RESPECT. Review: Kush & Zion. T Bang with "Machine Gun"

Yesterday, producer, Kush and singer-songwriter, Zion. T officially released the studio version of the single “Machine Gun” featuring Song Minho, known by his stage name Mino of Korean boyband WINNER that aired on the fifth episode of South Korea’s only hip-hop survival show, Show Me the Money. Kush has produced songs for the “Kings of K-pop,” BIGBANG, including last year’s hit “We Like to Party.” Zion. T has consistently topped the Korean music charts with his singles “”양화대교 (Yanghwa BRDG),” “Just,” and “No Makeup.” Mino was the runner-up of the previous season of Show Me the Money and his most popular song that he released through the program, “Fear” ft. BIGBANG’s main vocalist Taeyang peaked at number 1 on the Korean digital music charts with more than a million downloads.

The song begins with Zion. T’s unique tone, “One damage, machine gun,” that sounds a bit both like rap and singing. Zion. T then shows off his talent as a rapper in this first verse, as he is more known as an R&B vocalist. The song goes into the chorus sung by Kush, with the catchy hook “Machine gun, machine gun, machine gun.” Mino raps charismatically on the second verse with clever lyrics: “Dudududu, our engine noise/ Bureureureung, like a jet plane/ On the other hand, yours are search engines (Google Google).” The bridge consists of four lines – three of them rapped by Kush and the last line by Mino. The chorus repeats one more time with Zion. T vocalizing along with the rap; the song finally ends with the hook, “machine gun, machine gun, machine gun.”

My favorite part of the song was the first verse, because I like Zion. T’s voice and it’s rather rare to hear him rap, so it was a little different, but he still did a good job. I also liked the sound effects of guns they include in the raps like “Dudududu.” “Machine gun” seems to be a metaphor for their musical abilities and successes that put bullets into the losers around them. Zion. T’s line: “Whatever I touch explodes, BOOM” seems to mean, anything he releases or sings is a hit as it explodes with popularity. Mino bolsters the metaphor of their power by dissing all those who criticize or hate on him. He boasts about how busy he’s been, and with no rest, he’s adding commas to his bank account as well as sporting Rolexes. Moreover, even though there are people who hate him, his name is still spoken by their lips and as the three of them walk on rainclouds – they will always be above their haters. Another witty line from Mino’s rap was, “In this song, firearms are legal, RIP.” Even though there is strict regulation on firearms for civilians in South Korea, Mino remarks how he is able to use his rap as “legal” bullets that shoot and kill his enemies. Ultimately, the lines of the chorus, “A bullet to your head, a bullet to your chest, a bullet to your ear” reinforces the message that the music, talents, and capabilities of these three can kill others.

As of today, the live performance that aired on Show Me the Money has almost two million views. The song is also currently ranked number four on the Melon Music chart, one of the major online Korean music providers, which is constantly updated in real-time. For international fans, this single is also available for download on iTunes.