The battle of swag continues after the microphone is turned off.

“A rapper Sleepy told me that I was not even a celebrity yet unless I get 100,000 followers,” grumbled Korean rapper DinDin. The 25-year-old rookie introduced his special tricks on a talk show to gain popularity on Instagram. DinDin even wore a name tag with his account written on it. During the show, he urged viewers to follow him.

Korean hip-hop artists utilize Instagram to show off their wealth and lifestyle. The square-sized picture collages become effective outlets to reach out to hip-hop listeners and fans.

As DinDin mentioned, invisible competition seems to exist between rappers. Then whose account has the most powerful influence on Instagram?



1. G-Dragon (@xxxibgdrgn, 13 million followers)

(G-Dragon's Instagram)

The emperor of Instagram. At least one of the traffic counters at the Instagram office would jiggle when G-Dragon puts a picture on his account. Any photoshoots he posts instantly gets hundreds of thousands likes and comments. The Asian hip-hop prince is one of the active users of the social network service as he shares 8 posts every week on average. 2,080 posts have been released via the “@xxxibgdrgn” account so far. The main theme of his collage is artworks from various artists worldwide. He rarely captions his posts or uses hash tags.



2. Zico (@woozico0914, 2.3 million followers)

(Zico's Instagram)

Quiet but still a powerful Instagrammer. Rather than bragging about his fortune or fancy taste, Zico tends to focus on the portraits of himself and his friends. About one-third of his photos are selfies or full shots. He usually puts short English comments on the posts and uses hash tags. The talented idol rapper shares music videos and teasers on a regular basis. The link to get to his SoundCloud account is on his profile.



3. Jay Park (@jparkrighthere, 1.7 million followers)

(Jay Park's Instagram)

A physical movement-oriented account of the hip-hop dancer. Most of the pictures Jay park shares have him and his squad in it. The members vary from the AOMG artists to his dance crew. This dancer-singer-song writer has another feature to show, which is the tattoos on his muscular body. The pictures of his naked torso usually hit 120,000 likes on average.



4. Jessi (@jessicah_o, 1.3 million followers)

(Jessi's Instagram)

The queen of the Korean hip-hop scene never uploads a picture without herself in it. Jessi appears on the every single post of her collage, mostly emphasizing her glamourous shape. Aside from her selfies and self-portrait photos, she tends to keep and share memorable moments in her life through Instagram.



5. Dok2 (@dok2gonzo, 1 million followers)

(Dok2's Instagram)

The standard of the rich rapper’s Instagram. Dok2 possesses true talent on showing off his wealthy private life. The various photos of his luxurious car collection received huge attention from the followers. “I get an advantage when I purchase a new car,” said Dok2 on a talk show, implying that the car companies acknowledge the viral power of his Instagram account.

DinDin recently achieved 100,000 followers and celebrates himself through Instagram. “Now I have truly became a celebrity. Thanks to my fans!” shouted DinDin with inexplicable joy.


By Park Ju-young (jupark@heraldcorp.com)