Solid (band)

History

Joon Lee and Jaeyoon Chong grew up together in Orange County, California, where their families went to the same church. Johan Kim met Lee at a public library in Fountain Valley after Lee noticed Kim dancing by himself; they quickly became friends, and Lee later brought Kim to his church, where Kim met Chong. The three teenagers connected over their shared love of b-boying and music, deeply influenced by the West-coast hip-hop scene of the 1980s and 1990s. They were acquainted with members of L.A. Boyz and helped out during the early production of that group's albums: Chong contributed songs, Lee worked as a turntable scratch DJ, and Kim sang in the chorus. One day at the L.A. Boyz recording studio, the three started singing together on the spot, which caught the ear of L.A. Boyz's manager. A Taiwanese management company then approached them about debuting as a Taiwanese act, with an extra Taiwanese member added to the lineup. Seeing their own potential as a group, the trio also sent a demo tape to South Korea. Just one day before they were set to sign with the Taiwanese company, a Korean management firm called IM Communications got in touch, and the three were able to launch their career in their homeland. The group officially came together in late 1992. In May 1993, they traveled to Korea, and their first album, Give Me a Chance, came out on December 15, 1993, with production by Ho-il Jang of 015B. Getting the album out was a struggle, and promoting it proved just as tough for the young Korean Americans, who found everything in Korea unfamiliar. Since they were still students, they had to go back to California schools soon after the album dropped. When they returned to Korea in May 1994 to promote it, they ran into conflicts with their management, making marketing and promotion nearly impossible. The album was seen as too American and didn't catch on with Korean listeners. Still, Give Me a Chance sold around 60,000 copies by word of mouth while the trio was back in California. Though it wasn't a hit at first, the group started getting noticed by other musicians in the Korean scene. They performed as guests on 015B's second concert tour, Strikes Back, in 1994, and worked with artists like Susie Kang, Hyejin Jang, Jongshin Yoon, and 015B.