Asia is a box where other people throw the typical stereotypes that they learned from somewhere. This probably has no connection to facts or is completely made up. It is not shocking news anymore that compared to others, Asians have had tougher paths, especially if it is about global representation. In this article, we’ll list down the Top Asian Rappers in 2021.
Take BTS for example. A name everyone knows, but even after earning worldwide fame through years of hard work they are still under the scrutiny eyes of others. BTS is made fun of for their looks. Saying how typical ‘Asian’ look they have, the obsession with how Asians look even after they have earned global recognition shows how racist others are towards Asians.
Partiality goes wherever Asians are, it doesn’t matter which field they are representing. They will for sure face differences wherever they go.
If you are an artist representing Asia globally then the path you are travelling right now could have been smooth with fewer obstacles. This could have been possible if others cooperated, but they will not, and that’s a fact. So, to grab seats from the privileged ones is something global Asian artists have to do.
Even if they are more talented than the privileged ones, still the struggle is more towards the Asian ones.
In simple words, artists who are Asians and are famous internationally deserve extra credit for doing the extra work of breaking through these stereotypical walls created by Non-Asians and we all should know about them because they are worth it.
About Asian Rappers
Asian rappers are everywhere. Pick up a famous Hollywood rap song and the rapper is likely to be Asian. That’s how Asian rappers managed to reach the heights successfully. Even when they were getting ignored by America’s record companies and radio stations, and this ignorance is still happening.
Asian rappers don’t have much history within the rap industry. But now they are a part of growing populations. Asian rap is getting recognized more and more all over the world. This happened because rappers from Asia chose not to remain silent on the discrimination they faced. Furthermore, they took matters into their own hands by declaring some of the injustice done to them on the internet. All this even after witnessing the outrage of the fans, many record companies, and music producers started cutting their ‘racist’ actions.
Places where the majority of Asian artists
Asian rappers are mostly based on the west coast. Some others are located in New York and parts of the East Coast. Numerous Asian countries are beginning to take their place within the world’s rapping industry–from East Asia’s Japan and South Korea to Southeast Asia’s Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, and the Philippines. Many Asians are becoming International stars and knowing about them is a proud feeling because.
Most of the time, it’s the hidden ones that turn out to be a gem. So, the Asian rappers who are basically ‘hidden’ deserve to be known just like any other rapper. Below are some of the best Asian Rappers who are practically carrying the weight of the Asian rap industry on their back.
Top Asian Rappers
Suga
The top Asian rappers list is incomplete without this name. Min Yoon Gi, famously known by his stage name Suga or August D is a South Korean rapper, songwriter, and record producer. He is a famous member of the famous group–BTS, and he contributes a lot to the group when it comes to songwriting. As a solo artist, he released two songs, and in 2018, Suga was promoted as a member of the Korean Music Copyright Association. All we are seeing right now is the worldwide fame, the struggle he had to go through during the early stages of his career needs to be talked about as much as we talk about his and the group’s success.
Early life
Born Suga was born on March 9, 1993, in Daegu, South Korea. He became interested in rap after hearing “Reggae Muffin” by Stony Skunk. Suga liked the different beats and decided to research rap music. He tried writing music at the age of 13. By the age of 17, he worked as a part-timer in a recording studio. Before being signed, he was active under the name Gloss as an underground rapper.
He is responsible for BTS’s top hits track that has a rap section in it. Suga along with RM is known for carrying the rap sections of the songs they write. Sugar received the fifth-class Hwagwan Order of Cultural Merit as a member of BTS by the President of South Korea along with other members of the group.
CL
Another South Korean rapper successfully touched fame with her own hard work and talent. Her birth name is Lee Chae-rin and CL is the stage name. She signed her first music contract with YG Entertainment in 2007, she decided to walk on the rapping path after listening to Lil Kim and dreams to be a rapper like her. One of her favourite artists is Kanye West. The dedication and respect she has for rap are reflected in the songs she has written, you listen to it once and you will want to listen to it again.
She once said that the hardest part of her job is ‘loving it too much’. She was featured in many songs, such as BIGBANG’s “Hot issue” (2007), G-Dragon’ 2009 single “The Leaders“, etc. In 2011 she was a guest judge on “Project Runway Korea” (Onstyle) with designer Jeremy Scott. She left YG Entertainment in late 2019. She’s now signed under SuneV & Schoolboy Records.
Early life
CL was born in Seoul, South Korea and was used to be a JYP trainer. She spent her childhood in different places due to her father’s occupation–Her father is a physics professor that builds robots. She had a tough life during the early stages of her career but things started to change when she was featured in many songs, such as BIGBANG’s “Hot issue” (2007), G-Dragon’s 2009 single “The Leaders“, etc. Then on she continued capturing the hearts of rap fans. She has recorded 200+ songs already. CL wrote 2NE1’s final single, ‘Goodbye‘ for only 10 minutes.
Jay Park
If you are talking about Asian Rappers then talking about Jay Park is a must. Jay Park is a famous Korean American rapper and songwriter and is a member of Seattle based boy band called Art of Movement. His most popular works include the album Take a deeper look and the song Demon. He has won several awards such as the Golden Disk award and Korean Music Award. The 34-year-old net worth is believed to be around $2million.
Early life
Jay Park’s Korean name is Park Jae-Boem. He was born in Edmonds, Washington, and started his singing career by becoming the leader of the band 2 PM and released his first song 10 out of 10 in 2008. Since then he was on top with his unique style of rapping and has a huge fan base. He is using his money on good things like he is a part of several charitable organizations and he even campaigned for breast cancer awareness and joined former vice president Al Gore to promote a cleaner environment for the world.
Rap Monster
The name is pretty self-explanatory and RM is a name everyone knows. RM is his stage name, Kim Namjoon is his real name and he is the leader of the famous boy band BTS. Since the group’s first release in 2013, Rap Monster has led the group to great heights. People who don’t listen to rap will fall in love with him if they listen to his high-speed yet smooth rapping style. Despite his stage name, Rap Monster doesn’t only rap; he recently sang on one of the songs the group members released during their recent fourth-anniversary event. Seeing his popularity and most importantly, his talent, even the top rappers are looking forward to a collaboration with him.
Early life
Kim Namjoon was born Sept. 12, 1994, and was working on his rapping skills as an underground rapper before BTS was even founded. In 2015, he released his first solo mixtape, RM. In 2007, as a first-year middle school student, RM began rapping in local amateur hip-hop circles and learned English by watching Friends with his mother.
Southstar
He deserves to be in the top 5 list of Asian rappers. This is because of how smooth and heart-touching his rapping styles are. To be honest, he isn’t very good at rapping, but in 2002 his group Smilez and Southstar did have a certified top-40 single “Tell Me”, which is an incredible song, people still remember and like this song. He didn’t reveal about him being Asian for a long time but did later on mixtape tracks where he collaborated with Jin and Far East Movement. The turning point of his life was the song ‘Tell me’, the first full-Asian rapper to blow upon the mainstream but also the most played.
Apart from these, there are tons of Asian rappers, either hidden or working their way up to the top. Some of them include Bambu, Roscoe Umali, apl.de.ap,Far East Movement (Group), and many many more.
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