TopRankGang, the Hardest Cambodian Hip-Hop Group

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 personal essay on being Cambodian and documenting the rise of TopRankGang.

• Diep Cuts featuring Zamaera, Khantrast, Yuki Chiba, and Sobe.

• Send It: The return of the Higher Brothers in 2025.

Lil Baby’s back questioning who is harder than him. I’m going to say it’s TopRankGang.

Three years ago, I did an episode of Lions Share, a podcast by Allyson Toy and Cathleen Cher, on Cambodian American hip-hop. Fresh off a visit to Long Beach, California with my girlfriend, it was an opportunity to introduce five artists I believed made a name for themselves while providing some background on America’s largest Cambodian refugee community. Toy and I had a dialogue about my personal experiences being half Cambodian, and I broke down the significance of the artists I chose. I introduced CS’ “LBC Dreams,” Honey Cocaine’s feature on Tyga’s “Heisman Pt. 2,” $tupid Young’s “Huh,” and Reezy’s “Chilli,” the last was an example of what was coming out of Cambodia.

Since my mom and my grandma passed, one of my biggest fears is losing my connection to my Cambodian side. As I told Toy in the episode, there was a tight-knit community of Cambodians in Salem, Oregon. I had a handful of Cambodian friends during my adolescence, sharing mutual interests in basketball and Pokémon. I was one of those students in grade school who got one-on-one Cambodian lessons from a tutor.

Cambodian families would convene at the temple in West Linn on the weekends. For my grandma and mom, it was their time to socialize with their friends and chat with the monks. I’ve grown to appreciate this part of my life as I got older, but when I was younger it always felt like a drag. Sometimes, I would run into a friend at the temple, which made the service feel less lonely. The best part for me was after prayer because it was a communal meal eaten together. Everyone brought several versions of my favorite Khmer dishes like Kaw Sach Chrouk and Somlor Kari Sach Ko to offer to the monks. Here, we were bonded as Cambodians.

When hip-hop started to take notice of $tupid Young after “Mando” and No Jumper’s “Inside the Asian Crips Gangs of Long Beach” went viral around 2017-2018, it felt like a win for Southeast Asian representation in a space they rarely get acknowledgment for. Cambodians aren’t the first ethnic group we think about in entertainment and music, cast aside compared to Chinese, Korean, and Japanese. I’ve always made it my mission to wave the Khmer flag when I can. I supported $tupid Young because he’s made it to heights no other Asian street rapper has yet, collaborating with the likes of Snoop Dogg, Blueface, Lil Durk, Mozzy, Tee Grizzley, and others.

Listening to $tupid Young has kept other Cambodian rappers from Long Beach on my radar. I found out about TopRankGang from Asian Culture Co., a Canada-based music/artist marketing brand that covers them a lot on their IG account. The group, consisting of rotating members YC4 (C4 for short), Glizzy Grey, Trrip Sosa, Infant Shadoe (iS), Mr. Eastside, and Baby1, take the defining sounds of Flint, Michigan rap, and add more violence if that were even possible. They’re products of their environment, heard through gun-ridden rhymes and who is next on their opp list. Their authenticity and rawness have produced a ton of bangers for the streets. I’ve listened to both their albums, Memberz Only and Top Score, released last year, amazed at the rate at which they’re dropping music, shooting videos for singles, and staying consistent. They wear the Cambodian flag on their clothing with pride.