Lee Joon-kyung (; born March 28, 1990) better known by his stage name Dok2 (, pronounced as Dokki), is a South Korean rapper, record producer and co-founder of now-defunct

Illionaire Records Illionaire Records was an independent South Korean record label formed in January 2011 by rappers The Quiett and Dok2. The label also represents rapper Beenzino. Despite its small size, Illionaire Records was considered one of the most influential ...

Biography

Early life

Dok2's mother is Korean, and his father is of Filipino and Spanish descent. While media outlets reported in 2014 that he is a first cousin of

Nicole Scherzinger Nicole Prascovia Elikolani Scherzinger ( ; ; born June 29, 1978) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, actress, and television personality. She was a member of the girl group and dance ensemble the Pussycat Dolls between 2003 and 2010. With ...

, an American singer formerly of the girl group the

Pussycat Dolls The Pussycat Dolls were an American girl group and dance ensemble, founded in Los Angeles, California, by choreographer Robin Antin in 1995 as a neo-burlesque troupe. At the suggestion of Jimmy Iovine, Antin decided to take the troupe mainst ...

, Dok2 said in a 2015 interview, "The report about me being first cousins with Nicole Scherzinger is wrong. We share the same blood, but the relationship is complicated. I haven't even met her."

Career beginnings

His first music appearance is when he was 12, when he performed "FEVER" with Jo-PD & Hype at the

2002 Mnet Music Video Festival The 2002 Mnet Music Video Festival (MMF) was the fourth of the annual music awards in Seoul, South Korea that took place on November 29, 2002, at the Little Angels Arts Center. Leading the nominees was BoA with three nominations. By the end of ...

Dok2 signed to Future Flow Entertainment when he was 13 years old. By the time he was out of his teenage years, he had written and produced songs for established Korean hip hop groups, including Drunken Tiger,

Dynamic Duo Dynamic duo may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music *Dúo Dinámico (Spanish for Dynamic Duo), a Spanish musical duo formed in 1958 and one of the main precursors of pop music in Spain *Dynamic Duo (South Korean duo) Dynamic Duo (; ...

and

Epik High Epik High () is a South Korean hip-hop trio formed in 2001, composed of rapper and songwriter Tablo, rapper and lyricist Mithra Jin, and DJ and record producer DJ Tukutz. Based in Seoul, the trio first met in 2001 before signing with Woollim ...

. In 2006, under the name All Black, Dok2 and fellow teen rapper

Microdot A microdot is text or an image substantially reduced in size to prevent detection by unintended recipients. Microdots are normally circular and around in diameter but can be made into different shapes and sizes and made from various materials s ...

released the album ''Chapter 1''. He released his first solo mini-album, ''Thunderground'', under

's now defunct Map the Soul label in 2009.

Illionaire Records and Activity in the United States

In 2011, Dok2 and rapper

The Quiett Shin Dong-gab (; born January 29, 1985), better known by his stage name The Quiett (), is a South Korean rapper, composer, lyricist and record producer. He is widely known within the South Korean hip hop community for founding several major hip ...

formed

. Despite its small size, Illionaire Records is considered one of the most influential hip hop record labels in South Korea due to the popularity of its artists. He also founded sub-label

Ambition Musik Ambition Musik () is a South Korean hip-hop label founded by rappers Dok2 and The Quiett on September 29, 2016. History The label was founded on September 29, 2016, under Illionaire Records with artists Keem Hyo-eun, Changmo, and Hash Swan. As ...

below the label. He gained mainstream popularity through his album ''Multillionaire'' and his single "1llusion," both of which peaked on music charts in South Korea. He also worked with several artists outside of the label, including

GroovyRoom GroovyRoom () is a South Korean Dj, DJ, Record producer, music producing and Composer, composing duo consisting of Park Gyu-jeong and Lee Hwi-min. They mainly produce hip-hop songs such as boom bap and Trap music, trap. The songs they produce hav ...

G-Dragon Kwon Ji-yong (; born August 18, 1988), best known as G-Dragon (), is a South Korean rapper, singer, songwriter, and entrepreneur, known as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of K-pop". Born and raised in Seoul, South Korea, G-Drag ...

, and

Kim Junsu Kim Jun-su (; born December 15, 1986), known mononymously as Junsu or known under the stage name XIA ( ; ) is a South Korean singer-songwriter, dancer and musical actor. He is a member of JYJ, and was one of the original members of boy band T ...

. In November 2018, Dok2 resigned as CEO of the company and began activity in the United States. He announced the formation of the group "PO$TA BOY$" with

Tyga Micheal Ray StevensonMicheal Ray Stevenson

in 2019 and ultimately left Illionaire Records on February 6, 2020. In April 2021, Dok2 announced via his Instagram that he had signed with Tyga's

Last Kings Records Micheal Ray StevensonMicheal Ray Stevenson

''Show Me the Money''

In 2014, Dok2 was a judge on the third season of the TV rap competition '' Show Me the Money'', where he and

were the producers behind winning contestant

Bobby Bobby or Bobbie may refer to: People *Bobby (given name), a list of names * Bobby (surname), a list of surnames * Bobby (actress), from Bangladesh * Bobby (rapper) (born 1995), from South Korea * Bobby (screenwriter) (born 1983), Indian screenwrit ...

of the band

iKon iKon (; stylized as iKON) is a South Korean boy band formed in 2015 by YG Entertainment. The lineup consists of six members: Jay, Song, Bobby, DK, Ju-ne, and Chan. Originally a seven-piece band, B.I departed from the group in June 2019. ...

. They again participated in the show's fifth season and were the producers behind Superbee, who came in third place. Dok2 again participated in

Season 6 A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and polar ...

as part of a producer team with

Jay Park Jay Park (born April 25, 1987), Korean name Park Jae-beom (), is an American rapper, singer-songwriter and dancer based in South Korea. He is a member of the Seattle-based breakdancing, b-boy crew Art of Movement (AOM), and founder and former ...

(AOMG and H1GHR Music).

Filmography

Discography

Studio albums

Extended plays

Mixtapes

Singles

Collaborations

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1990 births 21st-century South Korean rappers South Korean hip-hop singers South Korean male rappers South Korean hip-hop musicians South Korean hip-hop record producers Living people South Korean people of Spanish descent South Korean people of Filipino descent