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

4 comments :

  1. Just a few randoms thoughts:

    "where's Tablo?" Hmm sitting comfortably with his family, taking it easy as a new YG artist? :p

    His blackface looks like the girl in X-Men. Yes, the blue girl.

    Anybody heard the reference to Lil Bow Wow? "wow wow yeepy yo yeepy yeah"...I have no thoughts about it, it was too random, not revolutionary at all lol

    Nobody in the idol world is going to do a revolution. Nobody (at least not now). G-dragon is even less likely to give up his privilege as a top idol who enjoys "artist" credibility by his fans. I don't understand what his "Coup d'état" means. He says it's internal, in his mind...what's the point if you don't change anything? You know, the very things that frustrates him? Seriously his MV was just a trick to make his fans think he's deep and compensate for his lack of writing creativity.

    The song is average, meh. I'm not a G-D fan so I need something better than this to win me over.

    Don't know who Lydia Paek or Jeenie Kim are, might listen to the album later. Essentially for a high quality of the song with Missy :) Look what G-Dragon is doing to me lol I've never listened to his CDs before.

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  2. Sorry for the rant... ^^'

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    1. Haha for the Tablo comment I meant where is he when you need him since he's the best rapper in YG currently hahaha. And you're right about GD not really giving up anything. I read some analyses and they think that the mv represents him going against the idol life. But as you said, he won't be changing anything at all. Why would he give us his privileges he's at the top of his game! I think the mv and the song had the potential but he never literally wanted a coup d'etat.

      Lydia Paek is a singer/dancer she is a part of Quest Crew (American dance crew) and she used to sing covers on Youtube. YG picked her up and she's now a composer. She writes for 2ne1 and Lee Hi. Jennie Kim is supposed to be in YG's new girl group. I was just commenting on why she's on everyone's album when her vocal skills aren't extraordinary nor has she debut with anything.

      And no it's ok! I enjoyed your comments haha

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  3. Yes I got you on "where's Tablo", no problem :) Though I worry about his music and writing getting worse little by little...now that he has established his legendness (what's more to say or prove?) and signed with a top company (too comfortable). And Tablo is a father now so he might lose his "edginess" in his writing. Yeah, kids and getting old can do that to an artist, not always though.

    Lydia Paek sounds interesting, I googled her and listened to her cover of Big Bang's "Bad Boy". She's good and a bit raw (as in no cute high pitch voice). I was surprised to see that she composed "Ugly" and "I Love You" for 2NE1!! Not bad. Lydia sounds promising so I'll keep an eye on her. As for Jennie Kim...nah, won't bother with a trainee lol She might not even debut...YG is so unpredictable.

    As for YG keeping debuting (with long extra delays lol) idol groups, I wonder why can't focus on solists? Hm, hello Gummy? And with the phenomenal success of Lee Hi, he could have found another soloist who's actually a grown-up and musically invested like Lydia Paek (for example) to really bring a wave of fresh air in kpop.





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