Jessica Hyun-ju Ho, better known by her stage name Jessi, is a Korean-American rapper, singer, and songwriter based in South Korea. She was born in New York, raised in New Jersey, and moved to South Korea at the age of 15.
In 2003, Jessi successfully auditioned for Doremi Media and moved to South Korea at age 15. She released her debut single album Get Up in 2005 and performed the title song "Get Up" on the TV seriesMusic Bank. In 2006 the hip hop groupUptown featured her in their album Testimony, replacing their original vocalist Yoon Mi-rae. Jessi's second single album, entitled "The Rebirth", was released in January 2009. After the release, she took a break from music, and left Korea to return to America. In 2014, after a 5-year hiatus, Jessi returned as a member of hip-hop trio Lucky J with rapper J'Kyun and vocalist J-Yo. Lucky J debuted with the digital single "Can You Hear Me" under YMC Entertainment in July of that year. A month after their debut, Lucky J made an appearance in Mnet's music competition program,.
2015–2018: Television roles and ''Un2verse''
From January to March 2015, Jessi was part of the first season of Unpretty Rapstar, a spin-off of the programShow Me The Money. Unpretty Rapstar is a female rapper survival program, where contestants compete for the chance to be featured on tracks in a compilation album. Jessi was chosen as the second-place winner of the show by audience vote. After her appearance on Unpretty Rapstar, Jessi was featured in JYP's single "Who's Your Mama?" and its music video, which were both released in April 2015. The track topped all nine major music charts in Korea as soon as it was released. Throughout 2015, Jessi appeared as a guest in various popular variety shows, including Running Man and Happy Together. She released her first ever solo rap single, "Ssenunni", on September 15. Jessi's first live performance in the US was held on October 16. She performed at the Belasco Theater in Los Angeles with hip-hop duo Mighty Mouth as her opening act. When Unpretty Rapstar 2 aired, Jessi appeared in several episodes as a mentor. She and Cheetah, the winner of the previous season, were also featured in Unpretty Rapstar 2 tracks produced by Verbal Jint. In December 2015, Jessi performed her song "Ssenunni" at the Mnet Asian Music Awards. In 2016, Jessi starred as one of the permanent members in season one of popular Korean variety show, Sister's Slam Dunk. In 2017, Jessi released another rap single, "Gucci" from her first mini-album, entitled Un2verse, both of which released on July 13. In 2018, Jessi starred on Yo! MTV Raps. The show aired on MTV Asia on July 6. On the same day, she released a single titled "Down". According to Soompi, AOMG producer Gray took part in producing the track.
Jessi's contract with YMC Entertainment ended in October 2018, and in January 2019, she signed a contract with PSY's record label P-Nation. Her first single under the label, "Who Dat B," was released on September 23, 2019. "Who Dat B" peaked at number eight on the World Digital Songs Sales chart and 68 on the Billboard Korea K-Pop Hot 100. She released another rap single, "Drip" featuring Jay Park, on November 2. The collaboration reached number 16 on the World Songs chart. The singer released her third extended play Nuna on July 30, 2020.
Personal life
Jessi attended Korea Kent Foreign School along with Girls' Generation members Tiffany and Jessica Jung. Former CSJH The Grace member and current solo singer Stephanie Kim also attended the same school. Jessi successfully passed an S.M. Entertainment audition, the same company her three classmates were all under. However, she chose not to become part of the label, as she believed its approach to music did not match her style. Before Jessi went on temporary hiatus from the music industry, she struggled to become accustomed to Korean culture. She did not find immediate success after her debut, and was sometimes forced to sleep in saunas when she did not have enough money for a place to stay. In 2013, during her break from the music industry, a controversy about Jessi's involvement in an alleged assault surfaced. The professed victim soon dropped the charges against the singer, and the investigation was closed.
