Shout out to Nahae Kim and Kang Yerim over at Khiphop Subs for all their hard work in subbing Episode 3!

On this episode, we get to see who succeeded in the LA audition round! Before we get into it, check out the 37 rappers who made it through episode 2 and the scores they received from the producers:

All Pass (상): Dilla, Jo Hee Chul, Hash Swan, G2, Woo Tae Woon, Myundo, Sanchez, Sharp Gun aka Gunhee, CJamm, Reddy, Bewhy, Boi B and Daniel Kim aka DayDay

3 Pass (중): Kim Hyo-Eun, Donutman, Baek Min-Hyuk, Snacky Chan, Yang Hong-Won, One, Jung Sang Soo and Play (?)

2 Pass (하): Kim Seung-Hwan, Mojae, Seo Chul Goo, Yibo, J-Dup and Hwang Geung-Il

1 Pass (탈락 위기): Kim Tae-Jung, J’Kyun, K9, Giant Pink, Lee Gyu-Hwan, Lee Taek-Min, Jo Seung-Yoon, Shim Hye-Ji, Tilda (?) and Lilla Mars

One member of each producer team traveled to the US for the LA auditions – Simon D from Team AOMG, Kush from Team YG, Gil (I can’t think of a catchy name for this team yet haha) and Dok2 from Team Illionaire. Timbaland was the guest judge for the LA auditions.

• The judges arrive in LA loving the weather and full of high hopes for the talent they’ll find there

• HAHAHA some rapper gets up close and personal with KUSH during the initial round of auditions and his facials are the best

• This episode is titled ‘USA’s Attack’

•  Kush refers to the rappers he’s given medals as ‘rough diamonds’

• 26 rappers passed the first round of the LA Auditions and find out that Timbaland will be judging them – they’re excited but it’s the other producers that are fanboying

• I love that Dok2 randomly pulls out all of his English this episode

• First up is Mike Chun aka Versatile who worked on an Uptown album with Snacky Chan – he unfortunately recevies 4 fails

•  Sean Rhee, another LA native is next – he receives an all-pass

•  Next up is Junoflow who was spoken highly of by Dok2 after the first round – he receives 4 passes (from everyone but Kush who says he did it to make him stronger haha). Simon D had this to say about him:

He’s not wrong…

•  Another well known Korean-American rapper Sikboy (respected for his skill and known for his San E diss) is next – he was doing well until a lyrical mistake threw him off

•  Killagramz, a rapper under Cycadelic Records based in Compton, is next. Known for his unique voice, he was passed by Simon D in the first round. He impresses all of the producers and receives an all pass

•  MNET. Really? They highlight all of the ‘non-Korean’ rappers who showed up to audition and ‘Black and Yellow’ is played…I’M DONE

•  I think the judges had high expectations from the black guys who auditioned but they were let down (both rappers – Marquez and Donnell Taurus are eliminated)

•  Next is Miss LA – everyone is digging it, saying that they like her confidence. Simon D notes that she started rapping as soon as the beat dropped, which is hard to do (Kush fails her because “There are so many female rappers in LA who can do just as good as her. I couldn’t see anything beyond that.”)

•  UNCALLED FOR SIMON D

• Three contestants that Kush passes in the first round fail and the producers start to wonder about his decision-making (Dok2 muses whether his viewpoint is different because he’s not an active rapper)

•  Next is Legendary Temo (another Kush pick) but this time the other producers aren’t disappointed – she starts and has everyone (including Kush) dancing. Gil gives her a fail but everyone else is a fan of her style

•  Who shows up next? Superbee, who was dropped from Team YG last season. He seems to have matured a bit, distancing himself from his persona last season: “I don’t have a bad personality like Superbee… Last season I said a lot of things that should never come out of a human’s mouth”

Someone help this child with his hair…

• Superbee gets a dab out of Dok2 (which is generally a good sign) and the other producers enjoyed his vibe

• Next up is Flowsik (who has SimonD and Timbaland fanboying over his voice). Can we pause and imagine Simon D and Flowsik on one track? Hmmm

• Flowsik was formerly a part of Aziatix and signed to Cash Money Records. I think Flowsik’s audition was probably my favorite out of everyone in LA. He receives an all pass and Timbaland declares that Flowsik was his favorite

•  Another one of Kush’s picks (because of his energy) – Young Kameo – auditions but no one is feeling it because he was all over the place. He ends up cursing everyone out and storming away

•  Next up is JKey (aka rapper and journalist Jaeki Cho) who is a little cocky but admits that (he says he likes Simon D’s arrogant expressions because he’s a little arrogant too). I have heard of him because of the documentary ‘Bad Rap’. Timbaland was the only one to give him a pass but then says that it was a “miss call”. Awkward…

•  In the end there are 9 contestants who passed but there are only 5 tickets to Korea so 4 must be eliminated. Flowsik, Junoflow, Killagramz and Superbee are automatically chosen but the rest must cypher battle for a spot…

• Three rappers are eliminated but Legendary Temo and Miss LA are chosen to cypher again (this time Timbaland beat-boxes). The producers seem torn although I thought Legendary Temo was the clear winner. Sure enough Miss LA is sent home. Gil retracted his initial judgment that she was just following a trend

•  The producers leave LA very pleased with who they have selected:

• We return to Korea where the contestants who passed the second round await their next trial

You and me both Chul Goo, you and me both…

• The MC announces that there will be 1v1 battles but first there will be a cypher divided by ranks: All Pass (Best), 3 Pass (Middle), 2 Pass (Low) and 1 Pass (Danger of Elimination). After the cypher, the rappers can strategize about who to challenge.

