G-Dragon

Kwon Ji-yong (Hangul: 권지용; born August 18, 1988), also known by his stage name G-Dragon, is a South Korean singer-songwriter, rapper, record producer, entrepreneur and fashion icon known for penning chart-topping singles and his stage presence that has garnered him the title "King of K-pop". From age twelve, G-Dragon trained for six years at South Korean entertainment label YG Entertainment before debuting in 2006 as a member of the hip hop boy band Big Bang, which went on to become one of the best-selling boy bands in the world.

His first solo album Heartbreaker and its title track of the same name, both released in 2009, were commercially successful and earned him Album of the Year at the 2009 Mnet Asian Music Awards. G-Dragon collaborated with Big Bang bandmate T.O.P to release the album GD & TOP in 2010. His first EP One of a Kind (2012), was critically acclaimed and yielded three singles: "One of a Kind", "Crayon", and the chart-topper "That XX". The EP became the best-selling album by a Korean soloist, breaking his previous record with Heartbreaker, and earned Record of the Year at the 2013 Seoul Music Awards. In 2013, he embarked on his first worldwide tour as a solo artist, making him the first Korean soloist to tour Japanese dome arenas. G-Dragon was awarded Artist of the Year at the 2013 Mnet Asian Music Awards following the success of his second album Coup d'Etat (2013). His 2017 EP, Kwon Ji Yong, yielded the number one single "Untitled, 2014", and the supporting concert tour Act III: M.O.T.T.E became the largest tour ever conducted by a Korean soloist.

Widely recognized for his influence on youth culture, fashion trends, and music in South Korea, G-Dragon was named by Forbes in 2016 as the most influential person under 30 in Asia's entertainment and sports. Producing not only for his band but also for his and his bandmates' solo releases, G-Dragon has written or co-written 23 number one songs on the Gaon Digital Chart (equivalent to the Billboard Hot 100), most of which he has also co-produced.

Born and raised in Seoul, South Korea, Kwon Ji-yong began his career at age six as part of the group Little Roo'Ra. After releasing a Christmas album, the group's contract was terminated by their record company, which came as a "shock" to G-Dragon. Although he vowed to his mother that he "wouldn't [try to become a singer] again," he was scouted by SM Entertainment while on a ski trip with his family. He was a trainee under the record label for five years (from 8–13 years old), specializing in dance before he left, unclear about what he wanted to do. In third grade, Kwon was introduced to the American rap group Wu-Tang Clan by a friend. Inspired by their music, he developed an interest in rapping and began taking classes. Under People Crew's tutelage, he participated in the release of the Korean hip-hop album Flex in 2001, becoming the youngest Korean rapper at 13 years old. Although he wrote his own lyrics, he admitted that his English was weak and the story behind the lyrics was just another typical "I'm young, but I'm the best" story. Additionally, he and future fellow Big Bang member Choi Seung-hyun were "neighborhood friend[s] from middle school" and would often dance and rap together before Kwon moved away. Catching the interest of Sean of the hip-hop duo Jinusean from YG Entertainment, Kwon was recommended by him to Sean's record label's CEO Yang Hyun Suk. After signing a contract with the record label, Kwon spent the first year cleaning the studio for the other artists in the record label and fetching them water bottles during dance practice.

Kwon and another trainee, Dong Young-bae, originally planned to debut as the hip hop duo GDYB, with Kwon choosing the stage name of G-Dragon ("Ji" is pronounced like "G", and Yong is Korean for "dragon"). He made several featured appearances on other artists' albums and even released several singles with Dong under the name "GDYB." After YG Entertainment scrapped the plan and opted for a boy band instead, Kwon contacted Choi, who auditioned in. G-Dragon, Dong (who chose the stage name Taeyang), and Choi (who chose the stage name T.O.P), were paired with three other members (Jang Hyun-seung, Daesung, and Seungri).

The formation of the group was documented on television, but prior to their official debut, Jang was dropped. The now-quintet's debut was a moderate success, with their first album netting in sales of over 100,000 copies, and included G-Dragon's first solo recording, a cover of the American alternative rock group Maroon 5's single "This Love". The release of the EP Always in 2007 was a musical departure from their previous materials and saw G-Dragon's increased involvement in its production. Several songs were composed by him, including the lead-single "Lies" (Korean: 거짓말; Revised Romanization: Geojitmal), which became the group's first number one hit. Their following EPs followed its predecessor's footsteps: Hot Issue yielded "Last Farewell" (Korean: 마지막 인사; Revised Romanization: Majimak Insa) while Stand Up spawned "Day by Day" (Korean: 하루하루; Revised Romanization: Haru Haru); both singles, composed by him, were chart-toppers.Having produced the majority of Big Bang's materials, G-Dragon became involved with the production of Taeyang's debut extended play Hot (2008), after which he subsequently recorded a "Part Two" to the EP's lead single "Only Look at Me" (Korean: 나만바라봐; Revised Romanization: Naman Barabwa).

