33 Facts About Tablo

Daniel Armand Lee, better known by his stage name Tablo, is a Canadian rapper, songwriter and record producer based in South Korea.

Tablo is best known as the leader and producer of South Korean hip-hop group Epik High, and the founder of independent music label Highgrnd, which housed bands Hyukoh and The Black Skirts.

Tablo became employed as a lyricist while still in high school.

Under the supervision of Tobias Wolff, Tablo graduated from Stanford University with honors in English literature and creative writing.

Tablo then moved to South Korea, where, in 2001, he formed Epik High alongside DJ Tukutz and Mithra Jin.

The group has since released 10 full-length albums and 1 EP, with Tablo having produced and co-written all the songs.

Outside of Epik High, Tablo is a record producer and songwriter for other artists and involved in collaborative projects such as Borderline, Eternal Morning, and Anyband.

Tablo is the author of the best-selling book Pieces of You, published in both English and Korean, and Blonote.

In 2016, Tablo left his radio show, MBC FM4U's Tablo's Dreaming Radio, after eleven years to focus on YG's music sub-label Highgrnd.

Tablo moved to Jakarta, Indonesia in 1980 shortly after his birth.

Tablo's family moved again to Canada when he was eight, and he gained Canadian citizenship at age 12.

Tablo started playing piano at the age of six but later switched to violin, which he played for 10 years.

Tablo wrote the lyrics to legendary singer Kim Gun-mo's song "Rainy Christmas" when he was sixteen years old, as Kim took an interest in Tablo after reading a poem of his.

However, Tablo's father disapproved of his career choice, so as a teenager, he frequently ran away from home.

Ostensibly, Tablo asked a friend to live out his dream, but when that friend died of cancer, it became an impetus for him to re-enter the music industry.

Tablo later admitted his family forced him to enroll in Stanford, and even after the release of his second album, was still persuading him to return to the United States to attend Law School.

Tablo met future bandmates Mithra Jin and DJ Tukutz while active in the underground hip-hop scene.

In late 2008, Tablo published a book entitled Pieces of You.

The book garnered a positive reception from critics, with Tablo's writing praised for a first-time author.

In November 2013, Tablo revealed in his interview with HiphopLE that "Map the Soul" was shut down due to one of its executive member embezzling the label's funds.

However, in mid-2010, a group of Internet users raised doubts about the academic background of Tablo, who majored in English and Creative Writing at Stanford University.

Tablo ultimately left Woollim Entertainment during the Tajinyo incident, not wanting to spread harm to the agency or to Infinite, who had only recently debuted when the controversy broke out.

On September 27,2011, YG Entertainment announced that Tablo would be signing a 4-year contract with them and that his first solo album would be released on November 1.

On October 14,2011, Tablo released the song "Airbag" from his new upcoming album.

On December 30,2012, during the SBS Gayo Daejun, Tablo joined fellow Epik High bandmate Mithra Jin, Dynamic Duo and Simon D for Cypher 2012, a remix of popular hip hop tracks of the year, to much acclaim.

In October 2013, Tablo joined KBS variety show The Return of Superman with his daughter Haru.

In March 2014, Tablo carried out a collaboration with China's top female singer Bibi Zhou.

Tablo married Korean actress Kang Hye-jung on October 26,2009.

Tablo has an older sister, Lee Sun-joo, who graduated from Cornell University and an older brother, Lee Sun-Min, who graduated from Brown University and Columbia University.

Tablo has been a long-time fan of hip hop music, citing an almost lifelong affair with the culture itself.

Tablo has since claimed to be the first emcee to have used the "rhyming rifle" technique.

In 2008, Tablo published a collection of short stories he had written, titled Pieces of You.

The last episode of The Tablo Podcast aired on September 4,2020, though two follow-up episodes were released in 2021 to promote the release of Epik High Is Here.