AZN Rap Girl Summer Is Here

Welcome to Golden Dragon, a newsletter by Eric Diep about Asians in hip-hop and my takes on trending topics in AAPI pop culture. Golden Dragon is a rotation of interviews, reviews, news, critical perspectives, and random blogs about music I recommend.

• A round-up of AZN Rap Girl Summer releases from Ramengvrl, Saweetie, Lil Cherry, Nene, and more.

• A review of NIKI’s third album Buzz.

• #DiepCuts with Yoshi T., Khantrast, and Hanumankind.

I don’t know about you, but I still play Yuki Chiba’s “Team Tomodachi.” My new favorite version is the “Gals Remix,” featuring Charlu, Reneé Couto, and 3li¥en. Charlu, a rapper from Japan who just did an On the Radar freestyle, absolutely kills it. These days, more women are showing up for each other and I wonder if we’re in the season of AZN Rap Girl Summer.

How would you define AZN Rap Girl Summer? Well, I think it is a trend to characterize all the releases from women in Asia, paired with a mindset that they’re about to run this shit and look cute while doing it.

Jay Park’s “Xtra McNasty.” There weren’t enough hot takes about it after I featured it in the last newsletter. He pulled off a posse cut that brought together some of the coolest Asian rap girls today. I know, it’s over six minutes and too long for our attention spans. But I can’t be the only one who listened to DJ Kay Slay’s “Rolling 200 Deep” for fun…right?

If “Xtra McNasty” is your first introduction to Jessi, Awich, MILLI, Ramengvrl, Lil Cherry, MIRANI, Maliibu Miitch, and CAMO, then it’s a good example of how hip-hop is portrayed in Asian countries, where versatility is championed and sex appeal is more about aura than physical attraction. In terms of lyricism, you’re getting English, Japanese, Korean, and Thai bars by the baddest MCs, each bringing a uniqueness that is reminiscent of the women-power anthems of the past.

Jay Park was the glue because he’s the most successful and popular American rapper out of South Korea right now, a name recognizable enough for fans to respect his strategic efforts in spotlighting these women from different markets. I thought it was meaningful for him to pause his R&B album rollout and the singles he’s released as numerical “Seasons” to drop a remix for his core fans. “Xtra McNasty” gives everyone involved a boost and a chance for listeners to deep dive into their catalogs.

The surge of women in hip-hop is reaching Asia, and I love that these artists are building momentum with ancillary songs. Ramengvrl and Awich’s “Bombae,” a Japan meets Indonesia banger made in English that seemed to debut at last year’s Asian Sound Syndicate Vol. 2 festival in Jakarta, Indonesia, inspired me to explore what the other artists are doing. Some of them have already worked together before, which is cool for the fans. I hope this sparks more of these “Ladies Night” types of records and spotlight other lesser-known female MCs because they’re all worth listening to.

Here’s a round-up of recent songs, from the artists featured on “Xtra McNasty” to Japanese hip-hop favs. I’ll even throw in Saweetie’s latest song because I still care about her music.

暑い です ね!