Kwon Hyuk, born in Hongeun-dong, Seoul, better known by his stage name Dean, is a South Korean alternative R&B singer-songwriter, rapper, and record producer managed by Universal Music Group. On March 25, 2016, he released his debut EP, 130 Mood: TRBL, as well as multiple collaborations with both American and South Korean artists. He is part of the hip hop crew Fanxy Child with Zico, Crush, Penomeco, Millie and Stay Tuned.

He developed an interest in American hip hop and rap in middle school and began singing in high school. At that time, he considered music as an "escape from studying," rather than an occupation. He began his career at the age of sixteen, performing with hip-hop artist Keith Ape. By eighteen, he was writing tracks for K-pop stars, under the name 'Deanfluenza'. The name originated from actor James Dean, whose rebellious image appealed to him, and the word 'influenza', signifying his desire to make a "viral" impact on the music industry.

At the age of twenty, he was under the tutelage of Joombas Music Group CEO and producer Hyuk Shin, employed with the songwriting team of the Los Angeles-based company whose works include EXO's "Growl" and Justin Bieber's "One Less Lonely Girl". He was credited on tracks including Exo's "Black Pearl" and VIXX's "Voodoo Doll".

In 2016 he won Discovery of the Year – R&B. In the same year he also won Best R&B and Soul Song with the song "Pour up". In 2017 he won R&B Track of the Year with the song "D (Half Moon)". In 2018 he won R&B Track of the Year with the song"Gold" (offonoff featuring Dean). In the same year he won Best Composer of the Year.

(Source: Wikipedia) Edit Biography