Cover for Agust D’s first mixtape by the same name.

Agust D, better known as Suga from BTS (or Bangtan Boys), or by his real name, Min Yoongi, has finally released his mix-tape ‘Agust D‘ with his lead track by the same name “Agust D.” Agust D is one of the rappers of the popular group BTS. The other rappers of  the group, Rap Monster and J-Hope, have released mix-tapes already, so fans have been anticipating for Agust D’s own mix-tape as well. This mix-tape includes nine original tracks produced by himself and his label’s in-house producers Slow Rabbit, June, and PDogg.

The song begins with only a steady drum roll that strangely reminded me of the 20th Century Fox intro. Agust D then says, “Turn up” twice before the song jumps into the main instrumental. Throughout the song, there is a sample of the line “You see, man made the cars” from James Brown‘s “This is a Man’s World” that repeats many times in the instrumental. It can be most clearly heard in the beginning after he says, “Turn up.”

The first verse begins with Agust D addressing some of the criticisms he has heard, like the line “Some say I made it too easy” which is far from the truth. Before he became an “idol” and debuted he had suffered much to accomplish his dreams as a rapper. He had suffered with depression and social phobia, which he raps about in the song “마지막 (The Last)” on the same mix-tape. Even after his debut, there was criticism from Korean underground hip-hop rappers that him and his group were not “real hip-hop” because they have title as idols (meaning manufactured music and imagery controlled by the label instead of free and independent sound). However, he pushes that away with his current accomplishments – his group BTS has sold over 500,000 albums in one year (with songs that he and the other members in BTS have participated in making). In the second verse, he continues to refute the criticisms by pointing out how busy and popular they are and how far they have come, traveling worldwide, “from Paris to New York.” He also disses those who have criticized him by referring to them as “lazy” and how they are only full of “jealousy as they whine.” He also states how they should be “thankful that he is only an idol rapper.” In the bridge, he continues to berate haters as he sarcastically sincerely apologizes while advising them to change their career and claims their rap is not as good as his.

One of my favorite lines was, “F**k you, I’m a pain in yo’ a**, [you’re] too far from the sugar.” I like this because it’s different from the more reserved K-pop style that often doesn’t have cursing and keeps themes appropriate for fans of younger ages. BTS has done hip-hop styles, with their earlier singles like “No More Dream” and “N.O” as well as rap cyphers on their albums. However, Agust D here is raw and “revolting” from his idol image. Moreover, as his stage name is Suga, he is dissing those who have criticized him as  being”too far away from the sugar” (basically they’re too far from him and not on the same level (in terms of skills and popularity).

Another line I liked was, “Yeah, if you wanna go faster, then make a reservation for first class/My seat is business, you economy always behind me, kissing my a**.” The wittiness and simplicity of this diss made me grin – he’s dares those who want to get ahead of him to fly first class, as he flies in business. But they can only afford to fly in economy class, so they will always be “kissing his a**.” These lines reiterate the reference that others cannot even reach the skills, wealth, and popularity that he has currently achieved.

Another line that stood out was, “All ya fried rappers should be thankful I’m an idol.” I liked this line because Agust D is pointing out that he is a great rapper with or without the “idol rapper” label. Long story short, there is a stigma within the K-pop world against “idol rappers” because after they are not considered “real rappers”  by the underground hip-hop scene, avid music listeners, and even sometimes by the fans themselves. These idol rappers may have the position as a the rapper in the group, only because they cannot sing (so they became a “rapper” instead). They often also do not even write their own lyrics (they have ghost-writers for them), and at the end of the day, only became “rappers” because their company or label told them to be one. Agust D is challenging as well as dissing the so-called real rappers that they should be grateful he is known as an idol rapper. Listening to this line makes me wonder what kind of music he would have made if did not became an idol and did not join a K-pop boy group. I guess this mix-tape is the answer to that.

There were too many highlights from this song that I liked but other lyrics that I wanted to mention was the hook, “I’ll send you to Hong Kong with my tongue technology.” (Sending one to Hong Kong is euphemism for making someone turned on). Here, the double entendre is that listeners will be pay attention and be impressed by his swift raps and addictive melodies, as well as being “turned on” by the sound of his voice (as he mentions in BTS’ “Cypher PT. 3: Killer.”) I also enjoyed the combination of the apologies and sarcasm that was bleeding throughout the bridge.

One more aspect I appreciated was the backing vocals on the track by the other rappers of BTS, Rap Monster and J-Hope. Even though some of the backing vocals and sounds were somewhat faint and may be overlooked if the listener does not pay attention – they add a more rich, fun and complete sound to this track.

