Biography of Loco

Kwon Hyuk-woo is popularly known by his stage name Loco. He is a South Korean rapper signed to the hip-hop label AOMG, founded by the singer, rapper, and songwriter Jay Park. In 2012, he won the first season of Mnet’s rap competition Show Me the Money. He debuted with his single ‘See the Light’ on 4 September 2012.

Early Life and Education

Kwon Hyuk-woo was born on 25 December 1989. During his school days, Kanye West was his source of inspiration, which triggered him to write his own songs. He pursued his education at Hongik University. While he was in high school, he and his friends created a hip-hop group called ‘Satgotbong’. All the members while performing used to wear sauna clothes as they wanted to be different from other groups.

Career

Loco debuted with his single titled ‘See the Light’ on 4 September 2012. He has collaborated with popular and prominent artists like Hyomin, Lim Chang Jung, Crush, Hwasa, Cha Cha Malone, Jay Park, DEAN, Zion.T, Sam Kim, Elo, Simon Dominic, Baekhyun, Far East Movement, etc.

He released his extended play ‘Locomotive’ on 28 November 2014 under the label AOMG and LOEN. On 18 August 2017, he released his second extended play ‘Summer Go Loco’ under the same label as his first extended play. His third extended play was titled ‘Hello’ and was released on 7 February 2019 under the label AOMG and Kakao M. On 14 October 2020, he released his fourth extended play titled ‘Some Time’ under the label AOMG and Kakao M.

He released his studio album titled ‘Bleached’ on 25 May 2017 under AOMG and LOEN Entertainment. The album’s popular single was titled ‘Too Much’ featuring Cha Cha Malone, the American singer and a member of the b-boy crew Art of Movement. In 2014, he released his single ‘Hold Me Tight’ from the album ‘Locomotive’ featuring Crush. The single topped seven on the KOR Billboard.

In 2017, he released his single ‘Summer Go Loco’ from the album of the same name featuring Gray, the South Korean singer, rapper and record producer. He released his single ‘Its Been A While’ featuring Zion. T in 2019 from his extended play ‘Hello’. In 2020, Kwon Hyuk-woo released his single ‘Can’t Sleep’ from the album ‘Some Time’ featuring Heize, who is a South Korean singer, rapper, songwriter, composer and producer.

He not only released his own albums but has also released non-album singles. His non-album credits include ‘See the Light’ featuring Gray and ‘No More’ featuring Crush in 2012 and in 2013 ‘Take Care’ featuring Crush.

In 2015, he was the lead artist in the non-album single ‘Respect’ featuring Gray, DJ Pumkin and ‘Awesome’ featuring Jay Park and Gray. In 2016, he was the lead artist of the non-album single ‘You Too’ featuring Cha Cha Malone and ‘Still’ featuring Crush in 2016. His lead artist single credits are ‘Post It’ featuring Jay Park, ‘It Takes Time’ featuring Colde, and ‘Late Night’ featuring Gray in 2018.

In 2016, he collaborated with Gray featuring Elo for the track ‘Good’ from the non-album singles. In 2017, he collaborated with Sam Kim, the American singer-songwriter. In 2018, he collaborated with Jay Park, Simon Dominic and Gray for the single ‘Upside Down’ and the same year with Baekyun for the track ‘Young’ from the album ‘Station XO’.

Kwon Hyuk-woo collaborated with Lee Sung-kyung, the South Korean model, actress and singer for the single ‘Love’ from the album ‘Duet Mate’. In 2022, Kwon Hyuk-woo collaborated with Hwasa for the single ‘Somebody’ from the same album and with Gray and Coogie for the track ‘Sweaty’ from the album ‘Street Man Fighter’.

In 2014, he appeared in the soundtrack ‘This Song’ with Mamaoo from the album ‘My Lovely Girl’ which peaked 65 at the KOR Chart. In 2015, he featured in the soundtrack ‘Spring Is Gone By Chance’ with Yuju, which peaked number 5 on the KOR chart with a high audience reception from the album ‘The Girl Who Sees Smells’. He was featured in the soundtrack ‘Say Yes’ (2016) and ‘Star’ (2018) from the albums ‘Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo’ and ‘Memories of the Alhambra’.

His profile is not confined to singing, rapping and production alone. He has featured in multiple television roles and as a producer and judge. In 2016, he was a cast member for the South Korean television program ‘My Little Television’, where contestants develop videos to win the highest number of views. The same year, he appeared in ‘Happy Together 3’, the popular South Korean Korean variety show. He featured in 2017, a South Korean variety show titled ‘Its Dangerous Beyond The Blankets’. The show was all about homebodies, a group of people who love to stay at home and do nothing, it was under KBS2 Network.

He was a cast member of the music reality television show ‘Hyena on the Keyboard’ on KBS2 (episodes 7-8). In 2018, he was a cast member of the TV series ‘Radio Star’ by MBC.

Achievements

• He, along with Yuju, won the ‘Best OST’ at the ‘Melon Music Awards’ in 2015.
• He won the ‘Hot Trend Award’ at the 2018 ‘Melon Music Awards’ for ‘Don’t’, a collaboration with Hwasa.
• In 2018 he and Hwasa won the ‘Hot Issue Entertainment Award’ at the ‘KBS Entertainment Awards’.

Military Life

Personal Life

Loco announced through his Instagram post about his marriage with his non-celebrity girlfriend whom he met after his discharge from military service. As per the information gathered from multiple sources, he and his girlfriend have been together for almost two years. The marriage confirmation or the official date regarding their marriage is not available to the public so far.

Net Worth and Lifestyle

Loco’s net worth is estimated to be approximately 3-4 million US dollars.

His popularity boomed after winning the first season of the TV rap contest ‘Show Me The Money’. He is an active artist and a successful rapper who progressing with his albums, singles, collaborations, EP’s and with future projects. His primary source of income is from him being a professional rapper.

He lives a luxurious lifestyle and is keenly persistent in chasing his dreams. He bought his high-end luxury car after his military enlistment. His dream car is an SUV model from Lamborghine which costs around $ 200,000 USD.

Awards

• Melon Music Awards 2015
  Best OST (2015)
• Melon Music Awards 2018
  Hot Trend Award (2018)
• KBS Entertainment Awards 2018
  Hot Issue Entertainment Award (2018)

Interesting Facts about Loco

1. Kwon Hyuk-woo’s stage name means ‘crazy’. In college, he used to drink a lot before the shows, and that’s when he got the idea of the stage name Loco.
2. Kwon Hyuk-woo’s first stage name was Demaine.
3. Kwon Hyuk-woo collaborated with Punch for the Scarlet Heart OST.
4. Loco stutters when talking, and that was one of the reasons he started rapping.
5. Loco won the rapping competition show ‘Show Me The Money’ season 1.
6. He debuted as a solo artist on September 4, 2012, with the single ‘See the Light’.

FAQs

1. Is Loco in a relationship?
   He confirmed the news of getting married even though no official information is available to the public.
2. When is Loco’s birthday?
   Loco celebrates his birthday on 25 December.
3. How old is Loco?
   As of 2023, Loco is 34 years old.
4. Does Loco know English?
   Loco also speaks English.
5. Where did Loco grow up?
   He grew up in Seoul, South Korea.
6. What is Loco’s Instagram name?
   ‘@satgotloco‘ is Loco’s Instagram ID.