Tuesday, September 10, 2013

'O!H! ARE YOU L8,TE, 2?' BTS 2nd Mini Album Review

YASSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS. Rookies of the year ROOKIES OF THE YEAR!! 
These musically talented hip hop rookies are back to serve wannabehood realness! I'm a huge fan of the first album and I'm pretty darn sure this album won't disappoint either.
Intro: Very inspirational intro speech in English at the beginning by Rap Monster. Very touching! We are still continuing with the vibe from 'No More Dream' They're asking us if we should really keep conforming to society and stand up for your dream, even if it sounds unorthodox.

N.O: YASSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS. That's all I have to say. Just YASSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS. I'm loving the trap, hip-hop/r&b going on and they seem to infuse the vocals with the raps better this time. The song flowssssssssssss so perfectly. And the lyrics are amazing!! Just like in 'No More Dream' the topic is about breaking away from the norm in Korea, why are the school systems focused solely on making the kids be number 1 and striving for excellence. It's a GREAT TOPIC because the suicide rate among students in South Korea is RIDICULOUS it's heartbreaking at this point. Suicide is the norm over there because of overworking those poor kids to death. Some of them have no real dreams because they are told by adults to suppress the pain but it's obviously killing them. BTS is saying to just say NO and go for your dreams before it's too late. Love it. I love how they infuse hip hop with good messages for society. 
Video is just like how the song suggests. Their music videos mix the storyline and the choreography so well together. I clearly understand the plot and message, and the choreography helps to emphasize it. Love it. I love how it's set for the future to show what Korea could possibly be like. Kids turn into machines and can no longer think for themselves. Scary...

We On: YASSSSSSSSSSSSs The hip hop is nice but those VOCALSSSS that r&bbbbb those harmoniessssss. I could do without the "swag" and all that other foolishness which is in American hip hop today. I wish they would kind of hop off that bandwagon and make their own color, but either way it's a good song. BTW the other lyrics are good too. Rap Monster and Suga are amazing for their age.
Skit R U Happy Now?: They're so funny!! But they're just asking each other if they're happy, tired, have they eaten, nothing much hahahahaha it's cute.

If I Ruled the World: A nice attempt at West Coast music hahaha. They keep saying "West side till I die" and unfortunately they aren't about that life. As I recall Rap Monster lived in New Zealand which does not constitute as California. Nice try. But this song is nice and catchy hahaha. I love the "I know this is silly but I'm singing this childish song" hahahahahahahahaha NICEEEEEE. They know how silly the lyrics are so it's nice that they're getting a kick out of it.
Coffee: This is a cute mid-tempo ballad. I think it would've been better to hear more of the vocalists for this song like what we did for the last album. I love hearing the rappers rap...but when it comes to mid-tempo or ballad r&b when the songs are meant to showcase the vocalists, please let the vocalists shine hahaha. But other than that it's cute!

BTS Cypher Pt 1: WELL DAS IT. GOOOOOOOO OFFFFFFFFf RAP MONSTER BETTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTERRRRRRRRRRR GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF. Gah it still amazes me whenever I hear him rap. He is really talented for his age. He will improve into some type of genius as he gets older, as long as he doesn't lose sight of the real things to rap about. Suga is also on that road as well. Gashhhh they're awesome. For a second I thought they had downloaded the Control beat too lmaooo. If you understand that, you're awesome.
Bulletproof in Advance: LOVEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEe. So upbeat and fun and catchy and fun!! The lyrics are great hahaha.
Strong Arm: Giving old school hip hop instrumental with fun upbeat lyrics I love them hahaha they're so funny hahaha. Love it!!

Outro Luv in Skool: Danggit....they put the baby making music as the last song and only 1 minute and 35 seconds long. Dang it. Anyways sexy, r&b and sultry and those VOCALS. This makes me so mad that it's so short.

