# Jay B (제이비)
**Jay B** (제이비) is the stage name of Lim Jae-beom (임재범, born 1994), a South Korean singer-songwriter best known as the leader and main vocalist of the boy group GOT7 and, since 2021, a solo R&B artist who has recorded under the names JB, JAY B, Defsoul, and Def.[1](http://lod.nl.go.kr/page/KAC201620539) The National Library of Korea's authority file registers him under his birth name with all four stage-name forms and links him to JJ Project, [Jus2](https://www.edgepedia.org/jus2), GOT7, and [JYP Entertainment](https://www.edgepedia.org/jyp-entertainment).[1](http://lod.nl.go.kr/page/KAC201620539) Bugs, the Korean streaming service, catalogs him as a singer-songwriter active since 2012 in dance/pop and R&B/soul.[2](https://music.bugs.co.kr/artist/80122877)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Birth name and date | Lim Jae-beom (임재범), born 1994[1](http://lod.nl.go.kr/page/KAC201620539) • [3](https://musicbrainz.org/artist/5946df9e-3008-4e50-8fe5-11b2db1a789d) |
| Stage names | JB (GOT7), JAY B (solo), Defsoul and Def. (producer and mixtape persona)[1](http://lod.nl.go.kr/page/KAC201620539) |
| Debut path | JJ Project (May 2012, "Bounce"), GOT7 (January 2014), Jus2 subunit (March 5, 2019, "Focus")[4](https://kpopping.com/profiles/idol/Jay-B) |
| Left JYP | January 19, 2021, on contract expiration; renamed Jay B[4](https://kpopping.com/profiles/idol/Jay-B) |
| Solo debut single | "Switch It Up" under H1GHR MUSIC, announced May 11, 2021 for release May 14[5](https://www.starnewskorea.com/music/2021/05/11/2021051118034176781) |
| Chart peak | #1 on iTunes in 44 countries; #6 US iTunes; first Korean soloist on Billboard's R&B Digital Song Sales chart at #6[6](https://wmg.jp/jayb) • [4](https://kpopping.com/profiles/idol/Jay-B) |
| First studio album | *Archive 1: [Road Runner]*, November 27, 2024, after military discharge[4](https://kpopping.com/profiles/idol/Jay-B) |
## Early life and pre-debut
Jay B was born in Siheung in [Gyeonggi Province](https://www.edgepedia.org/gyeonggi-province) and grew up in Goyang outside Seoul, according to a 2021 W Magazine interview; [MusicBrainz](https://www.edgepedia.org/musicbrainz) records his birthplace as Goyang, so the two sources differ on where he was born.[7](https://www.wmagazine.com/culture/jay-b-switch-it-up-solo-career-interview) • [3](https://musicbrainz.org/artist/5946df9e-3008-4e50-8fe5-11b2db1a789d) He found dance at age 15 through b-boying and was scouted by JYP Entertainment at the same age, then went through about five years of training before debuting as "JB," main vocalist of GOT7.[7](https://www.wmagazine.com/culture/jay-b-switch-it-up-solo-career-interview) A 2012 release called *Sixth Letter* is credited in MusicBrainz to his birth name 임재범, predating his official debut.[3](https://musicbrainz.org/artist/5946df9e-3008-4e50-8fe5-11b2db1a789d)
## GOT7 years and subunits
In May 2012 he debuted in the duo **JJ Project** alongside Jinyoung with the single album "Bounce"; both members were added to the seven-member group GOT7 in January 2014.[4](https://kpopping.com/profiles/idol/Jay-B) He led the group through its JYP Entertainment years and formed the subunit **Jus2** with Yugyeom, debuting on March 5, 2019 with the mini album *Focus*.[4](https://kpopping.com/profiles/idol/Jay-B)
On January 19, 2021 he left JYP Entertainment when his contract expired and shortly afterward adopted the stage name Jay B.[4](https://kpopping.com/profiles/idol/Jay-B) The group did not end with the contract: in an August 2022 Vogue Korea interview he said "we haven't disbanded," and that group activity would continue, noting he had released several mixtapes as Def. even while active in GOT7.[8](https://www.vogue.co.kr/2022/08/24/%eb%8b%a4%eb%a5%b8-%eb%88%84%ea%b5%ac%eb%8f%84-%ec%95%84%eb%8b%8c-%ec%a0%9c%ec%9d%b4%eb%b9%84/) In May 2021 he told W Magazine that GOT7 planned to meet around the end of June 2021 to discuss possible group plans.[7](https://www.wmagazine.com/culture/jay-b-switch-it-up-solo-career-interview)
