YG producer Perry missing case draws TV appeal after 16 years
Summary
SBS investigative program Unanswered Questions has appealed in public for information on rapper and producer Perry, who has been missing for 16 years. The program said he was last seen in Los Angeles in 2010 and asked anyone who knows his whereabouts or is in contact with his family to come forward. Perry, a Korean hip-hop pioneer from Oakland, California, helped shape YG Entertainment’s early sound and later disappeared from the music scene after working on BIGBANG’s Japanese single Beautiful Hangover.
Key Facts
- Perry, whose full name is Perry Thomas Borja, hails from Oakland, California and entered the Korean hip-hop scene in the 1990s.
- He worked on songs for Jinusean, 1TYM, Lexy and SE7EN, helping shape YG Entertainment’s hip-hop sound.
- He released a solo rap album in 2001 and disappeared from the music scene after working on BIGBANG’s 2010 Japanese single Beautiful Hangover.
- In 2021, a person claiming to be Perry’s nephew said on social media that the family had filed a missing-person report with the U.S. Department of State.
Producers seek leads on the Oakland native who shaped Jinusean and BIGBANG before vanishing in Los Angeles
A graphic released by SBS investigative program "Unanswered Questions" appeals for public tips on the whereabouts of rapper and producer Perry, who has been missing for 16 years. Captured from SBS' "Unanswered Questions" Instagram
Producers of the SBS investigative program "Unanswered Questions" have asked the public for information on the whereabouts of rapper and producer Perry (Perry Thomas Borja), an early musical pioneer for YG Entertainment who has been missing for 16 years.
The production team posted an appeal on its official social media account Thursday, saying, "We are seeking information from anyone who knows the current whereabouts of Perry, who was active in Korea's music scene from the mid-1990s and is reported missing after he was last seen in Los Angeles in 2010, or from anyone in contact with his family."
Perry, who hails from Oakland, California, is a rapper and producer who entered the Korean hip-hop scene in the 1990s. He helped shape YG Entertainment's defining hip-hop sound, working on songs for acts including Jinusean, 1TYM, Lexy and SE7EN.
He released a solo rap album in 2001 and disappeared from the music scene after working on BIGBANG's 2010 Japanese single "Beautiful Hangover."
Perry was reportedly last seen in Los Angeles that year and his whereabouts have remained unknown since. In 2021, a person claiming to be Perry's nephew said on social media that the family filed a missing-person report with the U.S. Department of State, prompting online speculation about his disappearance. With the program's appeal now public, attention has returned to his unresolved case.
This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.
Explore More
- Q.
- Q.
- Q.