Kris Wu Opens Up About The Struggles He Had As EXO Member

Kris Wu (吴亦凡) has been enjoying his solo career in China ever since leaving his former group EXO back in 2014.

The 29-year-old rapper recently had an interview with Vlad TV’s DJ Vlad. During the session, he spilled the deets on his early life, his past dream of becoming a pro-basketball player as well as his days as a member of the popular K-pop group.

When asked about his childhood days, the Guangzhou-born star open up by saying that his parents were separated since he was a baby. He also added that he never heard from his father ever since their divorce. Both Kris and her mom then migrated to Vancouver, Canada about 10 years later.

“I feel like, I’m just used to it…I’m quite independent. And being with my mom made me more mature and I was able to take things on my own. So, I think it’s actually not a bad thing for me,” said Kris, recalling his younger days. He then continued by saying, “I think it’s definitely one of the reasons why I could be here today, where I’m at because I’ve been very independent through my childhood.”

Kris also shared that he got into hip-hop music thanks to his love to basketball. “After I moved out, I started playing basketball. And Allen Iverson obviously was huge at that time,” the “November Rain” shared, before adding, “A lot of times when I’m watching NBA, hip-hop music will come on. So, I just started doing a lot of research and started searching online – trying to get something to download on my mp3 music player.”

Additionally, Kris talked about how he almost reached his dreams of becoming a professional basketball player. “I got pretty close at one point, because I was playing for the provincial team in British Columbia. I felt like I had a shot at it. But I don’t know why, my mom wasn’t being supportive at all when it comes to basketball,” he added during the chat.

Kris then recalled back to the time when he was 18, when he decided to attend the SM Global Audition held in Vancouver back in 2008. “China has a big market and they had a vision, they wanted their band to be performing and be active in China and all over China. So they wanted me to be in the group,” he shared.

The pop star further shared that he was open to a lot of experience during his short stint in the award-winning boy band. “I feel like it’s more of an experience. I definitely appreciate all the stuff, I feel like there’s good times and there’s the hard times. But I treasure every moment,” Kris said, before adding, “I feel that without that (debuting in EXO), I would never be able to be who I am today. So, it’s just part of my life that I take with me and move forward.”

Besides all the treasured moments he had with all his former members, he dished on some of the setbacks he came across as a K-pop idol. “One of the biggest problems I had was, first of all, all the schedules were super intense and I had no freedom whatsoever. And second, I guess, the thing that bothered me the most is that I had no freedom creatively. I couldn’t do the type of music that I wanted to do,” he revealed.

It is safe to say that luck was on Kris’ side after leaving EXO and also SM Entertainment. He finally got the chance to explore different ventures back in his mainland China. Aside from starring in movie roles such as “Mr. Six” (2015)  and also “Journey To The West: The Demon Strikes Back” (2017), he was able to pursue his own style of music afterwards.

“During the time when I got back, the film industry was blowing up…a lot of opportunities came in…so that’s how I got on board with the acting career and did a lot of movies at that time… I did put out singles now and then to let my fans know I’m still doing music,” Kris further added.

Check out the full interview here:

Source: Koreaboo.