Miss Ko

Miss Ko
Born (1985-09-05) September 5, 1985
Queens, New York, United States
Genres
Occupation(s)
Instruments Vocals
Years active 2012–present
Labels
Associated acts
Website facebook.com/OfficialMissKo

Christine "Miss" Ko (born September 5, 1985) is a Taiwanese-American rapper, singer, songwriter, and producer. She won Best New Artist at the 24th Annual Golden Melody Awards (Grammy's of Taiwan), making her the first female rap artist to ever win the award. Ko has released two albums and collaborated with major acts such as MC Hot Dog, Khalil Fong, Crowd Lu and A-mei. She is currently signed to Universal Music Group.[1]

Early life

Ko grew up in Queens, New York and attended Brooklyn Technical High School, where she took up rapping as a means to memorize her coursework.[2] At the advisement of her parents she briefly studied pre-med and law before deciding to transfer to Five Towns College, where she earned her Bachelor in Music Business and graduated as valedictorian.[3]

On September 5, 2009, Ko released her first mixtape Industry Makeover, which independently sold several thousands units, particularly in Asia. This prompted her to move to her parent's native country, Taiwan and study Mandarin at National Taiwan Normal University. While enrolled there, she entered a local songwriting competition. The song, which was uploaded onto YouTube, caught the eye of Taiwanese hip hop mogul, Dela Chang. Ko was subsequently signed to Kao Inc Records.

On November 1, 2011, Ko was involved in a traffic accident which broke her jaw and left her immobile for several months. During her recovery, she finished writing Knock Out and attributes her success to the experience.[4]

Career

2012-Present

On August 15, 2012, Ko released her debut album Knock Out, which peaked #1 on local music charts. She is the first female rapper to release a solo album in Taiwan and air her music video on MTV.

On December 31, 2014, Ko released her sophomore album XXXIII (33). XXXIII (33) includes hit singles such as "Ready, Set, Drunk" and "Selfie," which have reached over a million views on YouTube. "Selfie" was used as a commercial song for HTC.

On August 14, 2015, Ko performed and threw the ceremonial first pitch for her hometown team, Mets at Citifield.[5]

As the first female rapper to release a solo album and win a Golden Melody Award, Ko is considered a pioneer for hip hop in Asia. She holds the record for most performances by a newcomer at Taipei Arena within a year. Ko won "Most Outstanding Asian-American Youth Overseas" in 2014.[6] She is known for her role in empowering women and has been featured in Marie Claire and Elle, in addition to campaigns for Burberry, Calvin Klein, and H&M.[7]

Discography

Albums
Collaborations

Influences

Ko lists Tupac, Lauryn Hill, TLC, Michael Jackson, A Tribe Called Quest as her musical influences.[8]

Other Ventures

Philanthropy

In June 2015, Ko released a music video speaking against domestic violence. The video reached over 19,000 shares on Facebook .[9]

References

  1. ↑ "葛仲珊不當饒舌鄧麗君 跳槽當環球小姐". 時中電子報. April 14, 2016.
  2. ↑ "Miss Ko Bio". Reverb Nation. September 5, 2015.
  3. ↑ "Graduates from, to all walks of life, Hundreds at three LI ceremonies put a cap on their college careers yesterday, and new paths await". Newsday. May 20, 2007.
  4. ↑ "Miss Ko Bounces Back From Disaster For a Hip Hop Knock Out". MTV Iggy. January 15, 2015.
  5. ↑ "MLB》大都會台灣之夜昨登場 葛仲珊「饒」著開球（影音）". 自由時報. August 16, 2015.
  6. ↑ "戴日基和葛仲珊榮膺「海外優秀青年」". Epoch Times. March 31, 2014.
  7. ↑ "Burberry風衣藝術展派對". Elle Taiwan. September 12, 2014.
  8. ↑ "[ELLE]放浪音樂─馬念先&葛仲珊 Let's Get Hyper". Elle. October 3, 2013.
  9. ↑ "Let It Go: Miss Ko Sings out Against Domestic Violence". SinoVision English Channel Archives. July 2, 2015.

Links


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