"One of a Kind" is a song by

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

n rapper

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 ...

. Released on August 24, 2012 through

YG Entertainment YG Entertainment Inc. () is a South Korean multinational entertainment agency established in 1996 by Yang Hyun-suk. The company operates as a record label, talent agency, music production company, event management and concert production compa ...

, it served as the lead single from the extended play of the same name. Written solely by G-Dragon, the rapper also worked with long-time collaborator Choice37 to produce the music. The song was well received by music critics, that considered it one of his best work and one of the most influential

Korean hip hop Korean hip hop, also known as K-hip hop or K-rap, is a subgenre of Korean popular music. It is widely considered to have originated in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and has since become increasingly popular, both in Korea and abroad. While ...

tracks. "One of a Kind" peaked at number nine on the

Gaon Digital Chart The Circle Digital Chart, previously known as the Gaon Digital Chart, is the music industry standard record chart ranking the 200 most popular singles in South Korea. It provides rankings on a weekly, monthly, and yearly basis, which is based o ...

in South Korea.

Composition and reception

A hip hop and

pop-rap Pop rap (also known as pop hip-hop, hip pop, melodic hip-hop or melodic rap) is a genre of music fusing the rhythm-based lyricism of hip hop music with pop music's preference for melodious vocals and catchy tunes. This genre gained mainstrea ...

song, the lyrics discuss "cheeky" themes such as money and fame. David Jeffries of

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

deemed the track as "a bright, boastful number with a hooky chorus and plenty of exciting production tricks". ''

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'' named "One of a Kind" the seventeenth best K-pop song of 2012, praising the "knocking hip-hop beat that today's biggest rappers would kill for" and how G-Dragon "showed off his impressive knack for flow and lyrics". Web portal Daum named the single the fifth best Korean song of the year, calling it a "masterpiece" and its composition "outstanding". Korean music critic Kim Bong-hyun included "One of a Kind" in his book of most influential Korean hip hop songs from 1989 to 2016, naming it one of the 28 tracks that shaped the genre. "One of a Kind" was also the only song by a solo artist to be included in ''

The Dong-a Ilbo The ''Dong-A Ilbo'' (, literally ''East Asia Daily'') is a newspaper of record in Korea since 1920 with a daily circulation of more than 1.2 million and opinion leaders as its main readers. ''The Dong-A Ilbo'' is the parent company of Dong-A M ...

''s 2016 list of the best male idol songs in the past 20 years. ''Ize'' magazine listed "One of a Kind" as one of the most memorable songs written by G-Dragon, commenting that it raised his status as a hip-hop musician. Commercially, the song became the fifth track from the album to peak within

's top ten, when it rose to number nine in its second week, after a debut at number 21. The track earned him the Best Hip Hop / Rap Song of the Year awards from the

Korean Music Awards The Korean Music Awards () is an annual South Korean music awards show that honors both mainstream and underground musical artists from a variety of genres. Unlike other major South Korean music awards, which largely rely on record sales to det ...

and the Rhythmer Awards.

Music video

The music video for "One of a Kind" preceded the album, being released on YouTube on August 25, 2012, marking his first solo release since ''

Heartbreaker Heartbreaker(s) or The Heart Breaker(s) may refer to: Film and television *''The Heart Breakers'', a 1916 film starring Andrew Arbuckle *''The Heart Breaker'', a 1925 film directed by Benjamin Stoloff * ''Heartbreaker'' (1983 film), an American f ...

'' (2009). Directed by Seo Hyun Seung, the video was described as "autobiographical" and "glittered with designer items." G-Dragon is seen wearing outfits that he has worn in previous music videos. Fellow

Big Bang The Big Bang event is a physical theory that describes how the universe expanded from an initial state of high density and temperature. Various cosmological models of the Big Bang explain the evolution of the observable universe from the ...

member,

Taeyang Dong Young-bae (; born May 18, 1988), better known by his stage names Taeyang (meaning "sun" in Korean) and SOL (when performing in Japan), is a South Korean singer, songwriter and dancer. After appearing in Jinusean's music video "A-yo", Tae ...

makes an appearance. David Bevan of ''Spin'' called it "a dazzling clip" for the "undeniable pop-rap juggernaut" track. ''

Stereogum ''Stereogum'' is a daily Internet publication that focuses on music news, reviews, interviews, and commentary. The site was created in January 2002 by Scott Lapatine. ''Stereogum'' was one of the first MP3 blogs and has received several award ...

'' named "One of a Kind" the best music video of the week, with Tom Breihan commenting that " you don’t have a baby tiger on a leash or a dancing bear cub in your video, you lost. Sometimes, it’s just that simple. K-pop has discovered skate-rap, and we should all be very, very excited about that."

Fuse Fuse or FUSE may refer to: Devices * Fuse (electrical), a device used in electrical systems to protect against excessive current ** Fuse (automotive), a class of fuses for vehicles * Fuse (hydraulic), a device used in hydraulic systems to protect ...

called it one of G-Dragon's "must-see videos", noting that the "Explicit Content" reinterpreted sticker is "one of his most memorable looks".

Chart performance and sales

Sales

Awards

References

{{G-Dragon 2012 songs 2012 singles YG Entertainment singles Korean-language songs G-Dragon songs Songs written by G-Dragon