G-Dragon Wins The Internet’s Hearts By Partnering With Palestinian-Owned Record Label

G-Dragon dropped his first single in seven years, “POWER,” on October 31, much to the excitement of fans who have been waiting for this moment for years.

G-Dragon | Chosun Ilbo

While the song itself has garnered quite the praise from netizens, his partnership with the independent label EMPIRE has stirred up the internet even more. “POWER” was dropped in partnership with G-Dragon’s Korean agency, Galaxy Corporation and EMPIRE.

Netizens were quick to realize that EMPIRE was owned by Ghazi Shami, a Palestinian entrepreneur who has been consistently vocal about the ongoing brutal assault on Palestinian lives by Israel, especially in the Gaza Strip. According to The Lancet, a reputed British medical journal, the death toll in Gaza was estimated at 186,000 back in July. The number has only gone up since.

In the past year, as Israel’s onslaught on civilian life has gotten more and more barbaric, drawing condemnation from across the globe, K-Pop fans have also vocally criticized Zionism and the growing influence of Zionists in the industry. Given this sentiment, G-Dragon’s choice to sign with EMPIRE has drawn significant attention. As a K-Pop icon, G-Dragon had no want of options for to team up with. So, many feel that his choice to work with Ghazi was very intentional.

G-DRAGON reportedly had multiple MAJOR labels that wanted to sign him yet he chose EMPIRE which is owned by a Palestinian Ghazi Shami who is known for his charitable Palestinian organisations and always been vocal for his people. pic.twitter.com/h2C8FsXh9t

— Z-DRAGON (@IBZDRAGON) October 31, 2024

K-Pop fans across different fandoms have praised G-Dragon’s decision to share his visibility and platform with such a vocal Palestinian businessowner amid an increasing global environment where Palestinian voices are facing pushback.

gdragon really signed under a palestinian owned record label.. gotta respect him for that especially in a day and time where the music industry is infested with zionists already https://t.co/rnRxHNGt4r pic.twitter.com/SDQDnO6ARj

— lara 🍉 (@dionysusonfire) October 31, 2024

it takes a lot of research and thought to be able to find a label like this one, especially because almost every industry is with infested with zionists right now. i really hope he knew what he was doing and i need all the other kpop artists see and follow what he did https://t.co/qIdzx9YIXb

— Haaaaaari 🔻 (@pporapippamm) October 31, 2024

G-Dragon chose to partner with a Palestinian-owned independent label, despite having multiple options. Artists inspire the youth through their platform and art, so when an artist takes such excellent steps & choices it should be acknowledged and appreciated. https://t.co/Kf01Jh9ieU

— Connect4Pal (@Connect4Pal) October 31, 2024

Meanwhile, fans were also happy with BTS RM‘s latest documentary skipping Israel for screening. You can read more about it here.

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