The Top Idol Rappers Evaluated by Music Experts!

[elisaorange.livejournal.com]

Since we all had fun learning what the general hip hop community thought about our favorite rappers, now we can see how music experts, critics and hip hop label officials have ranked them.

Some of you may have seen these before, but that's alright. They haven't been posted on Omona ;).



** The key components to rap are "content", "flow" (rhythm and rhyme) and "delivery". Other keywords when talking about rap are diction, pronunciation, voice, tone, wordplay, punchlines, breathing-management, etcetera~

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Hiphop has become a fixed repertory in idol groups’ music. It’s to differentiate from dance music and to emphasize the image of being a competent idol. Rap is hiphop’s core. Thus, the rapper has become a necessary “staff” when forming an idol group.

Countless idol groups and rappers have emerged but if you count the idol rappers that are currently receiving attention, it can be narrowed down to Block B’s ZICO, BTS’s Rapmon, BAP’s Bang Yongguk, and B1A4′s Baro.

Experts looked at these rappers and determined to what degree is their skill in rap. Hiphop group Garion member Nachal, pop music critic Han Dongyun and Kim Bonghyun, and music expert and CBS PD Hong Hyeokui evaluated these idol rappers’ skills.
The main points are rhythm (rhyme), melody (flow), lyric-writing, sense of rhythm, and individuality. ‘Rhyme’ implies the particular placing of repeating word plays in the sentences in the verses, and the distribution of alliteration or rhyme or similar sound. ‘Flow’ is the formulating of dramatic flow of the sound’s pitch in the rap lyrics. In judging lyric-writing, it is examined how original was the material used in creating an interesting story. ‘Sense of rhythm’ is whether the rap could be heard musically. As for the ‘individuality’, it was discussed whether the style could be distinguished, if it has a reggae feel like Tiger JK or rapid-fire like Outsider, etc.



Note: The judged categories [indicated in the photos] from top to bottom are:

Rhythm (rhyme)
Melody (flow)
Lyric-writing
Sense of rhythm
Individuality

In the results, Block B’s ZICO obtained the highest marks. The experts commented that he showed most exceptional skill in rhyme and sense of rhythm, and that he is unrivaled when it comes to flow. He has great command of the ups and downs of the music as his fast-paced rapping unfolds with the intimidating tone.

Garion’s Nachal gave perfect marks to the flow in the track “Nillili Mambo” from Block B’s 1st full album (Blockbuster). With “Nillili Mambo”, the orchestra arrangement and hiphop beat were thrown in together into one song. The spooky feeling mixing well with the chaotic performance doubled. Nachal said, “I’m not sure whether he was born with it or if it’s the result of training, but Zico has his own flow that does not lose to a strong beat.”



He was followed by Rap Monster of BTS. His colorful rhyming that uses both English and Korean got the reviewer's attention. The song 'BTS Cypher PT.2: Triptych' from BTS’ 2014 February mini-album, "School Love Affair" is a good example of his rapping and diverse use of Korean and English. PD Hong Hyeokui said "Rap Monster knows how to use the art of sarcasm in a very playful and effective manner." From this song, Rap Monster recounts the events he had encountered during his debut and hopes that he can authentically and sincerely relay his message to his fans.

BAP's Bang Yong-guk has received high praise in terms of uniqueness and individuality. Kim Bonghyun, mainstream music critic, referred that his distinctive bass tone was reminiscent of that of Shyne, a rapper part of the 1990's East Coast hip hop centered in New York. Last August, BAP released their mini-album and title track, “Badman” in which Bang Yong Guk shows off his fine rhymes (that manipulates Korean vowel structures very well) and his stable flow.

Baro was at first noted as showing simple rhyme and monotonous rhythm, a problem with his rapping, but his potential was nontheless recognized. He used everyday language to create a sense of closeness in the song, "What Do You Want To Do". The song “Road” is an example of his leisurely rap that does not get restricted down by speed and strength. Han Dongyun pop music critic, said, "he has a bass voice yet has a very light and refreshing flow in his hit song 'Lonely.' He has good song interpreting skills."

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In summary:

Rhythm (rhyme): Zico>Rap Mon>BYG>Baro
Melody (flow): Zico>Rap Mon>BYG>Baro
Lyric-writing: Zico>Rap Mon>BYG>Baro
Sense of rhythm: Zico>Rap Mon>BYG>Baro
Individuality: BYG>Rap Mon>Zico>Baro

Zico: 18.9/25 = 75.6%
Rap Monster: 17/25 = 68%
Bang Yong Guk: 15.3/25 = 61.2%
Baro: 13.9/25 = 55.5%
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Note: This rank is kind of old, from March 2014, some of these guys have even improved since then I'm sure, but until an updated assessment comes out, this is good.


Hip-Hop Label Officials Choose the Top 3 Best Idol Rappers

3rd place...

Second place...

First place...


