Here I go again writing about another Korean artist for a music post. I really want to write about more Chinese singers but the music is so hard to find access to. Korean music and Japanese music is easier to obtain so as a result, you get these kinds of posts. There's not an over posting about Kpop because so many other sites write about all the idols. You will see me talk about old idols or Korean indie music that's really good at the moment. Bang Yong Guk would fall into the "used to be idol turned indie Korean music" category. His self titled album is his very first full length album alone after parting ways with his old group, B.A.P.
Track List:
01. Diary
02. 대화가 필요해
03. 히키코모리
04. 모조리 (Feat. Sogumm)
05. 야해 (Ya)
06. Holiday (Feat. Paul Given)
07. 여행 (Journey) *Title
08. Portrait
09. Codex Gigas
10. AM 4:44
11. Xie Xie
12. See you later
13. 대화가 필요해 (Inst.)
14. AM 4:44 (Inst.)
15. Xie Xie Remix (Feat. Sway D, Liquor, LE)
Yong Guk comes out with any album where he's really on this soothing freedom type of energy. He's changed his flow and musical direction to a sing song mellow style. I can't say that I'm feeling this new direction for him. Most of the singles weren't to my liking because all of them were down right boring. None of them were catchy fun rap songs that brought movement to the mainstream idol kpop rap genre like his older songs. These classic track also showcase that he can rap well but him proving himself isn't the agenda for his solo debut. I feel like he just had a lot of fun expressing the feelings he held in over the past few years. Maybe he had a little too much fun if you know what i mean…. While Yong Kook has the talent to pull off rapping in vocalization, The first half of the album's track are super depressing lyrically and all kind of run together into on big track that's saying the same thing over again. The deep voice is attractive, however, Yong Guk just doesn't possess the fineness performing this type of rap unlike his peers who excel at it such as PH-1 and Loco. He comes off as trying too hard to stay current in a new age of K-hip hop when he doesn't need to prove himself to anyone. I surprisingly loved the later half of the album where Yong Guk finds his own place out of the shadow of "standards" in current Korean pop culture. He even slowly returns to rapping the way he used to, which was a huge treat for this old fan. BANGYONGGUK tells an interesting tale of this young man if you can get pass the snooze fest tracks to interpret what he's trying to convey. I don't why I imagine an empty coffee shop when I listen to this album….
Simular to what I wrote above, Yong Guk tries to rap using vocals which was not easy for me to get use to. I kinda just prayed that I would find at least two tracks that I would take a liking to and I found more than that. His skill isn't the problem at all. I don't think he needs to be trying to conform to get the young fans. Keep doing the music that elevates who you are as a rapper. Honestly, this album doesn't do that in my opinion….. There's a couple of gems if you feel like digging though.
No comments:
Post a Comment