Mnet's fifth season of SMTM features YG Entertainment judges Kush and Zion.T, Dok2 and The Quiett from Illionaire Records, AOMG co-CEO Simon Dominic and producer Gray, and judges Mad Clown and Gill of Leessang. A record-breaking amount of 9,000 contestants auditioned this season.
The process of SMTM5 was similar to that of Show Me the Money 4 with open auditions where contestants were asked for an acapella rap, but for the first time LA auditions were also held in addition to the traditional audition in Seoul. American rapper Timbaland was a guest judge during Round 2 of the LA auditions.
Judges
Team YG:
Kush: Co-head of The Black Label, an independent sub-label of YG Entertainment. Producer of hit songs and former member of Stony Skunk
Zion.T: Singer and producer under The Black Label. Previously an artist under Amoeba Culture
Team AOMG:
Simon Dominic: Co-CEO of AOMG, a rapper and former member of duo Supreme Team
Gray: Producer, rapper, and singer under AOMG
Team Illionaire:
Dok2: Co-CEO of Illionaire Records and rapper. He also participated in SMTM3 as a judge.
The Quiett: Co-CEO of Illionaire Records and rapper. He also participated in SMTM3 as a judge.
Team Mad Clown & Gill:
Mad Clown: Rapper under Starship Entertainment . He also a contestant from Show Me The Money 2.
Gill: Rapper, producer in hip-hop duo Leessang, former member of underground rap group Honey Family.
Teams
Team YG
C Jamm : Former SMTM3 semi-finalist. Signed under Just Music label. Founded crew Sexy Street, which BeWhy is a part of.
Reddy : Hi-Lite Records rapper. Previously auditioned for Superstar K as a rapper for All-Male K-Pop group Bangtan Boys but did not make it pass the auditions.
Killagramz : Rapper from LA signed under Cycadelic Records
Xitsuh : Freestyle rapper that was Formerly a part of the Angdreville crew. Gained popularity after he was eliminated during the freestyle round in SMTM4. Known previously on SMTM as Seo Chul Gu.
Team AOMG
G2 : Signed under Hi-Lite Records.
BewhY : Gained popularity after his elimination on SMTM4, Known as a member of the duo Sexy Street with CJamm.
ONE : Rapper signed under YG Entertainment and formerly part of the duo 1PUNCH. He was on Team ZiPal during SMTM4.
DayDay : Producer/songwriter of boy band DMTN (Dalmatian). He was a member of Team AOMG during SMTM4 and went by his birthname, David Kim.
Team Mad Clown & Gill
Sanchez : Known primarily as the singer and producer of Phantom under Brand New Music, he is the older brother of SMTM4 contestant Microdot and started as a rapper under the name "Fassnakuh."
Donutman : Independent rapper, previously signed with the defunct Soul Company.
#GUN : Competed in Starship Entertainment's No Mercy competition show for a chance to become part of idol group Monsta X, but was not chosen. He is also cousins with SMTM4 runner-up Song Min-ho. Signed under Starship Entertainment.
Boi B : Rapper in Rhythm Power under Amoeba Culture.
Team Illionaire
myunDo : Participant of SMTM in the past, but was eliminated during the one-on-one rap battle round. Part of "82 Hottest MC's" with Superbee.
Flowsik : Former member of Aziatix, entered the competition through the LA auditions. Timbaland's favorite of the LA auditions. Previously signed with Lil Wayne's Cash Money Records from 2013-14.
Kim Hyo-Eun : Previously participated in SMTM3 in which he caused stir with rapper Tarae for winning their 1 on 1 battle round. Also known by his monicker "Kenny Raw". Currently signed with Illionaire Records' Sub-Unit Company "AMBITION MUSIK"
Superbee : A member of Team YG during SMTM4, he returned to SMTM5 through the LA auditions. Has participated in all seasons of SMTM. Part of "82 Hottest MC's" with myunDo.
Rounds
Round One: Contestants must rap acapella in front of a judge. The contestants are given a necklace if they pass. Round Two: Contestants prepare a one-minute rap using the beat of their choice and rap in front of all the judges. In order to pass onto the next round, they must receive at least one pass. Round Three: Contestants pair up for a 1v1 rap battle. Prior to this round, all the rappers participate in a cypher in order to assess each other's skills. Only one person can win the battle and move onto the next round. Unlike previous seasons, there was no revival round in SMTM5. Round Four: Contestants and judges must choose each other for the contestant to become part of the Top 16. If the contestant fails to get a match with one of the judging teams, they are eliminated. This round deviates from the typical SMTM team selection process. Round Five: The new teams participate in a team song mission to assess their rapping and teamwork skills. The worst rapper in the team is eliminated by their team's producers. Round Six: Team diss battles.
The team won during the diss round and gains the advantage of having three contestants participate in the live performances instead of just two.
Round Seven: Following the results of the team diss battles, losing teams face against each other and winning teams face against each other at the live performances. Losing team producers choose one rapper to perform during the live show. The two remaining rappers write verses for a collaboration song written by their producers. Prior to the live show, the two rappers go through a mic-selection, where the producers choose one rapper to perform with them. The other rapper is eliminated from the show. Meanwhile, the winning teams choose one rapper to perform on their own and the remaining two rappers perform a song together.
The contestant won against his opponent during the live performance and moved onto the next round.
The contestant lost against his opponents but was saved to move onto the next round.
Round Eight: Semi-finals.
The contestant won against his opponent during the live performance and moved onto the next round.
Round Nine: Finals
Notable Contestants
WINNER The contestant won Show Me the Money 5.
Runner-Up The contestant was the runner-up.
3rd place The contestant was the 3rd place.
ALL-PASS The contestant received an All-Pass during the second round.
GOOD The contestant received one fail during the second round.
FAIR The contestant received two fails during the second round.
LOW The contestant only received one pass during the second round.
ELIM The contestant was eliminated.
WON The contestant's team won during the diss battle round.
PASS The contestant won against his opponent during the live performance and moved onto the next round.
SAVED The contestant lost against his opponent but was saved to move onto the next round.
ELIM The contestant was not chosen to perform in the live performance.
The contestant did not participate in this round.
