Kim Han-bin, in any other case often known as B.I to a legion of followers — initially from his days because the chief and fundamental producer/songwriter of boy group iKon and now as a burgeoning soloist beneath 131 Label — appears very a lot relaxed after we hop onto a Zoom name on a Tuesday (nighttime for him, morning for me). We each have smooth, quiet voices, so it places me relaxed, too, as if I am chatting with a long-distance pal.
The final time I noticed the artist, unbeknownst to him, was in March 2019 at an occasion in New York Metropolis for a Fortnite occasion hosted by Samsung. Whereas the circumstances had been fairly random, I am without end grateful I had the chance to fulfill your complete group earlier than B.I’s unlucky departure (extra on that later). A part of me regrets not telling him about this opportunity encounter throughout our name, however we’re right here to speak about his current — and a bit about his previous, which does not look like to loom over him as a lot because it as soon as did.
“I do quite a lot of issues for self-care, however I work out a bit and I have been ingesting two liters of water since two years in the past for my well being,” he tells me. “When I’ve free time, a time off, I keep house and attempt to sleep as a lot as attainable.” (Identical, although.)
However let’s be clear: B.I is just not one to remain nonetheless. “Lately I attempt to change, and the climate’s very nice exterior, so I hang around with my associates and attempt to go to locations that I’ve by no means visited,” B.I. says wistfully. “I attempt to reside a life that I used to not reside, so I need to change the best way I reside.”
After basically rebooting his profession throughout a pandemic (he was additionally named the chief director of IOK, the father or mother firm of 131 Label, within the latter half of 2020), this checks out. His ardour for work and life is extremely apparent all through our chat, and I am unable to assist however admire the truth that he can deal with a lot directly.
When requested about his temporary, half-year break from the trade following drug allegations, he takes a second earlier than saying, “I discovered that individuals can reside alone and the way treasured individuals round me are.” (For context, in South Korea, medicine are utterly unlawful and there are strict sentences for possession and consumption, amongst different offenses.)
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