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, Swings, etc., 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:

G-Dragon (BIGBANG) Chanyeol (EXO) Jay Park Taecyeon (2PM) Park Kyung (Block B) Mir (MBLAQ) Bora (SISTAR) Jung Hana (Secret)

Blue Division:

T.O.P (BIGBANG) P.O (Block B) Zelo (B.A.P) Baro (B1A4) Miryo (Brown Eyed Girls) Yuna Kim (The Ark) Hyoyeon (Girls’ Generation) HyunA (4minute)

Purple Division:

SIMS (M.I.B) Bang Yong Guk (B.A.P) CL (2NE1) Jackson (GOT7) Yong Jun Hyung (BEAST) Rap Monster (BTS) Ilhoon (BTOB) Ravi (VIXX)

Green Division:

Zico (Block B) Tao (EXO) Dongwoo (INFINITE) Amber (f(x)) LE (EXID) Yubin (Wonder Girls) Jia (miss A) Feeldog (BIGSTAR)

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

G-Dragon (BIGBANG) vs. Jung Hana (Secret)

G-Dragon

Jung Hana



G-Dragon (BIGBANG) vs. Hana (Secret)

Chanyeol (EXO) vs. Bora (SISTAR)

Chanyeol

Bora

Chanyeol (EXO) vs. Bora (SISTAR) Jay Park vs. Mir (MBLAQ)

Jay Park

Mir



Jay Park vs. Mir (MBLAQ)

Taecyeon (2PM) vs. Park Kyung (Block B)

Taecyeon

Park Kyung

Taecyeon (2PM) vs. Park Kyung (Block B) Now for the blue division! Go to the next page for T.O.P, P.O, Miryo, and others!

T.O.P (BIGBANG) vs. HyunA (4Minute)

T.O.P

HyunA



T.O.P (BIGBANG) vs. HyunA (4Minute)

P.O (Block B) vs. Hyoyeon (Girls’ Generation)

P.O

Hyoyeon

P.O (Block B) vs. Hyoyeon (Girls’ Generation) Zelo (B.A.P) vs. Yuna Kim (The Ark)

Zelo

Yuna Kim



Zelo (B.A.P) vs. Yuna Kim (The Ark)

Baro (B1A4) vs. Miryo (Brown Eyed Girls)

Baro

Miryo

Baro (B1A4) vs. Miryo (Brown Eyed Girls) Halfway done! Now for the purple division. SIMS, CL, Rap Monster, Yong Junhyung, and more coming up!

SIMS (M.I.B) vs. Ravi (VIXX)

Ravi



SIMS (M.I.B) vs. Ravi (VIXX)

Bang Yong Guk (B.A.P) vs. Ilhoon (BTOB)

Bang Yong Guk

Ilhoon

Bang Yong Guk (B.A.P) vs. Ilhoon (BTOB) CL (2NE1) vs. Rap Monster (BTS)

CL

Rap Monster



CL (2NE1) vs. Rap Monster (BTS)

Jackson (GOT7) vs. Yong Junhyung (BEAST)

Jackson

Yong Junhyung

Jackson (GOT7) vs. Yong Junhyung (BEAST) Almost there! Last but not least, the green division. Turn the page to check out Zico, Amber, Yubin, and Tao!

Zico (Block B) vs. Feeldog (BIGSTAR)

Zico

Feeldog



Zico (Block B) vs. Feeldog (BIGSTAR)

Tao (EXO) vs. Jia (miss A)

Tao

Jia

Tao (EXO) vs. Jia (miss A) Dongwoo (INFINITE) vs. Yubin (Wonder Girls)

Dongwoo

Yubin



Dongwoo (INFINITE) vs. Yubin (Wonder Girls)

Amber (f(x)) vs. LE (EXID)

Amber

LE