## Solo career and the Def. persona
Star News reported on May 11, 2021 that JB would restart as JAY B under H1GHR MUSIC, the independent label run by [Jay Park](https://www.edgepedia.org/jay-park), with his first solo single due May 14.[5](https://www.starnewskorea.com/music/2021/05/11/2021051118034176781) Warner Music Japan's artist page dates the single to June 2021, while the announcement coverage reported a May 14, 2021 release.[6](https://wmg.jp/jayb) • [5](https://www.starnewskorea.com/music/2021/05/11/2021051118034176781) His first solo EP followed in August 2021.[6](https://wmg.jp/jayb)
The producer persona **Def.** is central to his songwriting pipeline. Def. is the shortened form of "Defsoul," a name he created around GOT7's debut; in slang "def" means amazing, and "soul" was inspired by the artist [Musiq Soulchild](https://www.edgepedia.org/musiq-soulchild) (Taalib Johnson).[9](https://www.kpopstarz.com/articles/297973/20210322/got7-jay-b-reveals-thoughts-leaving-jyp-entertainment-def.htm) As Def. he records with the R&B and hip-hop collective OFFSHORE and uploads material on [SoundCloud](https://www.edgepedia.org/soundcloud); he has also released music under the Def. name, while using JAY B for other solo releases.[10](https://www.clashmusic.com/features/in-conversation-jay-b/) In a March 2021 Arena Homme+ interview he described the division: popular hip-hop and R&B presented as Jay B, and mixtapes and photo exhibitions as Def.[9](https://www.kpopstarz.com/articles/297973/20210322/got7-jay-b-reveals-thoughts-leaving-jyp-entertainment-def.htm) In the Clash interview he drew the line as "where [the music is] showing what I like in a comfortable setting. For JAY B, I want to do things that fans like," adding that he would keep both personas.[10](https://www.clashmusic.com/features/in-conversation-jay-b/) MusicBrainz documents the pipeline release by release: the *1/?* mixtape series volumes 1 through 5 (2016–2019) under Defsoul, the 2022 single "Love." and EP *abandoned love.* under Def., and the 2021–2024 solo catalog under Jay B.[3](https://musicbrainz.org/artist/5946df9e-3008-4e50-8fe5-11b2db1a789d)
His first physical EP as Def., *Love.*, was released January 26, 2022, according to the Kpopping profile.[4](https://kpopping.com/profiles/idol/Jay-B) As reported there, he left H1GHR MUSIC in July 2022 and signed with CDNZA Records, releasing "Rocking Chair" and then "Be Yourself" in September 2022; during his military service he left CDNZA in April 2023 and signed with Mauve Company in October 2023.[4](https://kpopping.com/profiles/idol/Jay-B)
## Musical style and reception
At a Seoul listening session for his third EP *Tr.ee*, Jay B said "At my core, I'm an R&B artist," and cited old-school soul and funk as foundational influences.[11](https://www.koreaherald.com/article/10770671) *Tr.ee* is a six-track project pairing the R&B sound he has long favored with introspective themes of growth, relationships, and emotional uncertainty.[11](https://www.koreaherald.com/article/10770671) He told the Korea Herald that solo work gives him greater room to explore the sounds that first inspired him, in contrast to GOT7's pop, dance, and genre-blending group catalog.[11](https://www.koreaherald.com/article/10770671) The Bugs database likewise lists his genres as dance/pop and R&B/soul, spanning his group and solo work.[2](https://music.bugs.co.kr/artist/80122877) The dual-persona structure itself is part of his reception: coverage in Clash frames the Def. SoundCloud output and the JAY B label releases as two deliberate registers of the same catalog.[10](https://www.clashmusic.com/features/in-conversation-jay-b/)
