The debate for the best female rapper in the Kpop community is an endless discussion between fans and casual listeners alike. It gets more heated as more and more light shines on talented and skilled women who join Korean music competitions and reality shows such as Unpretty Rapstar, Show Me the Money, Mnet's Produce series, etc. Their participation in such events showcase their unique and diverse rap style that catches and piques the attention of both local and international audience and viewers.
That's why we've listed down 22 names that belong to the best of the best, including those in girl groups and solo artists, female rappers in Korea's music and entertainment industry.
(Disclaimer: the list is based on popularity and is derived from a fan-voted poll that currently has an approximate of 97.3k votes)
NUMBER 22 Kwon Sohyun from 4Minute
Sohyun was the youngest member of 4Minute, which was under Cube Entertainment before their disbandment on June 15, 2016. Her role in the group was vocals and rapping.
NUMBER 21 EXY from Cosmic Girls
EXY's birth name is Chu Sojung, and she's the leader and rapper of the Korean-Chinese girl group Cosmic Girls or WJSN. The group was formed through a collaboration of Starship Entertainment and Yuehua Entertainment, and they debuted on February 25, 2016, with their song Would You Like. She was also a contestant on the second season of Unpretty Rapstar.
NUMBER 20 Meng Jia from Miss A
Jia debuted in July 2010 with the hit single Bad Girl Good Girl, and it was the first debut song that ever ranked number one on the Gaon Digital Chart and became the Best Performing Single of 2010 in the same chart. She left Miss A when her contract with the company expired in May 2016.
NUMBER 19 Yoon Bora from Sistar
Bora debuted in June 2010 under Starship Entertainment. She was SISTAR's only rapper and was formed into a sub-unit called Sistar19 with fellow member Hyolyn. Bora collaborated with Unpretty Rapstar contestants Kisum, Lil Cham, Jace, and artist Adoonga for Feedback, a hip-hop single, in January of 2015. They formally announced their disbandment in 2017 and promoted their final song Lonely in May 2017, and she left the company in November the same year.
NUMBER 18 Dami from Dreamcatcher
Her real name is Lee Yoobin, and she's the main rapper of Dreamcatcher. The group was formed by Happy Face Entertainment, and it was formerly known as MINX before officially re-debuting as Dreamcatcher on January 13, 2017, with the addition of two other members.
NUMBER 17 Choi Yoojung from Weki Meki
Weki Meki debuted in 2017 under Fantagio, Yoojung is their rapper, dancer and vocalist. However, before debuting with Weki Meki, she first got recognition on the pioneer season of Produce 101. She ranked 3rd out of a hundred and one contestants and proceeded to debut along with the other winners as one group called I.O.I., and she continued to promote with them until their disbandment in 2017.
NUMBER 16 Momo from Twice
Hirai Momo is Twice's main dancer; however, she's also part of the vocal line and rap line. She participated in JYPE's reality show SIXTEEN, where she got eliminated in the 6th episode, however, Producer Park Jinyoung decided to debut her under Twice because of her dancing skills.
NUMBER 15 Shin Jimin from A.O.A.
Jimin is the leader as well as the main rapper of the girl group A.O.A. The group was formed under FNC Entertainment in 2012. She's known for winning as a semi-finalist in the pioneer season of Unpretty Rapstar, where she successfully released several hit singles featuring the other rappers. Good Start featuring Seulong and Puss featuring Iron are two of the most popular ones.
NUMBER 14 Cheetah
Kim Eunyoung, better known by her stage name Cheetah, is a rapper that garnered attention and praise when she was announced as the winner on the reality competition Unpretty Rapstar. She debuted in 2010 and is currently under C9 Entertainment.
NUMBER 13 Hwasa from Mamamoo
Ahn Hyejin or Hwasa is one of Mamamoo's vocalists and rappers. She debuted under RBW in June 2014. She has been successful in her solo activities and has collaborated with the likes of Loco, the rapper.
NUMBER 12 Jang Yeeun from C.L.C.
Yeeun is under Cube Entertainment and is part of the girl group C.L.C. She's C.L.C.'s main rapper and their vocalist as well, and she writes several of her rap verses in their albums.
NUMBER 11 Irene from Red Velvet
Bae Joohyun or better known as Irene from Red Velvet, is the leader, visual and main rapper of the group. She signed with S.M. Entertainment and has been their trainee since 2009, and she debuted in 2014 with their song Happiness.
NUMBER 10 Amber Liu from f(x)
Amber was a member, a vocalist, and rapper of the girl group f(x), she was under S.M. Entertainment until her official departure that was announced in September 2019. She is now signed under Steel Wool Entertainment and will be releasing an album soon.
NUMBER 9 Son Chaeyoung from Twice
Chaeyoung is the lead rapper of Twice. She displayed excellent rapping skills during her participation in JYPE's SIXTEEN; she wrote her lyrics to her rendition to the song Honey.
She is also actively contributing and composing lyrics to Twice's more recent albums.
NUMBER 8 Minzy from 2NE1
Gong Minji is Minzy's real name. She debuted in 2009 as a rapper of the group 2NE1 which was under Y.G. Entertainment. She left the group and the company in 2016, when the group also decided to disband. In April 2017, she successfully released her first individual E.P. titled Minzy Work 01: "Uno."
NUMBER 7 L.E. from EXID
Ahn Hyojin or better recognized as LE is a member of the girl group EXID. She's a rapper, a producer and a songwriter. Before her debut in February 2012 with EXID under Banana Culture, L.E. was an underground rapper in a hip hop group called Jiggy Fellaz, and her alias was Elly.
NUMBER 6 Jessi
Jessi participated in the first and pioneer season of Unpretty Rapstar from January to March 2015. She was voted by the audience as the rightful second place winner. She released her rap single Gucci in 2017 from her first mini-album titled Un2verse. In 2018 she released a single title Down on the same day her episode on Yo! MTV Raps was aired on television.
NUMBER 4 Moonbyul from Mamamoo
Moonbyul is a lead rapper of the girl group Mamamoo. She's known in the idol industry for her low and distinct voice when rapping. She released her debut as a solo artist in May of 2018, and her digital single is entitled Selfish.
NUMBER 3 Jeon Soyeon from (G)I-DLE
Soyeon made quite the impression during her participation in both realities shows Unpretty Rapstar and Produce 101. She's an acclaimed rapper, singer-songwriter, and record producer, as well as the leader of the girl group (G)I-DLE. It is known that she has an outstanding discography outside of the group's discography.
NUMBER 2 Lisa from Blackpink
Lalisa Manoban or Lisa is Blackpink's only Thai member; she's the groups lead rapper and main dancer. She's one of the many idols who have made themselves their own YouTube channel, as of July 2019 her subscribers has reached over 1.3 in numbers.
NUMBER 1 CL from 2NE1
Lee Chaerin or better known as CL, was 2NE1's leader and main rapper. She started her American promotions for her solo activities in October 2014, since then she has released tracks such as Hello Bitches and Lifted. As of November 8, 2019, CL has ended her contract with Y.G. Entertainment, and soon after that, she started releasing unreleased tracks from her solo E.P. project entitled In the Name of Love.
