Remember when f(x) was a thing? They've become the next iteration of Secret, what with nothing to show for in 2017 so far. Amber in particular suffers because she was gaining a shitton of momentum with a plentiful 2016. I thought she would've kept at least some steam coming into this year. But alas. If Hyomin and Hana get punished for not rapping then so does Amber. The last time we heard her rap was in "All Mine." For crying out loud don't leave this group for dead, S.M.
#19. Chanmi (+5)
Chanmi marks the end of the low tier rappers. After getting her breakout moment with AOA Cream, she got some extra attention with "Excuse Me" and "Bing Bing," though neither of these were even half as good as the rap in "I'm Jelly Baby." Of course that's a given since she has to compete with Jimin of all people. She'll forever remain under Jimin's shadow, but maybe just maybe, Choa leaving gives some room for hope. Maybe this frees up some room for longer rap breaks that won't all just go to Jimin by default.
#18. Hyeran (-9)
Hyeran is the first of five middle tier members. These rappers are the bare minimum average for one reason or another - all of them also have a signature breakout rap. Of course Hyeran is actually way better than her rank would suggest but she's currently on hiatus and didn't participate in the "Rollin'" comeback. I didn't wanna punish her too hard, as she was previously #9 but with Brave Girls their track record speaks for itself. Plus her break was due to health concerns if I'm not mistaken, so there's no telling if and when she'll be back. Really hope she does return because she deserves to be back in the top 10.
#17. Newsun (+4)
Newsun and D.ana are the dynamic duo of Sonamoo that only got usurped by Black Pink. Newsun is the weakest of the four but she's by no means bad. But it needs to be said that she was faring much better when Sonamoo did the tougher sounding songs. Their newest comeback "Friday Night" is exactly that so thank god. I hated seeing her rap all cutesy and shit (same goes for D.ana) in their last few songs. Newsun might actually lack a signature rap due to splitting time with D.ana but she is consistently average. Consistently average is still consistent. Middle of the pack seems a perfect place for her.
#16. Yura (+10)
Yura doesn't really deserve the ten spot jump, but the combination of inactives and newbies shuffles her quite far up the ladder. But hey an actual comeback certainly helps. Plus her rap in "I'll Be Yours" was pretty good, albeit (still) too short. While I'm glad Girl's Day finally came back after so long, I yearn for the day she can have another rap that was the length and quality of the one from "I Miss You." Yura's got a good voice and could rise a few more spots if she would get longer and more consistent raps.
Truthfully, Sojin is similar to Yura in that recent solid performances have propelled her upwards to the center. Other movement aside, Sojin has done admirably in the wake of Erin leaving 9MUSES. Now that the subunit is essentially the whole group (Sungah come back pls), Sojin will have plenty of opportunities to shine as the rapper. In "Remember," she did just that, giving us her trademark rap just two songs in. Unfortunately "Love City" was less exciting in both rap and song but regardless Sojin has serious potential moving forward.
#14. Huihyeon (--)
Why'd she change her stage name from Cathy? Huihyeon is a mouthful. Anyway DIA has yet to impress me as a group but Cathy / Huihyeon already has as the rapper. Her best rap was in "My Friend's Boyfriend" even though the instrumental was hella obnoxious and clouded her voice a ton. Like Mimi from Oh My Girl, Huihyeon's raps are the parts that I look forward to with every DIA song. So in the same way, if their music can match the capability of Huihyeon then there's something to work with. Worth noting that both her and the next debut rank around the same area as the talented newcomers from the last iteration.
#13. Dami (--)
I want "damn Dami" to be the new Kpop variant of "damn Daniel." Memes aside, she made a really good first impression when Dreamcatcher rebranded with "Chase Me." I love the mixture of her voice and the aggression she raps with. It's a shame she was relegated to secondary rapping roles in their newest songs, because she has the better voice compared to Sua, but she did what she could. She was part of the original Minx lineup so I may have to check their older discography, though I doubt it'd be as powerful as Dreamcatcher's material.
#12. D.ana (+3)
With Yubin gone, D.ana might be in sole possession of the best rapper voice of all girl groups. Or at least the deepest. D.ana kickstarts high tier, which encompasses #12 through #6. High tier rappers are expectedly above average and if the middle tier rappers possess a trademark rap, the high tier ones have an elite rap (at minimum). For D.ana it's been a slight descent since the debut of "Deja Vu" but she's remained just outside the top ten in each ranking. She will go as far as Sonamoo's music style decides to take her, but I pray "Friday Night" was a good sign of things to come.
#11. Lime (+3)
Lime was already a pretty good rapper before this installment, so the departures will only bolster her spot - now she is the gatekeeper to the top ten. After an uneventful 2016 in the rapping department, she got a short but sweet bit in the "Mysterious" comeback. Lime is charismatic and powerful, and no other rap showcases that better than the one in "Wiggle Wiggle." I believe Hello Venus is gearing up for another comeback in the fall, so let's see some more devastating Lime raps!
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