Hyolyn and Yubin join rap competition show

Wonder Girl’s Yubi

By Kim Jae-heun

Hyolyn of the popular girl band SISTAR and Wonder Girl’s rapper Yubin are ready to join the rap competition show “Unpretty Rapstar” that premiers Friday at 11:00 p.m. on CJ E&M’s music channel Mnet.

The show, a spin-off of “Show Me the Money,” immediately gained popularity in its first season last year for content that showed intense competition among the female rappers, especially in one-on-one battle episodes.

Although it may seem unfavorable for female idol stars to appear in a competition show where they may lose and tarnish their image, Hyolyn and Yubin have decided to take the risk, where comparatively unknown rappers are willing to compete fiercely for their chance at stardom.

“I’ve decided to star on this series to show my real self,” Yubin said during a press conference at Times Square in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, Tuesday. “There were limits to what I could show in the girl group as we pursued retro music while I wanted to go for hip-hop.”

Hyolyn agreed with Yubin and added that the shooting was serious.

“All the participants were as serious as we were. I guess because rappers tell their stories from their hearts, this is no joke,” Hyolyn said.

Chief producer Han Dong-chul said the rap show not only aims to encourage rivalries but rather provides a fair chance for some undiscovered talents to gain fame. He also acknowledged that the episodes may contain foul language and slang, as they are characteristic of hip-hop. However, Han promised to keep the content suitable for viewers aged 15 years or older and comply with broadcast regulations.

“Unpretty Rapstar” will focus on drawing rappers who want to improve their repertoire during the course of the season rather than just concentrating on their rap skills.

“We have cast participants who can rap,” said the show director and producer Ko Ik-jo. “However, our program will try to show rappers achieving their goals through the episodes and we chose those participants who are strongly willing to show what they can do.”

In season two, Unpretty Rapstar features a star-studded cast including three members of idol girl bands ― Yubin, Hyolyn and Yezi ― and underground rappers, such as GilMe, KittiB and Heize. Other relatively unknown participants are Kasper, Ash-B, Ahn Soo-min, Sua and Truedy.