1. Block B's Zico - 14 votes
2. iKON's Bobby - 8 votes
3. WINNER's Song Mino - 6 votes



Fast forward to 0:34 for opinion from critic Kim Bonghyun on Rap Monster and Zico

Zico's full cut can be watched here


:)

First article translated by Kpyon & Kevin Bacon & Me
Sources: Naver 1 Naver 2 Kpyon Block Bee Subs Peachisoda

Comments

[haixiao.livejournal.com]

i'm confused...why is baro even on this list/article
does he have a predebut underground hip hop career idk about

[lily-of-west.livejournal.com]

I dislike Zico with a burning passion even tho I was a huge fan once but no one can argue boy has skill. His producing is subpar but his rap skills are amazing.

I love mu bunny Bobby and despite the fact that many people here would say Mino is better I think Bobby dederves the spot he got in this evaluation.

[demeulemeester.livejournal.com]

lmao are you me? i also really don't like him at all but i used to be a big fan. he's definitely talented tho.

[lily-of-west.livejournal.com]

Rap skil wise his talent is undeniable, but he became so unbearably annoying and messy that I can't be a fan.

[demeulemeester.livejournal.com]

yeah, same reason i stopped being a fan as well.

[jestex.livejournal.com]

i think someone here once described zico as "an extremely talented garbage can," and that kinda sums up my feelings about him, as well

[lily-of-west.livejournal.com]

Chokes////

OMG spot on description.

[kukamine.livejournal.com]

lol yeah kwikimart called him a very talented little trash bag

[lily-of-west.livejournal.com]

Appropriately so.

[elisaorange.livejournal.com]

"His producing is subpar"

I enjoy Block B's discography.

[lily-of-west.livejournal.com]

Honestly I haven't enjoyed anything they put out since Nalina. And I won't even go into his solo stuff.

But that's me.

[beanii.livejournal.com]

Not really familiar with BYG's music, but aside from that I really agree with what you have said. Especially in terms of preferring lyricism at the end of the day. Like I do enjoy a few sides of migos' and futures on the weekends, but when it comes seriously picking an MC, I look to lyricism. Especially for a genre that's practically based in language and poetry, it's like my first criteria. Not to mention, these are the type of rappers that are generally remembered and respected. Like I think Tiger JK's style is more distinguished than just for it "reggae sound".
This is also one of the reasons (out of endless ones) why SMTM is such an annoying show, and I'm not going to start that rant.

[caipirinhas.livejournal.com]

mte re: Suga. I feel like since RM had such a high profile mixtape and he is the leader of BTS, he is kinda the designated rapper that people analyze to represent BTS. and don't get me wrong, I love RM's style. But I feel like he has been talked about regularly. I kinda want to hear opinions from actual korean rappers on Suga's style and lyrics, etc.

[happydirections.livejournal.com]

+1

hoseok continuesly grows and brings something exciting to the table. his verses i end up being most excited for when they drop a new album because you don't know what you're gonna get with him.

[mercury-sound.livejournal.com]

I agree with you that it would be interesting to talk about crews/squads and how they influence/resemble (not in a bad way!) each other.
Sometimes I feel like one component might be that first and foremost, like-minded people will come together to form a crew (look at Buckwilds or VV:D, characterwise they seem to have people who fit well together). But I could also see a crew influencing rappers, and maybe Angdreville is a good example for that.
Olltii became a member when he was really young, right? So I could see how Angdreville's heavy focus on freestyle might have helped to 'train' Olltii's wittiness.

... But maybe I'm just babbling, lol.^^

[mercury-sound.livejournal.com]

Honestly, I agree with everything you say. Basing this off of your last question, I think it'd generally be interesting to know more about more political musicians in Korea (and I feel like underground hip-hop might have some of those).

What I just remembered: Have you seen this interview (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FbDbJZaoAy8) with Olltii, Crush, and Andup about their crews (and them being the maknaes) from about two years ago? All in all it's 40+ mins long, but I thought it was a really interesting insight into the crew dynamics!

[arysthaeniru.livejournal.com]

Oh huh, this was interesting. I'd love to see an updated version of this, see it involving more hip hop artists (maybe some girls too, with Unpretty hitting it big). I wasn't expecting Zico to win on lyrics, actually, I thought Rapmon would beat him out there, but I'm pleasantly surprised to see Yongguk's individuality stood out most. He's definitely a voice you can easily differentiate.

The point about Rapmon's sarcasm was interesting too, haha.

(why is Baro even here LMAO, BTOB is the one with a couple of underground rappers, right? Ilhoon and Minhyuk?)

Thanks for your hard work, OP!

[imienazwisko.livejournal.com]

late comment but only Minhyuk used to be in the underground, as Heota (he still uses that name and even did a duet with himself lol). Ilhoon isn't highly regarded despite his skill because he has zero underground experience. He actually entered Cube with intention to became a producer, he directly spoke with president and became trainee the next day, without auditioning.

[arysthaeniru.livejournal.com]

Ahhh, okay, okay! That's a shame to hear, I heard Ilhoon's feature with Hyuna and thought he was a really good rapper, it was what got me listening to a couple of BTOB songs offhandedly, it's a shame he's not well-regarded!!!

