After the considerable popularity of its first and second season, the third season then began soon after, in July of 2016. The show has showcased rappers including Jessi, Cheetah, Heize, (G)I-DLE’s Jeon So-yeon, Kisum, Yuk Ji-dam, KittiB, Truedy, Giant Pink, Kasper, and more, and it’s been a career boost for many people. In this article, Channel-Korea will provide you with the list of female rappers and singers who became successful after their appearance on ‘Unpretty Rapstar’. Let’s find out more about the rappers and their profiles. So, stay tuned and keep scrolling down this article.
Cheetah
Kim Eun-young, better known by her stage name, Cheetah, is a South Korean rapper. Cheetah gained her stardom and popularity after becoming the winner on the TV competition Unpretty Rapstar. She debuted in 2010 with the song “Stop (Money Can’t Buy Me Love)”, as a part of the duo Blacklist, and is currently signed under C9 Entertainment.
Before debuting in the music industry, Cheetah originally performed as an underground rapper on the streets after dropping out of high school. In July 2010 she officially debuted as part of the South Korean duo Blacklist. However, the group disbanded shortly afterwards. In 2012, she joined hip-hop artist Crush in another duo group, called Masterpiece, and not long afterward, that duo was also disbanded.
In 2014, Cheetah released her first EP, called Cheetah Itself. The mini-album showcased her powerful rap and drew attention to her talent as a solo artist. In early 2015, Cheetah joined the TV show Unpretty Rapstar as one of the contestants. In the finale episode of the show, Cheetah was announced as the winner.
Since her rise in popularity from her appearance and win on Unpretty Rapstar, Cheetah has also appeared in multiple endorsements and fashion spreads. The rapper also participated in designing and releasing a fashion line in collaboration with Push Button. In August 2015, Cheetah released her first single since appearing on Unpretty Rapstar. The song “My Number” was released on August 2, 2015.
In October 2015, Cheetah collaborated with Kim Junsu on his EP and featured in the track “Midnight Show”. In the same month, she also appeared in the MBC singing variety show King of Mask Singer as a jazz singer.
In January 2016, she appeared as a mentor in Produce 101, and continued to reprise her role in the second season, in Produce 48, and in Produce X 101.
Jessi
Jessica Hyun-ju Ho, better known by her stage name, Jessi, is a Korean-American rapper, singer, and songwriter based in South Korea. She was born in New York, raised in New Jersey, and moved to South Korea when she was 15 years old. In 2003, Jessi successfully auditioned for Doremi Media and moved to South Korea when she was 15 years old. She released her debut single album “Get Up” in 2005, and performed the title song “Get Up” on the TV series Music Bank.
In 2006, she was featured in the hip-hop group Uptown’s album Testimony, replacing their original vocalist, Yoon Mi-rae. Jessi’s second single album, entitled The Rebirth, was released in January 2009. After the release, she took a break from music and left Korea to return to America.
In 2014, after a 5-year hiatus, Jessi returned as a member of the hip-hop trio Lucky J with rapper J’Kyun and vocalist J-Yo. Lucky J debuted with the digital single “Can You Hear Me”, under YMC Entertainment in July 2014. A month after their debut, Lucky J made an appearance in Mnet’s music competition program, Immortal Songs 2.
In 2015, Jessi participated as a contestant in the first season of Unpretty Rapstar, a spin-off of the program Show Me The Money. Jessi was chosen as the second-place winner of the show by the audience vote. After her appearance on Unpretty Rapstar, Jessi was featured in JYP’s single “Who’s Your Mama?” and its music video, which was released in April 2015. Since then, Jessi has appeared as a guest on various popular variety shows, including Running Man and Happy Together.
On September 15, 2015, she released her first-ever solo rap single, “Ssenunni”. Jessi’s first live performance in the US was held on October 16, 2015. She performed at the Belasco Theater in Los Angeles, with hip-hop duo Mighty Mouth as her opening act. When Unpretty Rapstar 2 aired, Jessi appeared in several episodes as a mentor. In December 2015, she performed her song “Ssenunni” at the Mnet Asian Music Awards.
In 2016, she starred as one of the permanent members in season 1 of the popular Korean variety show, Sister’s Slam Dunk. In 2017, Jessi released another rap single, “Gucci”, from her first mini-album, entitled Un2verse, which were both released on July 13, 2017. In 2018, she starred on Yo! MTV Raps. The show aired on MTV Asia on July 6, 2018. On the same day, she released a single titled “Down”.
Her contract with YMC Entertainment ended in October 2018, and in January 2019, she signed under PSY’s record label, P Nation, along with HyunA and EDawn.