## By the numbers
"Switch It Up," produced by Cha Cha Malone and featuring sokodomo, reached #1 on iTunes in 27 countries within one day of release and later in 44 countries, hit #6 on the US iTunes song chart and #3 on major Korean real-time charts, and drew about 1,075,900 Twitter mentions, according to Warner Music Japan's official page.[6](https://wmg.jp/jayb) W Magazine's account says the song topped the iTunes European and Worldwide song charts the day of release.[7](https://www.wmagazine.com/culture/jay-b-switch-it-up-solo-career-interview) On Billboard's charts, Kpopping reports that he became the first Korean soloist to enter the R&B Digital Song Sales chart, at #6, and the third Korean soloist to chart on the R&B/Hip-Hop Digital Song Sales chart, at #18.[4](https://kpopping.com/profiles/idol/Jay-B) In August 2022, Vogue Korea reported his Instagram followers at nearly 7 million, which the interviewer noted exceeded anyone in the Korean hip-hop scene, Jay Park included.[8](https://www.vogue.co.kr/2022/08/24/%eb%8b%a4%eb%a5%b8-%eb%88%84%ea%b5%ac%eb%8f%84-%ec%95%84%eb%8b%8c-%ec%a0%9c%ec%9d%b4%eb%b9%84/)
## What has changed since 2023
He served his mandatory military service, leaving CDNZA in April 2023 and signing with Mauve Company in October 2023.[4](https://kpopping.com/profiles/idol/Jay-B) After his discharge in early November 2024, he released his first studio album, *Archive 1: [Road Runner]*, on November 27, 2024.[4](https://kpopping.com/profiles/idol/Jay-B) MusicBrainz independently confirms a 2025 soundtrack credit, "EXchange4, Pt. 8 (Original Soundtrack)," under the name JAY B.[3](https://musicbrainz.org/artist/5946df9e-3008-4e50-8fe5-11b2db1a789d) Kpopping further reports that he terminated his Mauve Company contract in December 2025 and signed with 528Hz, and that his third solo EP *Tr.ee* followed; the Korea Herald's coverage of the *Tr.ee* listening session provides independent confirmation of that EP.[4](https://kpopping.com/profiles/idol/Jay-B) • [11](https://www.koreaherald.com/article/10770671)
## References
1. [제이비 — 국립중앙도서관 이름권한파일 (National Library of Korea authority file)](http://lod.nl.go.kr/page/KAC201620539)
2. [JAY B — 벅스 아티스트 정보 (Bugs artist database)](https://music.bugs.co.kr/artist/80122877)
3. [Jay B — MusicBrainz](https://musicbrainz.org/artist/5946df9e-3008-4e50-8fe5-11b2db1a789d)
4. [Jay B (GOT7) — Kpopping profile (fan-maintained; label chronology reported, not independently confirmed)](https://kpopping.com/profiles/idol/Jay-B)
5. [갓세븐 JAY B 하이어뮤직 합류 "박재범 먼저 찾아줘 감사"[공식] — Star News](https://www.starnewskorea.com/music/2021/05/11/2021051118034176781)
6. [ジェイビー / JAY B — Warner Music Japan artist page](https://wmg.jp/jayb)
7. [K-pop Star Jay B Talks Solo Career, GOT7, and Mental Health — W Magazine](https://www.wmagazine.com/culture/jay-b-switch-it-up-solo-career-interview)
8. [다른 누구도 아닌 제이비 — Vogue Korea](https://www.vogue.co.kr/2022/08/24/%eb%8b%a4%eb%a5%b8-%eb%88%84%ea%b5%ac%eb%8f%84-%ec%95%84%eb%8b%8c-%ec%a0%9c%ec%9d%b4%eb%b9%84/)
9. [GOT7 Jay B Reveals His Thoughts after Leaving JYP Entertainment — KpopStarz](https://www.kpopstarz.com/articles/297973/20210322/got7-jay-b-reveals-thoughts-leaving-jyp-entertainment-def.htm)
10. [In Conversation: JAY B — Clash Magazine](https://www.clashmusic.com/features/in-conversation-jay-b/)
11. [Jay B embraces his R&B roots for introspective third EP 'Tr.ee' — The Korea Herald](https://www.koreaherald.com/article/10770671)
---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Music scenes › East and Southeast Asian pop scenes › K-pop and the Korean popular music scene › Artists, groups, and people: K-pop and the Korean popular music scene › Third-generation idol groups › Surnames symbols to J*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 19, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 18, 2026; Sep 19, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license