan
Genres	Hip-Hop, K-pop
Occupation(s)	singer, guitarist, pianist
Years active	2008–present
Labels	Jungle Entertainment
Associated acts	M.I.B, Cream, 5Zic, SIMS

Yasuo Namekawa (born March 23, 1987), better known by his stage name Kang-nam, is a Korean-Japanese singer. He is the vocalist and oldest member of the South Korean hip-hop group, M.I.B. He made his recording debut in Korea with the single, "Say My Name," just before his debut as a member of M.I.B.

Biography

Early life and career beginnings (1987–2010)

Kangnam was born on March 23, 1987 in Tokyo, Japan, and is half-Korean (his mother is Korean) and half-Japanese (his father is Japanese). He was born into a rich and harmonious family. Kangnam is an only child. He spent most of his childhood in Japan, and also spent some years in Hawaii. Even though his father didn’t want him to be a musician, he didn’t give up. He didn't succeed his father's business. In March 2008, Kangnam debuted with the stage name Ya-Cha as a new member of the Japanese band Kick Chop Busters (KCB). However, he left the band and Japan in 2010 for unknown reasons, without his parents' knowledge. Kangnam has stated in interviews that his family is wealthy, but he does not receive financial support from them.

School life

Kangnam attended Hawaiian Mission Academy in Honolulu for a period before transferring to another school to finish high school. He then returned to Japan to finish his studies. Kangnam briefly attended Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he majored in Communications, but he left the school to pursue music instead.

Career in Korea (2011–present)

In Korea, Kangnam debuted as a member of M.I.B (band) under the label Jungle Entertainment on October 25, 2011, with the title track "G.D.M" aka "Girls, Dreams, Money." His single track "Say My Name" was released on October 17, 2011 as part of a spin-off promotion to prove that each member is capable of standing alone. Kangnam is also an accomplished guitarist and pianist.

In 2012, Kangnam appeared in a CF for Epson, an electronics company that specializes in image-related products. Also in 2012, Kangnam took on his first acting role in the tvN sitcom "21st Century Family", and he became the host of the Japanese rendition of Mnet's Jjang.

On the October 3, 2014 episode of 'I Live Alone' Rainbow segment Kangnam revealed that he had only $3 in his bank account. In subsequent Entertainment Relay interviews, he reported that his income had increased significantly, as he became involved with more CFs and variety shows. In October 2014, Kangnam became a permanent cast member on MBC's I Live Alone. In November 2014, Kangnam became an exclusive model for the shoestore ABC Mart, alongside model Nam Joo Hyuk.

Kangnam as one of the MCs of KCON JEJU 2015

Kangnam finally saw the fruit of his labors towards the end of 2014, four years after his debut, hitting a year-end festival stage as an MC, as part of the "Lucky Boys" project for 2014 SBS Gayo Daejun. On the December 26 episode of MBC's "I Live Alone," Kangnam opened up about attending year-end festivals for the first time since his debut: "Singers usually appear on TV to sing at the end of each year. Every year, I have been watching TV thinking ‘I’ll do that next year,’ and somehow four years have passed.”

On December 26, 2014, Kangnam released his second solo track, "What Do I Do", which soared to #1 on Daum's real time charts. Kangnam also ranked #1 on several real time searches, including Naver, Melon, Mnet, and more.

In February 2015, he was appointed the honorary ambassador for the fourth KCON music festival and convention for its first time in Japan. Kangnam is also scheduled to perform at the April 22 concert. He has said that his fluency in both languages will allow him to "act as the bridge between the exchange of culture from both countries."

Solo career in Japan (2016)

Kangnam will release his Japanese solo debut single album 「Ready to Fly」 on May 25, 2016 under CJ Victor Entertainment.

Discography

For Kangnam's work with M.I.B, see M.I.B's discography.

Digital singles

Year	Title	Peak chart positions	Album
		KOR
		Gaon
2011	"Say My Name"	—	Digital single
2014	"What Do I Do"	—	Digital single
2015	"Chocolate"	—	Digital single
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that region.

Featurings

Year	Title	Peak chart positions	Sales	Album
		KOR
		Gaon
2015	"My Type" (prod. Verbal Jint)	2	KOR: 778,193+	Digital single

Filmography

Television series

Year	Network	Show	Role	Notes
2012	Mnet	W. Military AcademyIi	Himself	Main cast
	tvN	21st-Century Family	Unknown	Guest
2013	KBS	Happy Together 3	Himself	Guest (Episode 257)
	KBS	Hello Counselor	Himself	Guest (Episode 139)
2013	SBS	I Can Hear Your Voice	Thief	Cameo (episode 17)
2014	MBC	I Live Alone	Himself	Guest (episode 73, episode 75) Regular Cast (Episode 77)
	JTBC	Inside Story Salon	Himself	Main Cast
	MBC	Hello! Stranger	Japanese Representative	Regular Cast
	SBS	Pinocchio	Song Cha-ok's student	Cameo (Episode 20)
	SBS	Running Man	Himself	Guest (Episode 220, Episode 248)
	MBC	Animals	Himself	Main cast
2014-2015	JTBC	Off to School	Himself	Regular Cast
2015	KBS	Invisible Man	Himself	Main Cast
	Mnet	Unpretty Rapstar	Himself	Guest (Episode 3)
	MBC	King of Mask Singer	Contestant	Episode 37 (with the stage name "Musical Prodigy Conductor Mozart")
	SBS	Running Man	Himself	Guest

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Nominated work	Result
2014	MBC Entertainment Awards	New Star of the Year	I Live Alone	Won

External links

• Official Website
• Official Japanese Website
• Kangnam on Twitter