Soompi K-Pop Idol Rap Battle: Round 1

Hip-hop has played a major role in influencing the sound of K-Pop, ranging from artists who incorporate a slight hip-hop influence in certain songs (2NE1 or Girls’ Generation) to groups that have a much heavier emphasis on hip-hop (Block B or B.A.P). Even within each idol group, there’s almost always a rapper — with so many groups these days, that’s a lot of rappers. (We’ll leave it up to you to decide whether they’re sincerely into and talented in hip-hop and rap, or they just can’t sing.)

Introducing Soompi K-Pop Idol Rap Battle! We’re having a showdown to see who’s the best of the best among idol rappers. We’re picking the best-known (and some not-so-well-known) names in the industry and pitting them against each other — you make the call! To limit the number of possible contestants and even the playing field, this will be an idol-only contest, meaning representative Korean rappers such as Tiger JK, Yoon Mi Rae, Tablo, and Swings, will not be included. We are, however, including some underrepresented rappers in the idol scene, such as M.I.B’s SIMS and EXID’s LE, so if you haven’t heard of them before, go and check them out!

So, who’s the best of the best among K-Pop idol rappers? Whose flow and delivery is on point? We’ve got 32 idol rappers to start, randomly placed into groups of eight. It’s up to you to decide! The tournament will be a simple single-round elimination, and you can vote once every three hours. Voting will close at the end of Tuesday, August 19 (KST). 

Here are your 32 rappers to start:

Red Division:

1. G-Dragon (BIGBANG)


2. Chanyeol (EXO)


3. Jay Park


4. Taecyeon (2PM)


5. Park Kyung (Block B)


6. Mir (MBLAQ)


7. Bora (SISTAR)


8. Jung Hana (Secret)

 Blue Division:

1. T.O.P (BIGBANG)


2. P.O (Block B)


3. Zelo (B.A.P)


4. Baro (B1A4)


5. Miryo (Brown Eyed Girls)


6. Yuna Kim (The Ark)


7. Hyoyeon (Girls’ Generation)


8. HyunA (4minute)

 Purple Division:

1. SIMS (M.I.B)


2. Bang Yong Guk (B.A.P)


3. CL (2NE1)


4. Jackson (GOT7)


5. Yong Jun Hyung (BEAST)


6. Rap Monster (BTS)


7. Ilhoon (BTOB)


8. Ravi (VIXX)

 Green Division:

1. Zico (Block B)


2. Tao (EXO)


3. Dongwoo (INFINITE)


4. Amber (f(x))


5. LE (EXID)


6. Yubin (Wonder Girls)


7. Jia (miss A)


8. Feeldog (BIGSTAR)

Turn the page for the red division matches, with G-Dragon, Chanyeol, Jay Park, and more!

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