''Unpretty Rapstar'' (

Hangul The Korean alphabet is the modern writing system for the Korean language. In North Korea, the alphabet is known as (), and in South Korea, it is known as (). The letters for the five basic consonants reflect the shape of the speech organs ...

: 언프리티 랩스타) is a South Korean rap competition TV show that airs on

Mnet M-Net (an abbreviation of Electronic Media Network) is a South African pay television channel established by Naspers in 1986. The channel broadcasts both local and international programming, including general entertainment, children's series, ...

. It is known as the female counterpart of '' Show Me The Money''. The contestants compete with each other to get a chance to participate in the new song that the producers made.

Season 1

The Show premiered in January 2015 on

and was hosted by Korean rapper

San E Jung San (; born ), more commonly known by his stage name San E (), is a South Korean rapper. He debuted in 2010 under JYP Entertainment, where he was the label's first solo rapper. He left the company in 2013 to sign with hip hop label Brand New ...

. In August 2015, it was confirmed that the show would begin airing its second season on September 11, 2015. The winner in Season 1 was

Cheetah The cheetah (''Acinonyx jubatus'') is a large Felidae, cat and the Fastest animals, fastest land animal. It has a tawny to creamy white or pale buff fur that is marked with evenly spaced, solid black spots. The head is small and rounded, wit ...

Contestants

Winner:

('' SMTM'' contestant)
First runner-up:

Jessi Jessi may refer to: People * Jessi (musician) (born 1988), Korean-American rapper, singer, and songwriter * Gianluigi Jessi (born 1945), Italian basketball player * Jessi Alexander (born 1976), American country music artist * Jessi Colter (b ...

(former Lucky J member)
Second runner-up: Yuk Ji-dam ('' SMTM3'' contestant, '' Unpretty Rapstar 3'' contestant)
Semi-finalists: *

Kisum Jo Hye-ryung (; born January 20, 1994), also known by her stage name Kisum (), is a South Korean rapper and television personality. In 2015, Kisum competed on the first season of the variety show '' Unpretty Rapstar''. She had previously compet ...

(''SMTM3'' contestant) *

Jimin Park Ji-min (; born October 13, 1995), known mononymously as Jimin, is a South Korean singer, songwriter, and dancer. In 2013, he made his debut as a member of the South Korean boy band BTS, under the record label Big Hit Entertainment. Jim ...

(former AOA member) * Jolly V (''SMTM3'' contestant) Eliminated contestants: *

Tymee Lee Ok-joo (born December 6, 1985), better known by her stage name Tymee (formerly known as E.via and Napper), is a South Korean rapper, songwriter, and pianist. She is currently represented by Outsider's label ASSA Communication and is known ...

(''SMTM3'' contestant) (Eliminated in episode 6) * Jace of Miss $ (Joined in episode 4, eliminated in episode 6) * Lil Cham (Eliminated in episode 4)

Competition events

Self-introduction through a cypher

An ice-breaker where all contestants and the host do a rap for their self-introduction, using the same beat. The rappers are allowed to initiate or respond to pre-game diss battles.

One-take video mission

The first mission in all seasons of Unpretty Rapstar was contestants collaborating with judges, producers, and fellow contestants to create a music video for an original rap song. The video is mostly filmed in one unedited take, and the rappers must also write and arrange the song. After the filming of the music video for the song is complete, the rappers vote for who did the best and worst, in a fully disclosed process. The winner of the mission receives an advantage for the next challenge or the next part of the track missions. Whoever is voted last by their fellow rappers receives a penalty of being excluded from the next mission, or from the song that was produced through the one-take mission.

Diss Battles

A series of one-on-one rap battles where the contestants put one another down through diss rap. Unlike rap battles in Show Me the Money, these are closed events with no MCs.

Season 2

Contestants

Winner: Truedy (signed with Mnet before show; '' SMTM6'' contestant)
First runner-up:

KittiB Kim Bo-mi (; born July 27, 1990), better known by her stage name, KittiB (), is a South Korean rapper and songwriter. She was the first runner-up in TV music competition '' Unpretty Rapstar 2''. Career KittiB debuted in 2012 with the single, ...

