I don't know what I would have been doing if I was not in YG, but I think I would be doing something artistic.
— G-Dragon
We always focus on the quality of music because as long as the content is good, then the interest will be there.
I occasionally rapped along to some homegrown Korean rap. And then a friend introduced me to Wu-Tang and played me 'Enter the 36th Chambers.' It was very shocking. And then I started to look for different albums. This was pre-Internet, so it's hard to find the music, and it was even harder to find music videos.
I was about nine years old when I first heard Wu-Tang's 'C.R.E.A.M.' Before that, I didn't know anything about rap or hip-hop. I was just into Korean pop.
Kwon Ji Yong is searching for the comfort and reliable people that G-Dragon doesn't have offstage.
We make our own music, and the songs appeal to the public well, and the public likes them.
It would be ridiculous for anyone to consider me the face of Korean art.
I want to have daughter, and if I do, I want to make sure she learns ballet.
Carpe diem, you know.
I would write down the lyrics to 'C.R.E.A.M.' in Korean - not translating it, but phonetically writing out each word. I didn't know what they were saying, so I would just write everything down as I heard it. I would recite it and imitate it like that. That's how I started to write my own raps.
As a rapper, I was heavily influenced by American rap albums. But for songs that are more melody-driven, I get my inspiration from Korean albums.
I am a songwriter and producer, and though you have to be personal in everything you do, you always having to look at things from another's perspective.
Korean people, including me, want to go faster and faster - in music, in fashion, in art, too.
I just listened to regular commercial music from Korea. I would just follow the choreographed dance routines. I didn't have any ambitions of pursuing rapping. I liked dancing, so I did that.
People may see me as a luxurious star, but I am always thinking I can be represented by my psychological world that is fraught with vanity, loneliness, and always feels inadequate.
G-Dragon is a fancy person. People don't expect the upright image of G-Dragon. Kwon Ji Yong is an introvert and has lots of things going on in his head.
You can't explain Chanel. It's a verb.
When I was young and didn't know any English, I was drawn by the energy and power of foreign songs and their melodies.
When I was still a student, I came out of a performing arts high school, and the female students who were doing traditional dance and ballet were so beautiful. They were beautiful, starting from their postures.
We are Korean, so obviously they call our music K-pop. But we never thought of our music as K-pop. Our music is just our music.
Whatever I like, even after a long time, I still like it. And I reminisce about the moment when I first heard it. That's what I love. Just remembering those moments.
Just like anyone else, I want privacy at times, but I understand that I am a celebrity.
I wasn't trying to be famous when I started making music. I mean, that wasn't the first thing I wanted.
There was this hip-hop collective called People Crew. And at the time in Korea, there was no real place to access rap music. So People Crew used to host this summer school program, which taught rapping and dancing. I begged my mom to attend that school to learn how to rap.
When I perform as a solo, I think a lot about what I always wanted to do but have not done yet.
As a musician myself, I wouldn't be confident if I received some other composers' song, because I choose to express myself through the music that I make.
I want a daughter no matter what.
I want to do something that can support all the people in Korea and the world who see us and are inspired to do their own thing.
It would be better to be recognized first for music, but people go with what they like. If I'm here because I'm recognized more so as a style icon, then, if I'm smart enough, I will use this opportunity to share more insight about my music.
Americans might not understand, but within Korea, Big Bang was one of the first artists to make their own production. We have our own interpretation of our own songs. We do our own thing.
There are albums that I like because of specific songs, but then there are albums that I like as a complete body of work. 'Ghetto Fabolous' is an album I lived with daily.