2009–2011: Solo career development, Heartbreaker, and GD & TOP

In 2009, G-Dragon was featured on singer Lexy's song "Super Fly" for her album Rush alongside Taeyang and T.O.P. He later collaborated with the Japanese boy band W-inds. for their single, "Rain Is Fallin'/Hybrid Dream". His first solo album, Heartbreaker, was initially scheduled to be released in April that year, but was pushed back to August to coincide with his 21st (Korean years: 22nd) birthday. Featuring collaborations with several artists, including Teddy of 1TYM, Taeyang, Kush, CL of 2NE1, and Sandara Park of 2NE1, the album marked a change in G-Dragon's appearance as he dyed his hair blonde to match its concept. Propelled by its lead-single of the same name, an electronic pop song that sold nearly five million downloads, the album surpassed 300,000 copies sold and went on to win Album of the Year from the 2009 Mnet Asian Music Awards. Shortly after Heartbreaker's release, G-Dragon was accused of plagiarism by Sony Music when his tracks "Heartbreaker" and "Butterfly" were alleged to be similar to Flo Rida's "Right Round" and Oasis's "She's Electric", respectively. However, EMI, the record label that distributed "Right Round" said that they saw no similarities between these two songs.

On March 6, 2010, YG Entertainment announced that they personally contacted Flo Rida's representatives requesting that he feature in G-Dragon's live album, Shine a Light, to which Flo Rida accepted. In support of his album, G-Dragon staged his first solo concert at Olympic Gymnastics Arena in December 2009. The name of the concert, Shine a Light, was derived from the lyrics to his song "A Boy". The concert subsequently sparked controversy following complaints of obscenity and suggestive content. The Korean Ministry of Health, Welfare and Family Affairs later asked the government prosecutors to investigate if G-Dragon or YG Entertainment violated laws on obscene performances in his concert. He was found innocent and was cleared of all charges on March 15, 2010.

G-Dragon performing with T.O.P. in 2011

In November 2010, G-Dragon and T.O.P released their collaboration album GD & TOP. Preceding the release of the album, the duo held a worldwide premiere showcase for their album at Times Square in Yeongdeungpo of Seoul, which was also broadcast live on YouTube. To promote their album, the duo released three singles: "High High", "Oh Yeah", and "Knock Out" (Korean: 뻑이가요; Revised Romanization: ''Ppeogigayo''). All three singles preceded the release of the album and achieved commercial success: "High High" scored number one on several music programs while "Oh Yeah" peaked at number two on the Gaon Digital Chart. The album was released on Christmas Eve, and debuted at number one on the Gaon Album Chart with pre-orders of 200,000 copies.

G-Dragon also formed a duo with Park Myung Soo for the Infinite Challenge Seohae Ahn Highway Song Festival 2011. They released their song "Having an Affair (Korean: 바람났어)" featuring Park Bom from 2NE1 on June 2, 2011. The song later became the second most downloaded song on the Gaon Music Chart for the year 2011. Promotional activities halted after G-Dragon tested positive for marijuana. Though a urine test back in August came back negative, a weak positive for marijuana was detected from testing the content of his hair in October. Since it was his first recorded offence with a minuscule amount of the drug, it resulted in an indictment and he was not charged. He later claimed to have accepted a cigarette offered by a fan in Japan during a party back in May, but after realizing it was not a normal cigarette, threw it away. Because he was not charged, he did not lose any endorsers and made his first public appearance after the scandal at the 2011 MTV EMAs with his group.

2012–2013: One of a Kind, world tour, and Coup d'Etat

While working on new solo materials, G-Dragon made an appearance in the Japanese version of Pixie Lott's album Young Foolish Happy, along with T.O.P. His first extended play One of a Kind was released on September 15, 2012, drawing positive reviews, placing first on the Billboard World Album Chart and entering the Billboard 200 Chart at 161. Three singles were released to support the album: the top-five hit "One of a Kind," which earned him the Best Hip Hop and Rap Song of the Year awards from the Korean Music Awards and the Rhythmer Awards respectively; the number one "That XX" (Korean: 그 XX; Revised Romanization: Geu XX); and the top-three hit "Crayon" that was ranked by Spin Magazine as the best K-Pop single of the year. The album sold over 200,000 copies, making it the highest selling solo album in Korea since the release of his debut album Heartbreaker in 2009. For his effort, he won "Best Male Solo Artist" at the 14th Mnet Asian Music Awards and "Record of the Year" for One of a Kind at the 22nd Seoul Music Awards. G-Dragon also embarked on the One of a Kind World Tour in 2013, becoming the first Korean solo artist to hold a four-dome tour in Japan and the second Korean solo artist to have a world tour (the first being Rain). The production of the tour cost $3.5 million, making it the largest scale in Korean history at the time. The tour was held in 8 countries, visited 13 cities for a total of 27 concerts gathering 570,000 fans.

