You’ve heard of K-Pop. But South Korea has another musical movement that deserves the limelight.
It started in the late 80s. South Korea’s rap and hip hop scenes were born from night clubs, and the subculture went on to take a lot of influence from American gangster rap and underground hip-hop of the 90s.
Many of Korea’s top rappers are able to come up through the rap survival show “Show Me the Money,” as well as it’s female-only counterpart “Unpretty Rapstar”.
If you’re looking for some diverse new sounds, here are some of Korea’s best rappers and hip hop artists that are killing the game.
Sik-K
Kwon Min Sik, known by his stage name Sik-k, was a contestant on the fourth season of Show Me The Money. He was born in Seoul but lived in Vancouver, Canada for four years.
Although most of his top songs have more smooth, jazzy undertones, his recent work has gotten heavier. His new 2020 album, Officially OG, features some hard bops like SOAP SEOUL and NO HOOK, which also featured fellow Korean hip hop stars Paloalto and The Quiett.
Jessi
Jessi, born Jessica Ho, is an Unpretty Rapstar prodigy. She won second place the first season and returned as a mentor in 2015. The best part? She’s a tri-state native. Jessi was born in New York and grew up in Jersey, moving to Korea when she was 15 years old.
Her top song on Spotify, “Gucci,” has over 11 million streams, and remains one of her most iconic bops.
Dok2
Dok2 is one of Korea’s greatest. He co-founded Illionaire Records, a Korean rap and hip hop music label. He has been a judge on Show Me the Money and was in a producer team season six with big-time Korean-American artist Jay Park.
He’s got music with strong messages, including his song “ENDXIETY” featuring vocals by Ann One. The song talks about the challenges of anxiety, and his own experience with panic disorder.
His 2015 album MULTIMILLIONAIRE, however, deserves some recognition for seriously impressive beats.
NO:EL
— NO:EL (H) (@noelcozyboy) February 5, 2019
Son of a politician and only 19 years old, Jang Yong Joon first caught the spotlight on one of South Korea’s “High School Rapper,” another one of South Korea’s rap survival shows.
He was recently indicted for drunk driving and an attempted cover-up. He’s certainly seen his fair share of controversies, but problems aside, this kid has skill. His last album release was in 2018, and provides some of his most impressive tracks like “00 (DOUBLE O)” and “LIVIN’ LA VIDA LOCA.”
GRAY
He may not have a lot of hard rap tracks under his belt, but his production skills are unmatched. Lee Seong-Hwa–known by his stage name GRAY–made waves last year when he produced 119 Remix, a rap which included not one, not five, but 51 artists from the Korean rap scene.
GRAY is signed under AOMG, a label that Jay Park founded back in 2013. His name is scattered all across the Korean hip hop genre, either as a producer or featured artist.