T.O.P (rapper)

Choi Seung-hyun (Hangul: 최승현; born November 4, 1987),better known by his stage name T.O.P, is a South Korean rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer and actor who rose to fame in the mid-2000s as one of two rappers in the boy band Big Bang under South Korean record label YG Entertainment. The group became one of the best-selling groups of all-time in Asia and one of the best-selling boy bands in the world.In 2010, while the group was on hiatus, T.O.P and G-Dragon collaborated to release the album, GD & TOP. As a solo rapper, he has released two digital singles, "Turn It Up" (2010) and "Doom Dada" (2013), that have peaked at number two and four, respectively, on the Gaon Digital Chart.

T.O.P - TURN IT UP

T.O.P ventured into acting at the advice of Yang Hyun-suk, beginning with the TV series :

I Am Sam (2007)

Preview:

Iris (2009) 

Trailer:

 Nineteen (2009)

Trailer:

He made his film debut with 71: Into the Fire (2010)

Trailer:

 for which he received praise and won multiple accolades including Best New Actor at the 2010 Blue Dragon Film Awards and the 2011 Baeksang Arts Awards. Subsequently, he garnered lead roles in the films 

Commitment (2013)

Trailer:

for which he was awarded New Asian Actor of the Year at the Busan International Film Festival and Tazza:

T.O.P - DOOM DADA

2005–2006: Career beginnings and debut with Big Bang

Big Bang at MTV Fast Forward, Thailand, December 2007

Born and raised in Seoul, South Korea, Choi Seung-hyun became interested in hip hop at a young age.He and fellow future Big Bang member G-Dragon were "neighborhood friend from middle school" and often danced and rapped together.Although G-Dragon later moved away and the two "became distant", Choi was contacted by G-Dragon when YG Entertainment, G-Dragon's record label, was scouting for possible candidates to create a boy band.[4] By then, Choi had already performed on many underground stages at hip hop clubs and established a reputation as an underground rapper with the stage name Tempo.He subsequently recorded several demos with G-Dragon and sent them to Yang Hyun-suk, CEO of YG Entertainment, who later asked Choi to audition.Choi was initially rejected by the record label, which deemed him too "chubby" to fit the "idealistic version" of an idol.He later "went home and exercised really hard because I wanted to join YG Entertainment,"losing 20 kg in 40 days. 

Six months later, Choi returned for another audition and was signed.

 

Given the stage name of T.O.P. (Korean: 탑) by senior YG artist Se7en, he became one of two rappers alongside G-Dragon in Big Bang. The two were paired with four others: Taeyang, Daesung, Seungri and Jang Hyun-seung and a documentary leading up to their debut was aired to promote them. Jang was later dropped by Yang, and Big Bang made its official debut with five members. Their first album, Big Bang Vol. 1, received lukewarm receptions, and included T.O.P.'s first solo song "Big Boy". The group achieved mainstream success with the release of the song "Lies" (Korean: 거짓말; Revised Romanization: Geojitmal) from the extended play Always (2007), which topped several charts upon its release. The singles, "Last Farewell" (Korean: 마지막 인사; Revised Romanization: Majimak Insa) from Hot Issue (2008) and "Day by Day" (Korean: 하루하루; Revised Romanization: Haru Haru) from Stand Up (2008), became chart-toppers as well.

GD&TOP - BABY GOOD NIGHT