Kpop: Mino/Minho (송민호)

There is something about the solo debut of Mino (not sure why they dropped the 'h' from his real name Song Minho) the rapper from kpop group Winner. I find that hip hop seems to be very popular right now among male idols right now, way to popular for my taste, but he has a interesting drama in his voice that moves beyond the usual rapping style. There is a kind of heedlessness that only Jay Park and Okasian can top.

• Mino - Body (몸)

Kpop: 220 Volt - Night Glow

I loathe writing about artists that I don't know that much about, but 220Volt seems to be a kind of project group with Gyro, Mirror Boy and D. Ham making the debut song "Night Glow". It is anyway a really nice and dark hiphop / electronic track with a superb ambience.

• 220 Volt - Night Glow

Kpop: Beenzino (빈지노)

The 28 year old rapper Beenzino from Korea has a respectable number of songs and collaborations behind him, with the one with BoA earlier this year ranking the highest in my eyes status wise, but the latest "Life In Color" is the song that makes me more interested with a combination of a fun video and him singing more than rapping.

• Beenzino - Life In Color
• BoA & Beenzino - No Manner What
• Suran ft Beenzino - Calling in Love
• Beenzino - So What (어쩌라고)
• Beenzino - Break
• Beenzino - Aqua Man
• Beenzino - Profile
• Eddy Kim ft Beenzino - Paldangdam(팔당댐)

Kpop: Jinbo (진보)

Jinbo is supposedly a rapper but I find it is better to describe his kpop as belonging to the R&B bracket, with nice samples and electronica added for good taste.

• Jinbo - Fantasy
• Jinbo - Be My Friend
• Jinbo - Cops Come Knock
• Jinbo - Miss Thang

Kpop: Jessi (제시)

Jessi (real name Ho Hyun-ju), known from Lucky J but all the more as a successful rapper in korean show Unpretty Rapstar, grew up in New York and New Jersey. She moved to Korea when she was 15 to pursue her music career. She has a badass attitude, and together with a full voice very much unusual in korean rap, she has established her own niche in this hip hop scene. Her videos of "Ssenunni" is a perfect example of this.

• Jessi - Ssenunni ("Fierce Unni/Fierce elder sister", 쎈언니)
• Jessi - Ssenunni (live, Music Core)
• Jessi - I want to be me (나이고 싶어)

Kpop: Mamamoo - Taller Than You (1cm의 자존심)

The girls with the great voices, Mamamoo, are back, and this time it is more rap than soul. "Taller Than You" is a great and fun piece about boasting about your length and in general competing with your peers about stuff that really shouldn't matter. The korean title is even more explicit as it literally means 'Pride of 1 cm'), and again the four artists really charm us with their charisma and top delivery.

• Mamamoo - Taller Than You (1cm의 자존심)
• Mamamoo - Taller Than You (korean/english lyrics)