Will Lee Young Ji, who breaks the prejudice in hip-hop, become the first female winner of “Show Me The Money”?
Fans and the public are having high expectations for Lee Young Ji, who is facing her last challenge on “Show Me The Money 11”.
There is no gender in music. However, as most world-famous hip-hop singers are men and “first-generation hip-hop” rappers in Korea are men, many people still consider “hip-hop = men”. Even in rap survival programs, such as “Show Me the Money” and “High School Rapper”, most contestants are male. As hip-hop is growing further away from the public with inappropriate lyrics, which are mainly about abusive and sexual interactions, money, etc. In addition, many rappers left bad impressions on music listeners due to controversies over drugs, alcohol, private life, etc.
In this scene, it was Lee Young Ji who “made gold” on the “glass ceiling” of the hip-hop culture. In 2019, Lee Young Ji, who had just learned about rap and hip-hop for six months, appeared on “High School Rapper 3” and immediately caught the eyes of other teenage rappers. Among her peers who dressed up in colorful clothes with bleached hair and piercings, Lee Young Ji stood out as the only person in school uniform. Despite being underrated by others, Lee Young Ji performed raps to deliver messages with healthy lyrics and was the only Grade 10 student to advance to TOP 6.
Apart from her natural talent and confidence, Lee Young Ji also impressed everyone, from the audience to the mentors, with her low-tone voice, neat and clear diction of rap words, and even vocal skills. In the end, she became the first female winner of “High School Rapper”.
After three years, Lee Young Ji once again challenges a hip-hop survival program. During the past three years, she has established herself as a singer and a successful entertainer. When Young Ji appeared in the preliminary round of “Show Me The Money 11”, other contestants criticized her, saying “Why are you coming here and taking away the rice bowl of others?”, “It’s annoying. Isn’t she an entertainer?”, etc.
In the end, it was Lee Young Ji’s talent that calmed all the controversies. Jay Park, who judged Lee Young Ji, gave a favorable evaluation and said, “It’s your time. Show as much as you want”.
Lee Young Ji wowed everyone with her amazing stages, from the preliminary round, through various missions, and to the semi-finals. Her performance video exceeded 3 million views and ranked 4th on Youtube trending. Her songs are also doing well on music charts. In addition, the comment “The winner is Lee Young Ji anyway”, which was made from the first broadcast, continues to be repeated until today ahead of the final.
Lee Young Ji not only broke gender discrimination in hip-hop but also overturned the public’s unfavorable view about rap. Her determined attitude to convey meaningful thoughts and experiences through healthy and hopeful lyrics on good beats captivated the public.
The probability of Lee Young Ji becoming the winner of “Show Me The Money 11”, following “High School Rapper 3”, is 25%. There is one day left to check if the comment “The winner is Lee Young Ji anyway” will be true.
Source: Nate
