Hip-hop and rap music came to life in the South Bronx projects of New York as a way for youth to address social, economic, political, cultural realities, and conditions of their lives (Alridge, 2005.) Today, rap has progressed through several evolutions of subgenres. From the West Coast 1990s domination of “gangsta rap with N.W.A,” to the early 2000s of pop crossovers, to the heavy commercialization of rap in late 2000s, rap music has evolved from the projects to the globe (Devos, 2007.) In 2018, for the first time, hip-hop, along with R&B, became the most popular music genre in the United States, with the highest percentage of consumption at 24.5 percent, according to Nielsen’s 2017 year end report. Across the Pacific Ocean, hip-hop and rap music has crossed American borders into the country of South Korea.

 

After the exposure to Western popular culture in the 1990s,

a new generation of South Koreans embraced and adopted

hip-hop culture starting with break-dancing (Um, 2013.)

But that was overshadowed by the music

industry’s emergence of Korean pop (K-Pop).

Featuring a distinctive blend of addictive

melodies, dance choreography, production values,

and studio-trained artists, K-Pop became a global

phenomenon (Romano, 2018.) The industry reached

global success and caught the world’s attention. Hip-hop

elements was a dominant feature in some K-Pop songs,

individual female, and male artists (Romano, 2018.)

 

This paved a path and space for solely hip-hop and rap based artists to

emerge (Um, 2013.) This study focused on exploring the visual symbols

presented in Korean hip-hop and rap music videos and analyzed the

themes of their lyrics to understand the inspirations American music has created for Koreans while critically addressing the negative elements in their work.

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Q: What are the dominant symbols presented in Korean hip-hop and rap music videos and what are the themes found in their lyrics?