(rapper signed with

Brand New Music Brand New Music (, also stylized as BrandNew Music and initialized as BNM) is a South Korean hip hop company founded in 2011 by rapper . History 2003–2012: Founding and first-generation artists Kim Se-hwan (), known as Rhymer, founded the r ...

after the show ended)
Second runner-up:

Hyolyn Kim Hyo-jung (; born December 11, 1990), better known by her stage name Hyolyn (), is a South Korean singer and songwriter. Currently, she is under the management of Bridʒ, a production company she founded herself. She is a former member of the ...

(former

Sistar Sistar (; stylized in all caps) was a South Korean girl group formed in 2010 by Starship Entertainment. The group consisted of Hyolyn, Yoon Bo-ra, Bora, Soyou and Kim Da-som, Dasom. They made their official debut with the song "Push Push (Sistar ...

member)
Third runner-up: Moon Sua (former

YG Entertainment YG Entertainment () is a South Korean Multinational corporation, multinational entertainment agency established in 1996 by Yang Hyun-suk. The company operates as a record label, talent agency, music production company, event management and conce ...

trainee; now member of

Billlie Billlie (; stylized as ''Bi11lie'' or ''Billlǃə'') is a South Korean girl group formed by Mystic Story. Billlie debuted on November 10, 2021, with the extended play (EP) '' The Billage of Perception: Chapter One''. The group originally consi ...

under Mystic Story)
Semi-finalists: * Heize (Now with

P Nation P Nation () is a South Korean entertainment company. The company operates as a record label, entertainment agency, and concert production company founded in 2018 by singer Psy. As of November 2022, the label had ten artists signed to the label. ...

) *

Yubin Yu-bin, also spelled Yoo-bin, is a Korean unisex given name. Its meaning depends on the hanja used to write each syllable of the name. People People with this name include: * Kim Yu-bin (musician) (born 1988), South Korean female singer, former m ...

(former Wonder Girls member) * Jeon Jiyoon (former

4Minute 4Minute (, often stylized in all caps) was a South Korean girl group formed by Cube Entertainment, consisting of members Jihyun, Gayoon, Jiyoon, Hyuna and Sohyun. The group was known for its edgy dance-pop style and " girl crush" image t ...

member) (Joined in episode 4) * Yezi (former

Fiestar Fiestar () is a South Korean girl group, composed of Cao Lu, Jei, Linzy, Hyemi and Yezi. They began their career prior to debut by releasing a duet with label mate IU (singer), IU titled "Sea of Moonlight" in July 2012 for LOEN Entertainment's c ...

member) Eliminated contestants: * Kasper (former

Play the Siren ''Play the Siren'' (, also stylized as ''PLAY THE SIREN'') was a South Korean hip-hop group that debuted in 2014 with the single "Dream Drive". History Pre-debut Play the Siren as a hip-hop crew brought the genre of urban music to Korea by com ...

member, '' SMTM4'' and '' SMTM6'' contestant) (Eliminated in episode 8) * Exy of

Cosmic Girls WJSN (; ), also known as Cosmic Girls, is a South Korean girl group formed by Starship Entertainment and Yuehua Entertainment. The group is composed of ten members: Seola (singer), Seola, Bona (singer), Bona, Exy, Soobin, Luda (singer), Luda, ...

(Joined in episode 6, eliminated in episode 8) * Kim of

Rubber Soul ''Rubber Soul'' is the sixth studio album by the English Rock music, rock band the Beatles. It was released on 3 December 1965 in the United Kingdom on EMI's Parlophone label, accompanied by the non-album double A-side single "We Can Work It Ou ...

, (''

The Unit ''The Unit'' is an American action-drama television series created by David Mamet that aired on CBS from March 7, 2006, to May 10, 2009, with the total of four seasons and 69 episodes. The series focuses on a top-secret military unit modeled ...

'' contestant) (Joined in episode 6, eliminated in episode 7) * Gilme of

Clover Clovers, also called trefoils, are plants of the genus ''Trifolium'' (), consisting of about 300 species of flowering plants in the legume family Fabaceae originating in Europe. The genus has a cosmopolitan distribution with the highest diversit ...

(Eliminated in episode 5) * Ahn Soo Min ('' SMTM4'' contestant) (Eliminated in episode 3) * Ash-B ('' Unpretty Rapstar 3'' contestant, '' SMTM5'' contestant) (Eliminated in episode 3)

Season 3

The show premiered in July 2016 on

as a spin-off of '' Show Me the Money''. The show was hosted by rapper and producer YDG, and the winner of it was Giant Pink.

