Tablo is best known as the leader and producer of South Korean hip-hop group Epik High, and the founder of independent music label Highgrnd, which housed bands Hyukoh and The Black Skirts.

Under the supervision of Tobias Wolff, Tablo graduated from Stanford University with honors in English literature and creative writing.

He then moved to South Korea,[1] where, in 2001, he formed Epik High alongside DJ Tukutz and Mithra Jin.

Outside of Epik High, Tablo is a record producer and songwriter for other artists and involved in collaborative projects such as Borderline, Eternal Morning, and Anyband.

[13][14] Tablo later admitted his family forced him to enroll in Stanford, and even after the release of his second album, was still persuading him to return to the United States to attend Law School.

[citation needed] Tablo met future bandmates Mithra Jin and DJ Tukutz while active in the underground hip-hop scene.

Under the tutelage of Movement crew members, especially the trio CB Mass, they attempted to record their first studio album alongside hip-hop duo and close friends TBNY (composed of Yankie and TopBob); however, CB Mass member Curbin allegedly embezzled Epik High and TBNY's funds for the album, effectively causing the disbandment of CB Mass (and the creation of Dynamic Duo without Curbin).

Tablo and Epik High were finally signed by Woollim Entertainment, which at the time focused on underground hip hop and modern rock, and the group officially debuted in 2003.

Due to the numerous offers to remake "Fly", as well as "Paris", the second single from the album, a CD sampler was released in Japan.

[24][25] In November 2013, Tablo revealed in his interview with HiphopLE that "Map the Soul" was shut down due to one of its executive member embezzling the label's funds.

However, in mid-2010, a group of Internet users raised doubts about the academic background of Tablo, who majored in English and Creative Writing at Stanford University.

[9][10] Led by two fan sites, most notably "We Demand the Truth from Tablo" (Korean: 타블로에게 진실을 요구합니다), some netizens claimed that Tablo could not have graduated from Stanford University with both a bachelor's degree and master's degree in English and Creative Writing, respectively, in just three and a half years.

[31] Tablo ultimately left Woollim Entertainment during the Tajinyo incident, not wanting to spread harm to the agency or to Infinite, who had only recently debuted when the controversy broke out.

On September 27, 2011, YG Entertainment announced that Tablo would be signing a 4-year contract with them and that his first solo album would be released on November 1.

On September 27, 2012, YG officially announced through yg-life.com that Epik High would have their comeback in October 2012, after a three-year hiatus as a group.

On December 30, 2012, during the SBS Gayo Daejun, Tablo joined fellow Epik High bandmate Mithra Jin, Dynamic Duo and Simon D for Cypher 2012, a remix of popular hip hop tracks of the year, to much acclaim.

The track is from their eighth album, Shoebox, and features a myriad of hip hop artists including Beenzino, Verbal Jint, Mino of Winner, along with B.I and Bobby of iKon.

On August 31, 2015, Tablo released a teaser clip for a collaboration track with American rapper and co-founder of Pro Era, Joey Badass.

On January 26, 2017, he collaborated with Gallant and Eric Nam on the single release of "Cave Me In", and music video which was shot in Hong Kong.

[45] "Cave Me In" premiered worldwide on Zane Lowe's Beats 1 Radio Show and was trending globally on YouTube and Facebook for over 72 hours upon releasing.

In September 2022, he collaborated with Jackson Wang for a new track "Imagine" on the hip-pop competition series, Rap Of China.

His major and enduring love affair with making hip hop music was sparked later in life, however; after hearing Drunken Tiger rapping, the group Epik High was formed in 2000 at an early time in the culture's local evolution.