It's been well over a year since the first official Girl Group Rapper Power Rankings was released. For November I decided to take a return (for real this time) visit to these female rappers in 2015 to see if any changes would happen alongside the shifts in the girl group ladder. For this revisited version, we'll watch some old faces go and some new faces enter the fray. Now like last time, I'm definitely no expert in the art of rap, just going by what I see, hear, and feel. So before we dive into anything, I'll briefly go over my thought process, qualities, expectations, etc.
* Representatives: Each member on this list needs to be listed with the role of rapper. The ideal picture was to have a rapper from as many main groups as I could. Because of this, some will have less substance than others since I'm not familiar with. AOA and 4minute are the only groups with multiple representatives, and on the opposite side, A-Pink and After School are absent because they rarely rap ever. Furthermore, I also restricted adding anyone that isn't active anymore, whether that's because they aren't in groups anymore (Nicole) or they've had substantially less rapping in recent times (Wonder Girls' Hyelim).
* Data: Since the world of Kpop is a title track game, the primary source of materials will be from MV / title tracks. Naturally we'll take in as much information and rapping as possible, but basing off of title songs will keep me honest, and more accurate to immediate impressions and the like. After all, these artists are trying to sell the album through the title track. Of course, any releases are fair game, collaborations, special projects, etc. We're only looking at songs released for the home country though, no Japanese songs, etc.
* Voice (V): When it comes down to it, if a rapper doesn't have a voice I enjoy listening to, I'm probably not gonna like them. This really only applies to nasal sounds and high pitched voices, those of whom will be very clear when they show up on the list. There will be cases where a rapper has a poor voice but really good talent, and the opposite: a good voice with subpar ability.
* Execution (E): This category comprises of flow, rapping speed, etc. Can they rap fast, and sound good while doing so. Pronunciation factors into flow a healthy amount since it's pretty bad to sound jumbled in Korean. The quality of voice will certainly play a factor into execution, as emotion and power tend to have important roles in raps.
* Consistency (C): Being consistent is pretty key. If the ability of rapping fluctuates, you're more likely to be ranked below someone who is perhaps a weaker rapper but with more stability. In this realm, constant improvement is excellent, while the opposite is not, of course. This also refers to the quality of raps as well, most notable in groups or concept changes throughout the years.
* Charisma (Ch): Call it unique presentation, call it stage presence, whatever. Charisma is a combination of how commanding the girls can be on the mic / stage while at the same time breathing life and style into the raps that they are given, since most of them do not compose their own raps.
* Utility (U): Ability to be represented in their music outside of rapping. Not just limited to vocals and dancing, but also extends to variety presence or contributing to the popularity of the group. For example, if Suzy was on this list she would have a high utility rating, as would someone like Taeyeon. This is by far the least significant category, but it does shed potential light on members who may not be as active with their rapping as others.
To give you a sample of what's to come. Here's a writeup for someone who tragically won't be making a comeback, as the group as disbanded. However for writing purposes it will be as if she were still active in the industry. After that we'll jump into the bottom 8 out of 27 members.
#Ex. Jucy (N/A)
I miss EvoL. This was a group with promise way back when. They debuted with a hip-hop style and swagger that's all too uncommon nowadays. Spearheading this group was Jucy and J-Da, some of the fiercest rappers to emerge in 2013. J-Da brought the deep powerful voice while Jucy had the experienced flighty skills. Jucy was one of the fiercest on the mic, you could always hear her energy and tenacity when she performed. So even though her voice was on the high side and not quite what you'd expect, she made it work with charisma.
It's a shame that this group fell through. Jucy was going places from the underground scene and now she's gonna be back to that and may never see the light of the Kpop stage again. If only I had not been lazy when I originally wanted to revisit these rankings, then I could've given Jucy the proper credit she deserved amongst the top 10.
