The South’s got something to say — South Korea, that is. Over the last several years, the nation’s hip-hop scene has exploded as acts like Keith Ape, Zico and CL have been killing the game in Korea, while gradually establishing a presence in the U.S. For those not paying attention, it might seem like the Korean rap scene of today materialized overnight, but that’s certainly not the case. Hip-hop has been thriving in the country for years.
It goes without saying that the hip-hop scene has grown leaps and bounds over the last several years in South Korea, and music magazine XXL Mag has decided to shine a light on the South Korean hip-hop scene by taking a look at some of the biggest names in the culture today.
From Okasian and JayAllDay to CL and G-Dragon, here are the 10 rappers who XXL Mag thinks everyone should know about.
10. Keith Ape
9. Block B’s Zico
8. Epik high
7. Okasian
6. BTS’ Rap Monster
5. Dok2
4. Beenzino
3. JayAllDay
2. 2NE1’s CL
1. BIGBANG’s G-Dragon
So, do you agree with XXL Mag’s choices?
Park Sa-lim, Seoul