New Player

I wouldn't say I'm the best rapper in the world. In fact, I don't even know if I could be considered a rapper. Saying words to the sounds of things hitting other things doesn't sound hard to do.

Yet I always found myself awkward with rapping. I could not understand how the edgy wave of female Korean rappers could execute the task so flawlessly. CL, Heize, Soyeon, the list goes on and on for the fierce women in the world of Korean rap.

At the same time, I found it strange that males continued to dominate the TV shows and claim Korean rap in their image; Show Me the Money, a popular rap survival show, rarely showed its female contestants. Few ever make it past the initial stages despite their talents.

The rappers of Bangtan Sonyeondan, or BTS as they are internationally known as, and the female rappers of Korea inspired me to write this. Members of BTS often write their best hits on a whim -- one member wrote his hit after recovering from surgery, another slapped down a solo track in 30 minutes. I decided to let go and write whatever came to mind.

Three variations of the same rap evolved.

The first was good. It was short and sweet. I got greedy though and wanted to expand the rap after having fun with the first verse.

The second took a harsher and edgier turn. I enjoyed getting to play the part of someone who is a little tougher than I normally project myself to be. However, I wondered if it was too much.

Version three was perfect. A little edgy and sassy (adjectives that are out of character for myself) with a dash of encouragement at the end (something I feel people often view me with despite my constant stress).

I could rap perfectly fine without a beat, but if I was going to rap in front of a class I was going to go all the way. The very first beat on the YouTube search bar proved to be perfect. Its strong beats with variations in a stable time made it easy to hop in and out off, as well as recover if I stumbled.

I stumbled quite a few times on performance day, despite rehearsing until 2:00 a.m. in my closet. With the strong rap beat and a little improvisation, I felt I was able to easily recover.

These mistakes show that I am still new to this whole rap "game." However, I would say I'm a new player with skills and a style that have never been seen from me before. My lines can only go up from here.