#27. Youngji (--)
The last member of the list is also one of the youngest (though there are some newbies here with far less experience). KARA's career was revitalized with the addition of Youngji to the group, who has brought to the table a light voice and heavy variety presence. That being said, joining a group with the likes of Seungyeon and Gyuri leaves little breathing (singing) room. Lately we've seen Youngji be directed towards some rapping, mainly on the return track "
Cupid" and groupmate Hara's "
How About Me?" While the rapping in both isn't anything special, it's unfortunate that Youngji's light singing voice translates over to her rapping and she's often clouded by the instrumentals alone. Like I said in my "Cupid"
review, "it just looks like some awkward dance break with various shots of Youngji."
Consistency and execution are both weak for Youngji mainly due to the lack of data she has. KARA and rapping took a hit when they lost Nicole, so DSP have 2 alternatives. Option #1 is to keep Youngji as the pseudo-rapper, but hopefully with better support in how the background audio supports her. The other option, is to drop rapping entirely for future releases. For Youngji's sake I'm hoping it's the latter.
#26. Irene (--)
S.M's newest female rapper is also the weakest in the label. Irene's voice is soft, airy, and high, which are unfortunate qualities to have in a rapper. Her sass and aggressiveness have helped offset that in "
Ice Cream Cake" and even "
Dumb Dumb," but this brings to light another problem: Irene (and Red Velvet) just don't receive good raps. Both the aforementioned tracks are a commendable effort but can't possibly compare the resumes of others later on. Obviously Red Velvet's career is still young, and by the way we do not acknowledge the existence of their debut song. While I'm not making the argument that a weak rapper such as Irene can make do with a better rap, her company isn't even giving her a chance at this point.
To add insult to injury, most if not all of Irene's raps have been shared. Irene combines the line distribution troubles of Bora, the awkwardness of Youngji in the rapping position, and the poor raps of Amber's early days. Luckily for her and her group, my favorite RV tracks have been the R&B tracks, where rapping is thankfully absent. Hopefully Irene is shifted to more singing until S.M. can figure out how to write good raps for Red Velvet.
#25. Chanmi (--)
As part of the limited number of people who have noticed Chanmi, I do have a soft spot for this girl. If you follow AOA and don't even know about Chanmi, I don't blame you. Chanmi more often than not gets the bare minimum of line distribution. While some would say this is about the average fate for most rappers, the unfortunate reality is that she gets maybe 10 seconds total (both rapping and singing) on each song. It's so painful that there aren't even any links for her in the writeup.. Further struggles arise due to Chanmi being just a secondary rapper. Not just any secondary rapper either, but second to Jimin. Alas, she will forever remain under Jimin's shadow.
Not all is lost for Chanmi, though. She's not impressive but she's certainly got the basics down to a tolerable level. Her voice is also acceptable, and definitely competitve with voices like Youngji or Sihyun. Given her young age (the maknae of the entire set), I see potential for her to develop further as long as FNC gives her room to. Until that time comes I will faithfully continue working for the Maknae Protection Squad.
#24. Yura (-5)
Surprise! I think Yura has one of the better voices for rapping in the game. But when you look closely, is this really that much a surprise? Yura has a low husky voice, which is not only a good contrast to some of the lighter voices ranked below her, but also compliments the delicate voices of Minah and Sojin. Unfortunately, she's never quite been able to make use of it. Now I understand Yura was never the original rapper of Girl's Day, but enough time has passed that she should be improving to passable. And to her credit, she
has been making progress on a steady basis. "
I Miss You" and "
Hello Bubble" had punctually strong raps, but then came the disaster that was "
Ring My Bell." Yura may have made that rap the best-sounding 4 second rap in Kpop, the point remains that such a miniscule rap is a travesty and DreamTea should be ashamed.
While she may have suffered heavily due to such short raps lately, Yura is blessed elsewhere because she's arguably the #1 rapper on the list with how much singing she gets to do. Every Girl's Day song sees Yura receiving charitable amounts of lines. While she's no Minah or Sojin, she gets roughly equal amounts with Hyeri and that's praiseworthy. Other rappers and companies need to follow this example. If we can see more of the "I Miss You" Yura, the rapper on the current #1 girl group can continue with her slow climb upwards.