After touring extensively, G-Dragon went back into the studio to record his second studio album. YG Entertainment later announced that Grammy Award-winning musician Missy Elliott will be featured on the album. Coup d'Etat (2013) was released in two parts online, with the full album released physically on September 13, featuring collaborations with Diplo, Baauer, Boys Noize, Sky Ferreira, Siriusmo, Zion.T, Lydia Paek, and label-mate Jennie Kim. G-Dragon and Missy Elliott performed the song "Niliria" (Korean: 늴리리야; Revised Romanization: Nililiya) at the KCON 2013 in Los Angeles. Six tracks from Coup d'Etat placed within the top 10 of the Gaon Digital Chart, including the number one "Who You?" (Korean: 니가 뭔데; Revised Romanization: Niga Mwonde). The best-performing single of the album was "Crooked" (Korean: 삐딱하게; Revised Romanization: Ppiddak-hage), with over 1.8 million digital downloads, which was his first solo music video to surpass 100 million views on YouTube. The title track "Coup d'Etat" (Korean: 쿠데타; Revised Romanization: ''Kudeta'') was chosen by Billboard as one of the game-changing EDM tracks of 2013. The album entered the Billboard 200, making G-Dragon the first Korean act to have multiples entries on the chart. The success of Coup d'Etat led to G-Dragon winning a total of four awards at the 15th Mnet Asian Music Awards: Best Male Solo Artist, Best Music Video for "Coup d'Etat", Best Dance Performance for "Crooked", and the highest award, Artist of The Year. He later took home the World's Best Entertainer and World's Best Album at the World Music Awards.

G-Dragon participated in the Infinite Challenge music festival again for the second time on October 17, 2013 in Imjingak, composing and performing the song "Going to Try" (해볼라고) with comedian Jeong Hyeong-don.

2014–2016: Collaborations and music producing

In 2014, he wrote and produced for other YG artists, penning the track "Good to You" from 2NE1's album Crush. He also worked with Taeyang on his second album Rise, writing and producing the lead single "Ringa Linga" and "Stay With Me", featuring on the latter track. In November 2014, G-Dragon and Taeyang formed a duo to release the single "Good Boy", which debuted at number one on Billboard's World Digital Songs chart, the third time a Korean act topped the chart after PSY and 2NE1. The single had over 1.2 million downloads in South Korea, while its music video surpassed 100 million views on YouTube, making Big Bang the first Korean male group to have three 100 million YouTube hits under its belt. In December of the same year, G-Dragon collaborated with Skrillex and Diplo for the song "Dirty Vibe", which also features labelmate CL. The single charted at number 15 on Billboard's Hot Dance/Electronic Songs and 21 on Dance/Electronic Digital Songs, making them the first Korean artists to land on the chart. In 2015, he wrote and produced a song for YG Entertainment's new rookie group iKon for their debut album Welcome Back.

G-Dragon spent the majority of 2015 and 2016 touring with his band for their third Korean album, performing for over 3.6 million fans in two years. He participated in the 2015 Infinite Challenge music festival for the third consecutive time, and the first with bandmate Taeyang. The duo teamed up with ZE:A's Hwang Kwanghee and released the single "Mapsosa", which peaked at number two on the Gaon Digital Chart, and sold 1.1 million copies by the end of the year, making it one of the best-selling songs of 2015. He appeared on the same show again the following year, for the Muhan Company special, which was a two-episode thriller movie, where he acted for the first time. Additionally, he featured in Baauer's song "Temple" from his debut album Aa (2016) along with British rapper M.I.A. The song charted at number 36 on Billboard's Dance/Electronic Digital Songs and number 26 on Hot Dance/Electronic

2017–present: Kwon Ji Yong, second world tour, and mandatory military service

G-Dragon was featured on Zion.T's song "Complex" for his album OO (2017), which peaked at number two on the Gaon Digital Chart. He also served as a guest rapper for IU's lead single "Palette," off her album of the same name which topped the Gaon Chart for two consecutive weeks. After the promotional activities with his band wrapped up, G-Dragon began preparing for the release of his new album, along with a solo concert tour.