This is a great album, I wouldn't even call this a mini album with 10 tracks! Shoo I wonder what a full album to them is, but hey, more great music. They've improved alot since their debut which is great. I had preconceived notions that they would just recycle the same hip hop sounds but they've experimented around. They really do know their hip hop! And they're good composers too!! Very talented group of young boys. They're in a league of their own right now, as long as they continue what they're doing and don't change their style to get their music played on the radio. But this is a good album! Very consistent, everything flows well. I don't really have many complaints except to give the vocalists more shine but I believe they're holding off for later. Right now they're giving us more Rap Monster and the others because the public will be amazed but his rap skills. Once they establish themselves I'm sure the vocalists will get more lines or more songs to themselves. And also it could be because the vocalists themselves aren't outstanding. From what I've heard thus far, they can't go toe to toe with D.O. or Daehyun from the rookies circle but they're not bad either. Just need some time.
Lyrics are really good, even for the corny songs, it's witty. I enjoyed this album. We got mid-tempo pop ballad, r&b, trap music, old school hip-hop, it's great. They really know their music!! And their lyrics about the problems with society in Korea are excellent!! 
Rating 4.9/5




Sunday, September 1, 2013

'Coup D' Etat' G-dragon 2nd Album Review

G-dragon is back again with his 2nd full length album 'Coup D'Etat' which means an uprising or government overthrow. Controversial. And that's G-dragon's concept this time around meaning he's going for an actual revolution, or maybe that's what's going on in the middle east now, or something he plans on doing in the future. Whatever. He's back and he's releasing a certain amount of songs each day so I will only be reviewing part 1 and when the others come out, I will review them too.
Coup d'etat ft Diplo and Baauer: I love the beat for this song...and that's it. I was expecting for this song to actually spark some type of revolution or something, or at least talk about doing so. His lyrics say otherwise. He raps about being rich, the best, boosting his ego, calling someone a loser, it's wack. I'm sorry. I used to love G-dragon soooooooooooo much, but lately his raps are soooo bad. He reminds me of Lil Wayne. He's not rapping about anything in particular anymore. Just sounding arrogant, random rhyming. It's too much. WHERE IS TABLO.
Probably the best kpop music video of 2013. It's visually stunning. Symbolically beautiful, even though I don't understand haha. I loved the idea of him rebelling against the system and finally overcoming and starting a revolution. The imagery is good. And NO that isn't blackface. He is not making fun of black people in any way. By painting one's face black doesn't mean it's black face. He would have to be portraying an actual person of color. And he isn't. And I LOVE the backwards peace sign because it spells out GD. I thought that was hella cool.
Niliria ft MISSY FREAKING ELLIOTT: Betrayed by the booty. Twerking to traditional Korean sounds and hip hop beats. I loved G-dragon's use of traditional Korean sayings and music infused with modern pop. AND HAVING MISSY THE FREAKING LEGEND ELLIOTT on your song is another point. Betrayed by the booty, twerking. The lyrics are good too although I could do without the ego boosting as well but that's fine. It works here. We aren't singing about a revolution.  So I don't mind the lyrics for this type of song.
R.O.D. ft Lydia Paek: YASSSSSSSSS LYDIA!! This song is very ASAP Rocky influenced with the trap and dubstep sound going on. The lyrics are also different from what we were given previously. This song is actually about courting a girl that he likes and he's not bragging about his copyright royals or how much swag he has. Love. And Lydia Paek is also singing. She's amazing.
Black ft Jennie Kim: They keep pushing her. Her voice ain't allat YG just CHILL. There are two different versions of the song. It's featuring Jennie Kim or Sky Ferreira. It would've been nice to hear Sky's version. But this song is great I love it. Mid-tempo pop. Mellow vibe, song is kind of sad and beautiful at the same time. I love the lyrics and his voice repeating "Fade away" LOVE IT.
Who You?: LOVEEEEEEEE. I miss him singing!!! More pop out of all the songs so far and he does great at crossing genres!! It's so fun and light hearted I love it!!!