Please Sanchez. You got an All Pass. Hush

• J’Kyun is the first rapper called up for the ‘Danger of Elimination’ class. We flashback to his audition and see that Gil and Mad Clown passed him. Someone comments that he was nervous and Simon D said he’s usually really good

 

• The other ‘1 Pass’ contestants are called up, then the ‘2 Pass’ or ‘Low Grade’ rappers
• The MC announces the entrance of the rappers from the US auditions (of whom there were supposed to be 5 but Legendary Temo wasn’t able to make it). Junoflow enters, then Killagramz and finally Flowsik enters to many of the rappers’ surprise

• Cjamm has the same response to almost everyone, he needs to cut it out lol

• Meanwhile, Seo Chul Goo’s response to Flowsik:

I’m dying, he looks so concerned haha (“I’m curious to see if he usually raps with that kind of voice”)

• Last but not least, Superbee enters with a “What’s up Koreans?” LOL this boy spent 2 weeks in America. TWO WEEKS

• The Korean contestants find out that Superbee, Killagramz and Flowsik received all passes while Junoflow is in the middle class

•  Jo Seung-yun, an idol rapper from a group called Uniq, was barely saved by Mad Clown in the last round

•  WATCH: The ‘1 Pass’ Cypher’

• The rappers write one-line comments after its over:
  • Seungyoon – ‘average’
  • J’Kyun – ‘definitely in danger of being eliminated’
  • Lilla Mars – ‘get along with Superbee’ (idk why this dude is coming for Superbee, he’s trying to be civil this time around okay? DON’T TRY HIM)

• WATCH: The ‘Low Grade’ Cypher

• Seo Chul Goo kicks it off and kills it, receving cheers from the ‘상’ group while Flowsik comments that he was weaker than he thought he’d be

• WATCH: The ‘Middle Grade’ Cypher

• Snacky Chan is in this group and does really well. REDEMPTION.

• I feel like One is everyone’s little brother. They just want him to do well but he’s still cracking under the pressure. He struggles through the cypher and my face was pretty much the same as Taewoon’s here:

• Junoflow did really well, earning the respect of some of the ‘상’ (All Pass) guys (G2 and Bewhy)

• Here are the comments some of them received:
  • Seo Chul Goo – ‘Eminem of Korea’, ‘Why is he in that low grade group?’
  • One – ‘Homework – memorize lyrics’
  • Snacky Chan – ‘God-nacky chan’
  • Junoflow – ‘Americans are definitely different’, ‘1v1 battle…I definitely want to avoid you’

•  Finally we have the ‘Best Grade’ rappers cypher. Juno said he’s looking forward to these rappers and that he had heard Woo Taewoon’s name a lot as well:

• One of the contestants comments that the ‘상’ (All Pass) rappers were dancing and having fun and the atmosphere was like a party. It’s easy to relax when you’re on top but we’ll see what happens

• Bewhy was probably my favorite from this entire group

• Oh Woo Taewoon…Boi B said “That’s a song you have to know” referencing ‘Hypnotize’ the beat for the ‘상’ Group

• Reddy struggles throughout the cypher mission…I have mad love for him but he’s gonna have to step it up

• While everyone writes their thoughts and comments for the ‘상’ group, One and big bro Chul Goo have a cute exchange:

• Here are the comments that were written for the best grade group:
  • Cjamm- ‘It’s Cjamm’, ‘No words are needed so good’, ‘Contender for the win’

•  The MC comments on how nice everyone is being…(yeah right, just wait til the diss battle episode)

• …until he gets to WooTaewoon and then says “Wow you guys are really mean”:
  • ‘Woo Tae woon – ‘If you’re gonna rap like that Copy Me‘ (referencing his song), ‘waste disposal’

• More comments:
  • Killagramz – ‘totally unexpected voice, good’, ‘watched with my mouth open’
  • Bewhy – ‘He’s the king, contender for the win’
  • G2 – ‘He’s got a tiger vibe’, ‘very strong contender for the win’
  • Reddy – ‘Cheer up, Reddy’, ‘Other than lyrical mistake, very cool’ (everyone loves him despite his mistakes)

•  The MC asks G2 if he’s in it to win it and he said he’ll go as far as he can. Bewhy turns to Cjamm and said they should have asked him and when Cjamm asks him what his goal is he says this:

LOL

• Next week we’ll get to see who chooses who.

• Myundo’s name is selected first and he picks Woo Taewoon. Then Seo Chul Goo is picked next and he picks J’Kyun (to J’Kyun’s distress)

This episode wasn’t nearly as stressful as last year’s hot mess cypher battle and while I’m thankful for that, I am worried about the results of the next episode. There seem to be some pretty big 1 versus 1 battles shaping up, which is unavoidable this season with so much talent and so many well known rappers going head to head. Unfortunately, the lesser known rappers are getting barely any camera time but that’s just how it goes. The cyphers above are the full uncut versions so everyone is featured. Check them out!

Like the SeoulRebels page on Facebook to stay updated with the latest recaps and reviews!