#23. Dahye (--)
Dahye is the only member of BESTie that wasn't previously under EXID. What does this mean for the narrative I'm trying to paint for her? Not much, but it's an interesting tidbit of information so I mentioned it regardless. Anyway, Dahye's scores are fairly average all-around. She has an average voice and average ability, but her constant ability to give personality and sass to her lyrics is good. Her utility score is rather high as most people think of her immediately when you bring up the name BESTie...though for reasons other
than rapping,
usually.
While this may give the perception that Dahye is a competent rapper, this is misleading as I have very little material to work off with her. The major releases in "
Excuse Me" and "
Thank You Very Much" are primarily support raps with her adding a quick line here and there throughout the songs. When push comes to shove though, said songs are nice to listen to and her raps add character to Uji's explosive vocals. Plus, there are other rappers on the list whose groups don't have very exciting songs, but we'll get to that later on. It's difficult to determine if Dahye and her raps will ever be able to take the spotlight away from Uji, so for now she'll occupy the bottom 5.
#22. Sihyun (--)
If Yura's award is the rapper with the most singing lines, then Sihyun's award is probably rapper with the best voice. She isn't a part of SPICA for nothing, and more than holds her own against the likes of Bohyung and Boa when given the opportunity to. However, her rapping voice is quite average, sometimes sounding strained compared to the more rich vocal tones she has. This is countered by her charisma. While she may not have her own distinct style, one can overlook that due to SPICA being such a vocals-oriented group. Still, she's been dropping a variety of rhymes like the sassy "
You Don't Love Me," quiet "
Ghost," and powerful "
Tonight."
The ultimate problem with SPICA is that they're simply not that active, which results in less promotion time. It's been over a year since "
Give Your Love" was released by SPICA.S (which was always a curious subunit to begin with) and while I'd never consider myself fully active in pursuing news about Kpop groups I haven't heard a single sentence regarding SPICA (outside of recent concert appearances) in an eternity. Sihyun's consistency stems mainly from the songs she's been a part of, not the year plus of inactivity. Sihyun is perhaps the true first appearance of a "baseline" rapper. Not incredible, not pathetic, just barely average in pretty much every way possible.
#21. Hyuna (-3)
Hyuna, like her group 4minute, had been on a long period of mediocrity prior to 2015. "
I My Me Mine" was their best song for many years. It wasn't until "
Crazy" turned up that 4minute could finally add a 2nd star track to their resume. In the same realm, Hyuna has been hit-or-miss, primarily with her voice. Hyuna has one of the more recognizable voices in Kpop, and would be categorized under the nasally group. Sometimes she uses that to her advantage, and other times she flops, both in terms of her music and performance. 4minute's "Crazy" EP had some good rapping out of the entire group, Hyuna included. While her most recent solo work "
Because I'm The Best" was more of a miss, the predecessor "
Red" was more of a hit. Hyuna's best solo effort to date is probably "
Blacklist" along with LE (who we'll surely be seeing later on in the ranking).
Of course, one does not simply forget about Hyuna. She's iconic for her racy videos that constantly push boundaries. Her name is synonymous with 4minute, she's an established solo artist and even has the Trouble Maker project unit. Hyuna may struggle compared to the more well-rounded rappers on the list, but she's decisively below average for now.
#20. Hyoyeon (-3)
Girls' Generation's lead dancer also happens to be both the (best) rapper and most overlooked in the group. Hyoyeon possesses one of the unique voices within SNSD, and that's used to her advantage in her raps. She has a distinct tone, respectable range, and husky qualities that give her a good foundation. Execution can be sloppy at times and she does tend to sound messy when rushed, We peered into what she can do with "
Maxstep" and didn't expect that level of rap. Despite Tiffany's better voice and Yuri's better technique, Hyoyeon is the de facto rapper, though that's probably because you can only neglect Hyoyeon for so long.
Hyoyeon's rapping is mediocre on paper, but her biggest weakness is the live performances. When she dances, Hyoyeon has complete control of the stage, but regrettably this doesn't translate to her rapping presence. She's rather
bland and
reserved, even in raps where she should be letting loose (think "I Got A Boy"). In hindsight, her scores (as well as Sihyun and Dahye's) seem overrated and may have made my remaining rankings more difficult, but at the very least their positions in the rankings keep them at bay. Besides, who doesn't like a good challenge?
