When it comes to talented women in South Korea, Yoon Mirae is on, if not at the top, of the list. Singer, rapper, dancer, mc, mother, wife, activist—there’s hardly a title that Yoon Mirae hasn’t held since the 1990’s when she entered the Korean music scene. As one of the first rap and R&B singers in Korea, Yoon Mirae set, and continues to influence, the tone for the future of Korean music.

Born in the United States to a Korean mother and an African American father, Natasha Reid debuted in Korea under the name T, sometimes Tasha, as part of the original line up Uptown. Since then, along with being a talented solo artist, Yoon Mirae has been associated with various hip-hop crews in South Korea, including The Movement, Drunken Tiger, and MFBTY (short for My Fans Are Better Than Yours.) Each of these crews includes both Tasha and her husband, Tiger JK of the group Drunken Tiger.

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Yoon Mirae appears to thrive on collaborating with others, and her solo songs are nothing to scoff at. Nowadays, she’s been gaining a lot of attention for her soulful songs for the soundtracks of dramas like The Master’s Sun and It’s Okay, That’s Love. Such a prolific artist is hard to summarize in a few songs, but here are several songs that paint a picture of Yoon Mirae’s talent and her typical style.

Memories (Smiling Tears) came out in 2002, and is an early song that highlights Yoon Mirae’s rapid-fire rap skills and her R&B style that is reminiscent of some famous singers, particularly Lauryn Hill. Yoon Mirae’s songs are almost always inspiring, and Memories is one of her iconic songs with lyrics like “all the hopes and the dreams will survive.” It also has an example of numbers, which appear in several of Yoon Mirae’s songs.

Next up is Black Happiness, from Yoon Mirae’s 2007 album T3 – Yoon Mi Rae. This is one of Yoon Mirae’s most iconic songs about her heritage as a biracial artist in Korea who was met with racism since a young age, but turned to music to find refuge. Even though her father’s skin color was the “problem,” Yoon Mirae sings that her connection to music is thanks to him, and that music has gotten her through everything. Her aggressive rap complements her inspirational lyrics, depicting the struggle that Yoon Mirae went through while growing up.

They told me to wear a mask
They said my mom's race was okay
But not my dad's

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