When Jinusean debuted back on June 14, 1997, they were unlike any other group in Kpop at the time. Jinusean set the bar for what hip-hop should sound like and more importantly, what it could sound like in Korea. They were also just the second group to debut from a young YG Entertainment and would help launch the company into the powerhouse it is today.

The name Jinusean is an amalgamation of the names of the two members, Kim Jinu and Noh Seung-Hwan (Sean). Both members were recruited by Yang Hyun Suk of YG Entertainment as his new company at the time was focused on bringing hip-hop culture and music to the Korean mainstream. Kim Jinu had already debuted in 1994 with his song "I Was the Captain" and was living in Los Angeles, CA when he joined YG and partnered with Sean to form the duo Jinusean.

Their debut album was in 1997 with the debut single, "Gasoline". It was a gangster rap influenced song with a West Coast sensibility that could be attributed to the albums producer Perry who was also the main producer for their albums. While "Gasoline" wasn't a huge hit, it introduced the mainstream audience to a different brand of music and made YG Entertainment synonymous with hip-hop in Korea.