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 influentia ...

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 Scherzinger (; born Nicole Prascovia Elikolani Valiente, June 29, 1978) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, actress, and television personality. She is best known as the lead singer of the Pussycat Dolls, one of the best-selling g ...

, an American singer formerly of the girl group the

Pussycat Dolls Pussycat or Pussy Cat may refer to: * Cat, a domestic feline Music Bands * Pussycat (band), a Dutch country and pop group * The Pussycats, a 1960s Norwegian rock band * The Pussycats, a group signed to Kama Sutra Records Albums * ''Pussy Cats'', ...

, 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 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 Drunken Tiger () was a Korean hip hop group that debuted in 1999 and has since released several albums and won numerous awards. They are known as pioneers of Korean hip-hop who helped bring the genre into the mainstream. The group's original lin ...

Dynamic Duo Dynamic duo may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups *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), a South Ko ...

and

Epik High Epik High (Hangul: 에픽하이) is a South Korean hip hop trio formed in 2001, composed of Tablo, Mithra Jin, and DJ Tukutz. Primarily based in Seoul, the group signed with Woollim Entertainment and released their first two studio albums, ''M ...

. 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 su ...

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 ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

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 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 (Hangul: 그루비룸) is a South Korean DJ, music producing and composing duo consisting of Park Gyu-jeong and Lee Hwi-min. They mainly produce hip-hop songs such as boom bap and trap. The songs they produce have a producer tag ...

G-Dragon Kwon Ji-yong (; born August 18, 1988), also known by his stage name G-Dragon (지드래곤), is a South Korean rapper, singer-songwriter, record producer, entrepreneur and fashion designer, known as the " King of K-pop". G-Dragon is the recipi ...

, and Kim Junsu. In November of 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 Michael Ray Nguyen-StevensonMicheal Ray Stevenson ...

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

Last Kings Records Last Kings Records is an independent record label. It was founded by American recording artist Tyga in 2015 after a dispute with his former label, Cash Money Records. In 2017, Tyga signed a multi-million dollar deal with EMPIRE to distribute th ...

''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 (actress), from Bangladesh * Bobby (rapper) (born 1995), from South Korea * Bobby (screenwriter) (born 1983), Indian screenwriter * Bobby, old slang for a constabl ...

of the band

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

. 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 as part of a producer team with

Jay Park Jay Park ( Korean name: Park Jae-beom (Hangul: 박재범; Hanja: 朴載範); born April 25, 1987) is an American rapper, singer-songwriter, record producer, dancer and entrepreneur of based in South Korea. He is a member of the Seattle-based ...

(AOMG and H1GHR Music).

Filmography

Discography

Studio albums

Extended plays

Mixtapes

Singles

Collaborations

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1990 births South Korean male rappers South Korean hip hop record producers Living people South Korean people of Filipino descent