The second rapper of idol group Monsta X known as I.M. released his first solo album digitally out of nowhere. Fans(including myself) didn't see the release coming and got blindsided by a Music Video. JooHeon is the guy who has released the most solo work so far out of al the members unless you want to count dearly departed Wonho..... Oh, Oops..... There's his mixtape too that slipped my mind. Anyway, I.M.'s mini album is called Duality.
Track List:
01. God Damn *Title
02. Howlin’
03. Burn
04. Happy to Die
05. 시든 꽃 (flower-ed)
God Damn opens the album for fans who came running to listen after the music video's release. The track sets a theme for the whole album which could be described as a mixture between melodic Rap and Pop RnB. I believe that this sound is a whole vibe that fits I.M.'s artistry since he kind of lives in Jooheon's shadow performance wise in my opinion. He breaks out on his won here as the album gives different feels through each track that hits hard every time. I enjoyed the tinkering of the piano behind the beat during God Damn or the Organ that blends perfectly on Burn. However, I wasn't too impressed with Duality's efforts to show that I.M. can shine on his own. Some of the stand out tracks like, Happy To Die and Burn give I.M. flowing in a melody rap zone but the overall result isn't groundbreaking at all. Many fans can love this album on the fact that this is I.M. who is a rapper from a popular Kpop group. Even the vibe that the mini album gives is enjoyable. Outside of that, Duality sounds like influence from American popular music's compost bin at it's core. Whether that's a good or a bad thing is up to you to decide. I for one won't remember this album after a few weeks.... Scratch that. I'll remember God Damn as a title track at least. Same thing happened for me when Jooheon's last solo album came out. I really only bump Smokey weeks later.
I'm trying to figure out if I.M.'s case was that he wasn't supposed to be a rapper but they assigned him the role due to the fact that he has a deep voice. His situation confuses me..... Sometimes he seems like he was a singer that turned to Rap. He could have been neither.... Certain Idols got in on their image then the company just trains them to be a vocalist/singer to the best of their abilities. This might sound shady but I actually love the energy I.M. and JooHeon bring to Monsta X together as a unit. I know that Monsta X was formed on a" making the band" program....... So a unit album from the two would be cool.
No comments:
Post a Comment