Contestants

Source Winner: Giant Pink ('' SMTM5'' contestant)
First runner-up: Nada (former Wa$$up member, '' SMTM3'' contestant) Semifinalists: *

Jeon So-yeon Jeon So-yeon (; born August 26, 1998), known mononymously as Soyeon, is a South Korean rapper and record producer under Cube Entertainment. She first gained attention for competing in the television shows ''Produce 101'' and '' Unpretty Rapsta ...

Cube Entertainment Cube Entertainment Inc. () is a South Korean entertainment company. The company operates as a record label, talent agency, music production company, event management and concert production company, and music publishing house. Cube are known for h ...

(''

Produce 101 ''Produce 101'' () is a reality television talent competition franchise created by South Korean entertainment conglomerate CJ E&M, based around the formation of a K-pop girl group or boy group. The format is noted for having no panel of judges ...

'' trainee during that time and now

(G)I-dle I-dle (; stylized in all lowercase), formerly known as (G)I-dle (), is a South Korean girl group formed by Cube Entertainment in 2018. The group consists of five members: Miyeon, Minnie (singer), Minnie, Soyeon, Yuqi, and Shuhua. Originally a se ...

leader) * Ash-B ('' Unpretty Rapstar 2'' contestant, '' SMTM5'' contestant) Quarter Finalists: *

Miryo Jo Mi-hye (born November 2, 1981), better known by her stage name Miryo (), is a South Korean rapper and songwriter. She is currently the rapper of girl group Brown Eyed Girls, and is a former member of rap group Honey Family. Miryo debuted as ...

Brown Eyed Girls Brown Eyed Girls (; ) is a South Korean girl group. The group is composed of four members: JeA, Miryo, Narsha, and Gain (singer), Gain. They debuted as an R&B/ballad vocal group with "Come Closer (다가와서)" in 2006 through the release of ...

, ('' SMTM'' producer) (Eliminated in episode 9) * Yuk Ji-dam (''

Unpretty Rapstar 1 ''Unpretty Rapstar'' (Hangul: 언프리티 랩스타) is a South Korean rap competition TV show that airs on Mnet. It is known as the female counterpart of '' Show Me The Money''. The contestants compete with each other to get a chance to partici ...

'' contestant, SMTM3 contestant) (Eliminated in episode 9) Eliminated Contestants: * Euna Kim (former The Ark member, Superstar K3 contestant, ''

'' contestant, KHAN member) (Eliminated in episode 8) * Grazy Grace (

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

vlogger and soloist) (Eliminated in episode 8) * Ha Jooyeon (former

Jewelry Jewellery (or jewelry in American English) consists of decorative items worn for personal adornment such as brooches, ring (jewellery), rings, necklaces, earrings, pendants, bracelets, and cufflinks. Jewellery may be attached to the body or the ...

member, '' SMTM5'' contestant) (Eliminated in episode 6) * Janey (former GP Basic member, '' SMTM5'' contestant, ''

'' contestant) (Eliminated in episode 6) * Kool Kid (''

K-pop Star 4 The fourth season of the South Korean reality television competition show ''K-pop Star'' premiered on SBS on November 23, 2014, airing Sunday evenings at 4:50 pm KST as part of the '' Good Sunday'' lineup. Yang Hyun-suk, Park Jin-young, and Yo ...

'' contestant) (Joined in episode 3, eliminated in episode 5) *

Kassy Kim So-yeon (; born October 6, 1995), known by the stage name Kassy (), is a South Korean singer-songwriter. Since her debut in 2015, she has released five extended plays and numerous singles. In 2016 she competed on the survival reality show ' ...

(Eliminated in episode 3) Additional Match Contestants: * Ki Hui-hyeon of DIA, (''

'' contestant) * Tilda ('' SMTM5'' contestant) * Ra$on ('' SMTM6'' contestant) * Lola Roze

Discography

References

{{Authority control Hip-hop television Korean-language television shows South Korean music television shows Music competitions in South Korea 2015 South Korean television series debuts Mnet (TV channel) original programming Unpretty Rapstar 2015 South Korean television series endings 2016 South Korean television series debuts 2016 South Korean television series endings