As much as I loved the lyrics and the song, the one thing that amusing to me was the way Agust D split his name during the chorus byrapping, “A to the G to the U to the STD.” It was comical how tough and how much swag he was expressing throughout the song, but then during the chorus, he would repeat this refrain.

The song concludes the same way it begins with a drum-roll. This is interesting because it made his rap like a performance – as the song began, the drum-roll introduced his performance. The drum-roll was then used again to indicate that his rap had come to an end.

Visually, the music video is simple but the special effects match well with Agust D’s rap. The shift back and forth between the blue filter and the orange hues as well as the orange flames, the sun light and lamp) shows the contrast between different personalities, reminding me of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. In the blue filter, he acts like a mad man, trying to escape from the chair he is tied up, filled with wildness and craziness. This matches with the lyrics, “I’m a crazy lunatic on the beat.” During the blue film, there is a lot of turbulence on the RV he is in as well as some special effects that causes the scene to be disoriented. With the orange filter, he is seen more relaxed, but still exuding a charismatic aura and plenty of swag.

There is also constant shifting of scenes matches with Agust D’s fast-paced rap especially during the second verse. There are also hints of a lighter, fire, flames and smashing of a car that is related to the follow music video he released three days later, called “give it to me.”

Check out the rest of his mixtape here:

Fun fact –  Agust D is Suga’s name backwards. The D and T is referring to “D Town,” as his hometown is Daegu. He shouts out to his hometown and holds much pride coming from Daegu. Out of the many songs he mentions his hometown, the most popular one is probably from BTS’ “Ma City.”

BTS, who made their debut in 2013, is a seven-member boy group signed under Big Hit Entertainment. The music video reached more than a million views in less  than twelve hours. It currently has over six million views. If you enjoyed this song, make sure to check out the other covers, mix-tapes, and official releases by BTS, be sure to follow them here:

Official Site

Facebook

Instagram

Soundcloud

Twitter (Personal, Official)

YouTube 

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The post Agust D Wants You to Remember His Name “Agust D” in MV appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

PENTAGON, a ten member Korean boy-band from CUBE Entertainment, released a music video for their first official track “Young.” However, on this song, only five of the members sing because it was part of a team mission (two teams of five) on episode eight of their survival reality program called Pentagon Maker. Nevertheless, all ten members do appear in the new music video.

The song opens with a strong rhythmic percussion that reciprocates with clap beats which creates a strong start. Then, one of the rappers, Wooseok, sings, “Young, young, yeah” and does three lip trills. It continues with the first verse sung by three of the members, Kino, Yeo One and Hui, respectively. It is followed by a simple hook, “We’re still young, young, young,” which is repeated twice. The following verse is Wooseok’s rap and the chorus again. The bridge is only Wooseok repeating the hook once and Hui vocalizing to the instrumental as it is the dance break of the song. The last verse is Yuto’s rap, with the chorus repeating once more to end the song.

One of the lines I liked is “Err’day we live for freedom (freedom)/ We’re like stains in this pitch-black world.” This part of the song is relatable because most people try to live as “freely” as they can. To live is to be able to enjoy freedoms and without liberties, we may not be able to live the way we desire to. Frequently, it seems like the people that crave to live freely, and those who are more adamant about creating new freedoms or protecting past ones are the youth. The line “We’re like stains in this pitch-black world” may be referring to how youths are the ones to leave an impact in the world that is already very dark and seemingly hopeless.

Another line I liked was during the rap, “We don’t obsess over success, I have a lot of time before I turn old/ Money’s good, but doesn’t matter, I do what I do and it will roll right in/I wouldn’t have started if I aimed to be average/ A new leaf’s turned and it’s nothing like you’ve seen.” These lines are meaningful because for many, parents and older generations constantly express the importance of finding careers that provide high incomes. However, for new generations and many younger people, they value their passions more than financial security or are able to combine both with self-made businesses and entrepreneurship. Also, I like how the lyrics “I wouldn’t have started if I aimed to be average” reveal Wooseok’s personal ambition and aspirations, as an eighteen year old, to be the best at what he does as a rapper and idol. The next line “A new leaf’s turned and it’s nothing like you’ve seen” may be referring to himself as well as PENTAGON’s upcoming debut and how they will be an original group with refreshing charms. This song proclaims powerful encouragement as well as a message that speaks to the strength and reiterates the resilience of the youth.

