As we said in our article on July 14, 2022, Japanese rap has been in flux since it emerged in the late 1980s and blossomed in the early 2000s. Some first-generation rappers who consolidated the hip-hop culture are still active today. Ill bosstino of the THA BLUE HERB collective, SoulScream, and KREVA are all artists releasing new tracks. As for the younger generation, they have yet to entirely switch to the new genres of hip-hop (trap, drill, alternative hip-hop, etc.). We can mention ISSUGI, Badsaikush from Namedarumaaz, MC Tyson, and Jaggla, rappers who have kept an old-school, boom-bap style. So many types that take us back to the golden age of rap in the 90s. In addition, we also notice the constant progression of trap music. It was primarily popularised by Kohh around 2014 and by the group BAD HOP from Kawasaki. In the same vein, young artists such as LEX, ralph, or ¥ellow Bucks have become headliners in a few years.
Despite these obvious facts, we still want to know the best performer with the perfect production. There are many criteria, and we need to find out who is the best Japanese rapper. Listing the wide range of active artists in the J-RAP scene makes more sense. In this TOP 40, our choices were motivated by relatively simple elements. The number of albums, the most streamed tracks, and the number of views on YouTube have inspired our editorial decisions. Without further ado, check out the TOP 40 Japanese rappers active in 2022 below.
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