G-DRAGON

Kwon Ji-yong, who goes by the name G-Dragon, is a South Korean singer-songwriter and rapper who has become one of the most successful purveyors of K-pop as a member of the popular hip-hop band Big Bang and as a solo artist. He was born in Seoul, South Korea, on August 18, 1988. Developed for several years by YG Entertainment, he followed his success with the band with debut album Heartbreaker in 2009. Three of his EPs have topped Billboard's World Albums Chart - One of a Kind (2012), Coup d'Etat, Pt. 1 (2013), and Kwon Ji Yong (2017), which also reached number 8 on the Independent Albums Chart, while Coup d'Etat, Pt. 2 (2013) peaked at number 2. He featured with Diplo and CL on Skrillex's "Dirty Vibe" (2015), which went to number 15 on the Hot Dance/Electronic Songs Chart, and with M.I.A. on Baauer's "Temple," which went to number 16. He had six singles on Billboard's Korea K-Pop Hot 100 including three Top 10 hits with "Crayon" (2012), "Missing You" (2012), and "Crooked"(2013). He featured on TaeYang's "Stay With Me" (2014) which peaked at number 7 on the chart. He is active in the fashion world as a philanthropist and his feature-length documentary Kwon Ji Yong Act III: Motte was released to streaming in September 2018. Later that year, he began mandatory military service and was discharged in October 2019. After becoming the first Korean artist to collaborate with Nike on the Nike Air Force 1 Para-Noise and signing a modeling contract with the beverage brand Chapai, G-Dragon reunited with BigBang on the 2022 single "Still Life," their first official release in four years. In 2023, he severed ties with YG Entertainment and signed with Galaxy Corporation while announcing a comeback album.