G-Dragon

Kwon Ji-yong (Hangul: 권지용; born August 18, 1988), better known as G-Dragon (Hangul: 지드래곤; shortened as GD), is a South Korean rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, composerundefined, entrepreneur, and leader of South Korean boy group BIGBANG.

Life and career
G-Dragon was born on August 18, 1988 in Seoul, South Korea.

In his childhood, he debuted in MBC's children's program Bbo Bbo Bbo, and when he turned 7 he was a member of the group Little Roora but its contract terminated.

After training for 5 years, G-Dragon went on to be trained by YG Entertainment at the age of 12, along with fellow labelmate Taeyang. During their time as trainees, they were called GDYB and made many collaborations with other members of the YG Family. At first YG, seeing the friendship between them, thought of debuting them both as a hip-hop duo, but after seeing T.O.P, Seungri, Daesung and Hyunseung, they thought about debuting them together. On August 19, 2006, G-Dragon debuted with BIGBANG, and was made the leader. His solo career began in 2009 when he released his first album Heartbreaker. He then continued releasing other single albums, such as 'One of a Kind' (2012), 'Coup D'Etat' (2013) and 'Kwon Ji Yong' (2017). He formed duos with both Taeyang and T.O.P.

Studio albums

 * Heartbreaker (2009)
 * Coup d'Etat (2013)

Collaborative albums

 * Hiphop Flex (2001)
 * GD &amp; TOP (with T.O.P) (2010)

Extended plays

 * One of a Kind (2012)
 * Kwon Ji Yong (2017)

Live albums

 * Shine a Light (2010)
 * 1st World Tour Commemorative Vinyl LP – One of a Kind (2013)
 * 2013 G-Dragon World Tour Live CD (2013)
 * 2013 G-Dragon 1st World Tour The Final (2013)

Collaborations

 * "Good Boy" (with Taeyang) (2014)
 * "Mapsosa" (with Taeyang & Hwang Kwanghee) (2015)

Japanese

 * Coup d'Etat [+ One of a Kind &amp; Heartbreaker (2013)

Gallery
Main page: G-Dragon/Gallery

Trivia

 * He and Taeyang are childhood friends.
 * He has a sister named Kwon Dami.
 * He trained in SM Entertainment for five years, and in YG Entertainment for six years.
 * He became a rapper when he was 13 years old, making him the youngest South Korean rapper at the time.
 * He chose the stage name "G-Dragon" because the "Ji" in his name is pronounced similarly to the letter "G", and "Yong" is Korean for "Dragon".
 * One of the other possible reasons for his stage name is to keep his stage persona different from who he is in real life:
 * G-Dragon on stage is glamorous, cocky, and energetic.
 * Kwon Ji-yong in real life is shy, modest, and understated.
 * His zodiac sign is Leo and his Chinese zodiac sign is Dragon.
 * He is a childhood friend of T.O.P and Kangin of Super Junior.
 * When he was a trainee, his best friend was JunK of 2PM.
 * G-Dragon can speak English, but back when he was a trainee, he admitted that his English was bad.
 * His favorite food is ganjang gaejang (Crab preserved in soy sauce).
 * His favorite colors are black and red.
 * His lucky number is 8.
 * His favorite artists are Pharrell Williams, Jay-Z, Blackstreet, Wu-Tang Clan, Beyonce, and Rihanna.