Shake the World: I love the beat. It's amazing. The lyrics are now starting to convey his "coup d'etat" although I wouldn't necessarily call it that. Instead of talking about a change or overthrowing a government, he's saying he is the change, the difference, the unorthodox....now what he's going to do...we don't know hahaha. He just says everyone should follow him because he's different and that he is the change in rap music. Since he was born this is what he was created to do....But unfortunately his raps aren't all that. You aren't Tupac sis. What I do love about this song is the 2nd verse, the beat for that is HARDDDD, man it's perfect. I LOVE THAT. That dirty south music. I'm here for it. Then it changes back to the "shake the world" we've been hearing everywhere. It's a catchy song!
Michigo: This song was released earlier this year and it's the worst song G-dragon has ever made. The lyrics are trash, but the beat is fun. If the lyrics weren't so silly and stupid I would enjoy it more. But I don't. Once again he reminds me of Lil Wayne, just randomly rapping and throwing in irrelevant lines to rhyme. Stupid. Hate it.
Crooked: Love. The lyrics are so sad...I think this song is really revealing who G-dragon is or it at least relates to an experience he recently went through. The lyrics are about betrayal I guess from a girl and the pain she put him through and he went crazy so he goes around acting wreckless but deep down he's not a bad guy. The music video accurately depicts this. But I love the song, it's rocking and pop which G-dragon is good at doing. And the lyrics are a plus, one of the realest songs he's done in a while...
Love the video, just like what the lyrics suggest, it's great. GREAT title song, I can see this one being popular as opposed to 'Coup d'etat'
Niliria(G-Dragon version): The only difference between this song and the one with Missy Elliott is there is no Missy haha. To replace her verse he raps there instead. Nothing different. The first part explains more of why he titled this song 'Niliria' and what it means to celebrate in traditional Korea. Honestly it's genius, I'm sure it's been done before, but it's awesome how he managed to infuse the two different sounds together.
Runaway: Good pop song!! Once again G-dragon shows off his amazing skills with pop music. The lyrics are funny haha, he's singing about a girl that pressures him too much, almost stalkerish and he wants to run away from her. He basically only wanted her for sex, no relation since she's so crazy. Haha. But it's a fun song.
I Love It: Zion T's voice is heaven. G-dragon's voice ruined it. When he tried to sing like Zion T it was a major turn off. But the song is good, it's not the typical r&b sound I wanted because with Zion T he gives us that nor was it Primary produced so...But the song is still good...I can do without the lyrics hahaha it's a little...meh.
You Do (Outro): This is an inspirational song, telling people to just do you and follow your dreams, don't try to copy him etc..Nice little song and good outro


This album is similar to how 'Heartbreaker' was. G-dragon does not stick to one genre, he does hip hop, pop, and rock and he fits well into each genre. When he's not rapping about how he's the best and provides good hip hop it's awesome. But G-dragon has become a stereotype in that sense. When he does hip hop specifically, he only raps about him being rich, the best rapper and how no one can resist him. That's typical of American rap today except for some. G-dragon USED to rap with substance. Then when he does pop or a mid-tempo ballad, his raps have more substance, he's relatable which reveals his vunerability and we see another side to him. He's not always arrogant. And same goes to rock. That being said, this album is really good. Except Michigo. Forget that song. He's a great producer and composer, his lyrics need some help but he's still one of the great idol rappers although I think Zico has surpassed him now. I don't think this album needed a coup d'etat concept because he doesn't actually talk about it. Instead he talks about being unorthodox but he's not really bringing any type of change in Korean pop music, at least not now. Back then he did...
But apart from that, the album is consistent...or rather GD consistent, it flows well, great album some songs are hit or miss though. But it's a great 2nd album.
Rating: 4.6/5

Copyright © 2014 Kpop Craze

Distributed By Blogger Templates | Designed By Darmowe dodatki na blogi