DPR IAN’s Journey From B-Boy to K-Pop to the Billboard 200 | Billboard the Crossover Convo
Written by djfrosty on February 23, 2025
DPR IAN has had various names, and with each name came a new sound. In the first episode of The Crossover Convo, DPR Ian shares his journey through music. From being a Daft Punk fan to entering K-pop as Rome in C-Clown, and now being independent as DPR IAN, the singer opens up about his journey with his Billboard 200 entry Moodswings in to Order and “Don’t Go Insane,” touring, his mental health, working on a new album and more!
Jeff Benjamin:
Hello and welcome to Billboard. My name is Jeff Benjamin, and I’m here in Seoul to bring you guys a very special interview. We’re going to be talking to DPR IAN today, an artist who truly defines the crossover. Thank you for talking with us. Get comfortable. You’ve crossed from B-boying to K-pop. You’ve crossed countries, from Australia, Korea …
DPR IAN:
Multitudes of countries, yes.
Yes, in the U.S. You’ve even crossed professions, you know, going from rap oriented, singing, video editing, visuals.
Wow, that is quite a lot. Having it laid out all like that, it really puts a lot of things into perspective. For me, it’s like I’ve just really been on the run, on the fly, and I haven’t really been able to process a lot of these things, and it’s been quite the journey.
You know, tell me what you’re comfortable with because I’m never sure I if I should call you, Christian or Ian or DPR?
Too many names. You could call me anything. OK so I’m called “Anything” now — just kidding. No, literally, like you just said, you pointed out there’s so many eras I’ve been through pertaining to those eras I think that’s where a lot of the names came out of. So without even me knowing, like Rome was from my C-Clown days, you know? And then it goes into Christian, which was the videography days, and now it’s Ian. So I guess, you know, I mean, Ian is perfect.
Keep watching for more!