Urban Zakapa

Urban Zakapa is a South Korean R&B trio formed in 2009 by indie label Fluxus Music. Unlike many of their contemporaries in the K-pop industry, they write and produce their own music. The band’s origins date back to 2004 when Park Yong-in, formerly of R&B/Soul group Bluewind Soul, met vocalist Jo Hyun-a at a music academy and invited her to form a songwriting duo. After bringing singer-songwriter Kwon Sun-il into the fold, Urban Zakapa (an abbreviation for Urban, Zappy, Kaleidoscopic, and Passionate) made their official debut in 2009 with the single “Coffee.” Their first EP Sweety You arrived later that year, followed by their first studio full-length 01 in 2011, reaching Number 73 on the Gaon Albums Chart. In 2012, Urban Zakapa returned with the album 02, which shot straight to the top of the South Korean charts aided by the Top 10 singles “I Hate You” and “All the Same.” Preceded by the single “Walk Backwards,” 03 came out in December 2013 and placed at Number 11 on the domestic charts. Their fourth album 04 (2014) went to Number 8 in South Korea and spawned a lengthy national tour. Urban Zakapa scored their first Number 1 hit single with the track “I Don’t Love You,” included in their 2016 mini-album, Still, and issued their fifth album 05 in 2018. Subsequently, the group dropped the singles “Seoul Night” (2019) with Beenzino, “Settle” (2021), and “Go Back,” which entered the South Korean Top 200 at Number 180.