Woodz
He rose to fame as a main rapper in the South Korean-Chinese boy band Uniq, formed by Yuehua Entertainment in 2014, before co-founding the musical collectives M.O.L.A in 2015 and Drinkcolor in 2016.Following the group's disbandment on January 6, 2020, in the aftermath of the Mnet vote manipulation investigation, Woodz resumed his solo career by releasing his first EP Equal on June 29, 2020, with the lead single "Love Me Harder" (파랗게).[7] As a teenager, he played as a main striker for Sport Club Corinthians Paulista's junior affiliate team for two years;[5][8] as is customary for Brazilian football players, he adopted a Portuguese mononym, Luizinho.[15] He enrolled in Hanlim Multi Art School in the Practical Dance Department one year late due to his time overseas.[27][28] As the group's main rapper and sub-vocalist, Woodz was involved in Uniq's musical direction from their debut, penning his own rap verses and other lyrics for their Korean releases.[33][34] On August 14, 2015, the formation of the musical collective M.O.L.A was announced via the release of the song "My Way" on YouTube,[35] featuring Woodz as one of its founding members alongside 15&'s Park Ji-min and producer Nathan.[39] After his appearance on Show Me the Money 5, he co-founded the production crew Drinkcolor alongside fellow producers Eden, Oddtom, and M.O.L.A member Nathan on July 26, 2016.[40] Woodz made his solo debut under the stage name Luizy three days later, on July 29, with the self-produced hip-hop single "Recipe", a collaboration with rapper Flowsik.[50][51] Yuehua Entertainment announced that he would officially start using the stage name Woodz during his promotions as a soloist in May 2018;[52] he released the digital single "Pool" on May 12, 2018,[52] followed by "Different" on July 21.The team is composed of manager Lee Il-kyu, stylist Kim Hyup, graphic designer Robbroy, and co-producer and fellow M.O.L.A member Nathan.[80] Due to a vote manipulation controversy involving multiple Mnet franchises including Produce X 101, the group ultimately disbanded on January 6, 2020."Recipe", released shortly after his elimination from Show Me the Money 5, was noted to express "ambition" and defiance in the face of public scrutiny,[102] while "Baby Ride" was characterized as a "cool, cheerful" song that helps listeners "escape the midsummer heat".[41] Contrasting aspects of love and relationships were often themes of his subsequent releases as Woodz: "Pool" was described by Status Magazine as a "gleeful", "jubilant love song";[12] his follow-up single "Different" explored coming to terms with a break-up due to mutual incompatibility, with Maeil Business Newspaper writing that the song's lyrics are a "direct expression of the word 'different'".[53] Compared to his previous work, however, Woodz's single "Meaningless" was described as a "darker" record that tackles more personal and "existential" themes; critics also noted that the song discussed mental health, a topic often considered taboo in South Korea.