The single "Bullshit" was set to serve as the lead single to precede the release of his second self-titled EP. Amid bandmate T.O.P's marijuana scandal and the prior single's provocative name, "Untitled, 2014" was serviced to radio instead to avoid further controversy for the artist's record label. Forgoing the traditional method of CDs, Kwon Ji Yong was released in USB flash drive format on June 8, drawing criticism from Gaon and denied being regarded as an official album. Gaon reversed its decision later that year, acknowledging the format. The release saw him topping iTunes charts in 46 countries, the most by any Korean album, including the US iTunes chart. Kwon Ji Yong also topped the iTunes worldwide album and European iTunes charts making him the first Korean soloist to do so. In the United States, Kwon Ji Yong became his best-selling album in just one day and his third entry on the Billboard 200 and first number one on the Heatseeksers Albums. Additionally, the EP became his third chart-topper and the first by a Korean soloist to spend multiple weeks atop the Billboard World Albums. In China, the album surpassed 760,000 digital units sold in a day on QQ Music, the biggest music site in the country. Six days after its release, it surpassed one million copies sold, becoming the fastest album to do so and the best-selling album of the year so far. His second world tour, Act III: M.O.T.T.E, began at Seoul World Cup Stadium on June 10, 2017 and visited 29 cities across Asia, North America, Europe and Oceania. The tour is the largest tour by a Korean artist in the United States and Europe, and is the largest concert tour ever conducted by a Korean solo artist, it was attended by 654,000 people worldwide. A behind-the-scenes documentary look at the tour was released by YouTube Premium in September 2018.

G-Dragon began his two-year mandatory military service on February 27, 2018 by entering the 3rd Infantry Division’s boot camp in Gangwon province as an active duty soldier, where he is set to be discharged on November 27, 2019 after completing the requirements. On May 17, 2018, G-Dragon was reported to have undergone surgery to his right ankle due to previous injuries. He returned to his military base a few days later. However, on June 25, 2018, South Korean media outlet, Dispatch, reported that the artist was receiving special treatment in Yangzhou Armed Forces Hospital during his stay. He was said to be resting in a hospital room dedicated to Colonels although he is only a Private First Class. Later on, his music label, YG Entertainment, as well as the Ministry of Defense released statements claiming that the allegations were false and that he was not receiving any special treatments. In the midst of the rumors, a petition has been set up in the government's website to shut down Dispatch due to the belief that the company was releasing fabricated articles in attempts to entertain people without any regards to the validity of the news as well as how the news would affect the person or people involved.

Music

Inspired by the music of Wu-Tang Clan and citing American singer Pharrell Williams as his "musical hero", G-Dragon's production discography is predominately hip hop. He has also listed Jinusean, Fabolous and Kanye West as influences. At the age of 12, he participated in the annual hip hop Flex album in an attempt jumpstart his career as a hip hop artist. When Big Bang debuted, G-Dragon produced mainly hip hop songs for their albums before the quintet branched out and experimented with electronic music, setting it as the new music trend in Korea. While the band continues to incorporate a diverse range of genre into their materials, G-Dragon focuses mainly on hip hop for his solo efforts and the two sub-units he is a part of (GD & TOP, GD X Taeyang) to contrast Big Bang's sound.

He first album Heartbreaker was a mix of dance, hip-hop, and R&B while acoustic, hip hop and electronic music influenced GD & TOP. The song "Crayon" from the EP One of a Kind is a mix between hip-hop and electronic music whereas "One of a Kind" is hip hop and pop-rap song. G-Dragon's second album, Coup d'Etat, is noted for being an eclectic mix of hip-hop, dubstep, rock, electro, and pop, with Jessica Oak from Billboard magazine describing the album's title track, which was co-produced by American DJs Diplo and Baauer, as a slow tempo trap influenced song. The song also samples Gil Scott-Heron's "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised." Meanwhile, "Crooked" was described as a "synthed-up, deliriously catchy pop-punk" with a "neon-bright" sound, fusing "heavy drumbeats and metal guitar riffs' and featuring a "heavy bass line and fully amplified sound at the chorus." In the track, G-Dragon also mixes rap with singing. "Niliria" was noted for sounding ethnic and surrealist.

Kwon Ji Yong continues to feature songs under the hip-hop and R&B genre, with the exception of its lead single, "Untitled, 2014", which is a ballad. Despite primarily being a rapper, the latter also has G-Dragon only singing over a "single piano accompaniment," with Jeff Benjamin of Fuse comparing the song to Adele's "Someone like You" for its simplicity. The intro, "Middle Fingers-Up", features a piano riff with an underlying trap beat. Act I. or "Bullshit" is a multi-layered hip-hop track characterized by a pulsating chorus and sudden beat and rhythm changes. Act II. or "Super Star" is a slow jam fused with trap, filled with brassy drums, Middle-Eastern horns, lilting synths, and a backing chorus. The outro, "Divina Commedia", is an experimental alt-R&B track which samples "Veridis Quo" from Daft Punk's 2001 album Discovery.

"I have this disease-like need to try to create something new. When you’re kind of being chased, and everything you do goes so well, you develop this sickness and a sense of need to constantly do something different."- Wikipedia