Taiwanese hip hop music started in the early 1990s, popularized by the early hip hop trio L.A. Boyz.^[1] A distinctive style of rap emerged using Taiwanese Hokkien as opposed to the Mandarin Chinese used in Mandopop, which before democratization the regime actively promote the use of Mandarin and suppressing the use of Taigi.

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A mid-70s movement titled the Modern Folksong Movement sought to reclaim hip hop for the Taiwanese people.^{[contradictory]} Artists such as Yang Xian and Li Shuangz inspired a new generation of localization of music which strove to strip away the years of American cultural imperialism, which at the time, the United States was supporting Taiwan as Cold War ally. This movement paved the way for more Taiwan-specific music and allowed for new Taiwanese to take from local traditions and language and create their own national music.^[2]

The first Mandarin rap song was performed by singer-songwriter Harlem Yu in Taiwan, who is known for being one of the first artists to experiment with R&B and rap in the Mandopop music industry in the early 1980s, which was parallel to the early New York 1980s rap songs.

L.A. Boyz is a Taiwanese pop/rap group composed of two brothers and their cousin. They were raised in Irvine, California, and met at its University High School. They first became involved in music through their interest in hip-hop dance moves learnt from parties around Orange County and Los Angeles, and fashion from Compton and South-Central LA. Their dancing, and entry into various competitions, eventually led them to be scouted by a representative of Pony Canyon, in Taiwan.^[3] They released 10 albums, starting from their first, SHIAM! 閃 which sold more than 130,000 copies in 1992. Their second album, released the same year, was similarly received. The group was very successful in the 1990s until their break-up. They are credited for starting the trend that would spread into Taiwan and the rest of the Mandarin-speaking world.^{[citation needed]}

In 2001, MC HotDog arrived in the Taiwanese market. He is known for his use of explicit lyrics in his songs. He is known for his two famous hits, "我的生活" (My Life) and "韓流來襲" (The Korean Invasion).

In 2002, Dwagie released Lotus from the Tongue (舌粲蓮花), regarded as the first full rap album in the Chinese-speaking world.^[4]

Since then, many Taiwanese rappers have emerged, including Jae Chong, Machi, Leo Wang [zh], （蛋堡） [zh], and Nine One One. Women are a minority in Taiwanese hip-hop. Meredith Schweig wrote in 2010 that "there are no professional female MCs on the island" other than Miss Ko, who was regarded as a "newcomer" at the time.^[5]

The moment that the Golden Melody Awards granted an award to both Leo Wang and Soft Lipa announced the official arrival of Taiwanese hip-hop into the mainstream. In addition to being recognized in general pop-music circles, in 2021, MTV received a subsidy from the Ministry of Culture's Film, Television and Pop Music Industry Bureau to produce "The Rappers". The judges were Dwagie, Kumachen, Razor Jiang, and Leo Wang. This show is aiming to broaden the audience for Taiwanese hip-hop, and season 2 is set to premiere in January 2022.^[6]

The future of Taiwanese hip-hop appears to be promising, and there are many talented musicians working hard in this industry. However, with the development of the Internet today, topicality and traffic-flows are no less important than whether the content of the work is high-quality, and marketing has become a new concern for rappers.^[7]

• L.A. Boyz
• Jerry Lo
• JY
• MC HotDog
• TriPoets 參劈
• （草屯囝仔） [zh]
• （臭屁嬰仔） [zh]
• （蛋堡） [zh]
• （國蛋）
• （曾瑋中） [zh]
• DJ MR.GIN
• Donbay
• Dwagie
• Machi
• Manchuker（滿人） [zh]
• MJ116 （頑童） [zh]
• 911
• Miss Ko
• Jay Chou
• Leo Wang [zh]

• Music of Taiwan