[imienazwisko.livejournal.com]

he collaborated with jiyoon on her unpretty rapstar stage, and while many compared his performance to chanyeol's and said he was defenitely better, he never received much attention. when he did that song with hyuna, i saw him getting lots of negitive responces, calling him budget zico and stuff... personally i find roll deep grating but ilhoon did a remix (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SdCwGO2ASds) and it was great.
he's kinda more deep than swag, if you know what i mean.

[arysthaeniru.livejournal.com]

Budget Zico, omg. I can sort of see where they're coming from? His aesthetic is like that and his accent is sort of similar? but also, I don't really agree at the same time, hahah. He's definitely different, and like you said, much less swag.

And oh, I like his rewrite of the song! I like Hyuna's too, especially the rap in the verses, but I like his chorus a lot better. Oh yes.

[imienazwisko.livejournal.com]

They are polar opposites to me, even considering the type of music they produce. Like Ilhoon wrote a bunch of songs for CLC and Hyuna, writing from female perspective too. And the tracks he does for BtoB are pretty distinct as well.

I liked his featuring because he brought some different energy to the song, plus his lyrics are really good ('i have everything but height' lol). He also covered Beenzino (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aC3c2jdGozY) once, and was pretty straight forward about idols life there, like even rapped about his weight issues (https://princessoftea.wordpress.com/2015/03/18/%EC%9D%BC%ED%9B%88-ilhoon-of-btob-if-i-die-tomorrow-cover-lyrics-hangeul-romanization-translation/) and stuff like that.

[audiograms.livejournal.com]

SO MANY RAPPERS THEY IGNORED I am sick to death of the same rappers getting named. OP I appreciate you putting this together though, muy interesante!

[fabulousdoll.livejournal.com]

I came to this post with the hope to see at least one female idol rapper, but no :(

[benihime99.livejournal.com]

I always wonder why Zelo, kanto many others aren't in those when they're better than 1/2 the list

[tsuyoi-hikari.livejournal.com]

I never like Hip Hop music but BYG's rapping style had always make me coming back listening to him over and over again. His first single; 'I Remember' which he did with Yoseob is basically one of my all time faves.

[jazzygyu.livejournal.com]

We don't need Bobby being more cocky than he already is seeing this list but I'm not going to pretend to be an expert on hip hop to judge the list. However khiphop and Kpop idol rappers have been a huge turn of for me for obvious reasons that I don't really trust this list to be honest. And just because they are music experts does not make them an expert on rap.

[seroquels.livejournal.com]

"And just because they are music experts does not make them an expert on rap."

This. Who are these experts, and what makes them experts on rap and rapping abilities exactly? Not saying their list is wrong, or their assessment is lacking, just judges usually have some type of experience in what they're judging. What's theirs?

[elisaorange.livejournal.com]

Garion was one of the pioneers in underground hip hop, the duo is Mc Meta and Naachal. I can't tell you about the other judges.

[amandaplan.livejournal.com]

i think the top 3 is right.
outside of personalities. zico has amazing speed and good flow. then bobby has okay/good flow and amazing speed as well then although i prefer mino to bobbby, mino has better flow but not as great speed with clarity?

[volume1995.livejournal.com]

where is rap prophet choi minho

[joyseul.livejournal.com]

+1 mte

[msgrottesca.livejournal.com]

I feel like Bobby above Mino is a joke but I'm also not surprised LOL.

I'm really curious to see Yoongi someday slither into one of these rankings instead of Rapmon because he is my personal fave of the idol rappers.

[baeby-bloo-skys.livejournal.com]

i don't really listen to ikon, but i will say that rapmon and bobby aren't ranked that high for me personally because i just can't understand what they're saying. rapmon especially, like he's rhyming but his enunciation sucks so it sound like he's just repeating the same word sometimes. i like suga, though
mino, zico, and yongguk for sure are really good
i haven't listened to too much stuff by yano, but he seems pretty good, and i like how unique jenissi is.
it took some getting used to, but i actually sort of like ravi's rapping now lmao i think it's just the sometimes nonsensical english that gets me; his tone(?) was kind of annoying at first, like jenissi, but i like his lyrics

[elisaorange.livejournal.com]

"His enunciation sucks so it sound like he's just repeating the same word"

Oh my god, lol.

[earthequality.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the additional sharing and translating, OP.

In terms of all of this, I want more than just Zico mentioned. WE KNOW. WE KNOW. Move on, y'all and discuss everyone else. Not only are we curious, but I'm pretty sure the idols themselves would like legit constructive feedback on their skills. Personally was underwhelmed with BYG at my concert, but that was half sound failing on him, Zelo, and Himchan as well idk, the tour dates being so close together.

I have a fuckton of rappers I need covered and the first ones need to be all the female MCs since they're so few. Please and thank you to whoever needs to hear that, universe, make it happen lolol.