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Mongolian rap, or Mongolian hip-hop, is a musical genre that appeared at the end of the 1980s in Mongolia, during a period in which the Mongolian communist regime was weakening and new opportunities for expression were developing. The Har Sarnai (Black Rose) group, created in 1991, entirely at odds with the existing musical standards, played a major role in the development of this style. At the beginning of the 2000s, a new generation of artists offered music with varied influences, but since then this diversity has tended to decrease somewhat with greater attention paid to the American model. Female rappers are rare due to social pressure.
Mongolian rap is a reappropriation of the styles of American hip-hop. It partly uses the same visual codes, such as the symbolic practice of dramatized conflict, loose sports clothing, jewelry, provocative behavior and images, crews, etc. It also incorporates Mongolian cultural references such as Khöömii (throat singing) and Morin khuur, a traditional musical instrument. References to the Mongolian Empire and in particular to the figure of Genghis Khan, a nationalist guardian figure in modern Mongolian society, are frequent. Costumes and references to Mongolian society are evident in song titles and lyrics.
The subjects covered are very diverse, though many productions have romantic love as their subject. Political demands and protest messages are also often addressed. In certain songs, perhaps echoing American rap, women are objectified. Another theme regularly addressed is that of the authenticity of the Mongolian people. It is nationalist in nature, and has its roots in the search, since the fall of the communist regime, for a national identity. It involves the denunciation of mixing between Mongolians and other peoples, the fight against immigration (especially Chinese) and the rejection of foreign investments. A more moderate position promotes the development of the Mongolian people on their own and an end to blaming others.
The Mongolian language is widely used, but other languages, especially English, which is well-integrated into the local linguistic landscape, are also used. English is used as a tool that artists use and manipulate for various purposes, sometimes by means of the invention of anglicized Mongolian terms, to meet the needs of their artistic approaches. The use of coarse language is seen as making it possible to give more reality to texts and to better understand the urgency of certain messages.
With the development of the Internet and other technologies at the end of the 1990s, the spread of Mongolian rap has increased and some artists have had the opportunity to perform abroad.