The music video is a parody of the popular and only Korean hip-hop survival program in South Korea, Show Me The Money or SMTM for short. This concept was probably chosen because the song was produced by Dok2 (pronounced Dok-ee), a well-known Korean hip-hop artist and producer. He is also the co-founder and co-CEO of independent hip-hop label Illionaire Records. He has been one of the judges for SMTM – for season three in 2014 and this year’s fifth season. So as a spoof, instead of Show Me the Money or SMTM, they changed it to Show Me The Young and SMTY. More specifically, they only parodied the first and second rounds of the survival program.

The music video is humorous because there was a grandmother and grandfather-aged contestant (which has happened on the real show) and while they were able to pass the audition round, getting gold necklaces,  some of the “young’ members of the group were unable to pass. They as participants parody the exaggerations of some of the contestants on the real show who throw tantrums or become upset when they don’t pass. Another amusing highlight from the video was the random guy who was cartwheeling while other contestants were waiting for their turn to be judged.

If you’re interested in how this song was created, you can watch it here:

They also had a live performance of the song:

Unfortunately, these boys have not yet made an official debut as a whole group, but will be debuting soon. You can keep track of them with the following links. Please anticipate their debut!

https://www.facebook.com/pentagon.unitedcube/

https://www.instagram.com/cube_ptg/

http://www.vlive.tv/channels/F2C18D

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The post RESPECT. Review: PENTAGON Points Out They’re Still “Young” in MV appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

Jay Park and Ugly Duck returned earlier last week with a new single “Ain’t No Party Like an AOMG Party” or in Korean, “우리가 빠지면 Party가 아니지,” one of the tracks off their new EP Scene Stealers. Their last official release together was “몸매(Mommae)” which means ‘body’ in English, from Jay Park’s studio album ₩orld ₩ide. The English song title is actually a little different from the Korean song title. Literally, the song title means, ‘Without us, it ain’t a party’ or ‘It ain’t a party, if we [AOMG] ain’t there.’

The song starts out with a slow and seemingly gentle rhythmic piano-like beat in the beginning, but then becomes hardcore with its heavy bass and percussion sounds. Surprisingly, this song actually reminds you of “Mommae,” even though the producers are different. “Mommae” was produced by famous producer, also part of the AOMG label, Gray. On the other hand, this song is produced by Prima Vista, Yultron, and Cha Cha Malone (another producer from AOMG). Moreover, Jay Park references “Mommae” by singing the same lines:

‘They ain’t f**kin’ with us, no, they ain’t f**kin’ with us.’

Showing creativity, he’s able to fit lyrics from one of his previous songs into his new single, and still make it sound fresh. However, despite the many similarities between the new song and Jay Park’s “Mommae” released earlier last year, can be listened to without getting bored. And for this song, it was only released last week, and we’re slowly starting to feel ambivalent about it. “Mommae” has a stronger and more addictive hook while the hook in this song is just this line “It ain’t a party if we aren’t there” (in Korean) repeated over and over.

In the song, Jay mentions his connection from Seattle to Seoul, highlighting his Korean-American heritage, which he does in many of his songs, for example – “All I Want to Do,” “On It,” and even has a song called “Seattle 2 Soul.” He also cleverly in the lyrics gives a shout out to the producers Prima Vista, Yultron, Cha Cha Malone. For Ugly Duck’s part, rap is suited well with the song and he makes many references. One of them is ‘Law of the Jungle’ which is a reference to a South Korean variety show as well as referring to the animal-like and crazy party that goes down with Jay Park and AOMG.

Visually, this music video is explosive – there is a strong contrast between the different sets. For example, there is fire and cards that are burning in one set, there are dark tunnels and flashlights in another, there is a club-like hazy purple smog set, and a circus tent background as well. This music video was skilfully produced by Tiger Cave, as the constant shifting between sets match with the upbeat and the krump-like instrumental. My favorite set would the dark background, with flashing lights because there, Ugly Duck and Jay Park are wearing elaborate body and face paint. It reminds me of Halloween but with swag. Also, even though Jay Park has a skull painted on one-half of his face, instead of being frightening, he looks charismatic and intimidating.

In the music video, the snippets of choreography danced by Jay Park, and the choreography by the female dance crew, Purplow are impressive. Jay Park is a multi-talented man – he is good at singing, rapping and dancing as well. I wish there was a choreography version of the song, because I would love to see the whole dance that Jay Park and the crew, Prepix performs. But from the short and intermittent snippets seen, the dance moves are powerful and on-point. Purplow’s dance is sexy and matches the song well. There are also other various dancing crews, a b-boy group, krumping crew, and contortionist group.

Unfortunately, I think I like the music video more than I liked the song. In essence, this song is about Jay Park and Ugly Duck bragging about the importance of their presence or the presence of their crew and label AOMG at any party. It’s a straightforward song that doesn’t really have a profound meaning. That’s probably why it’s a good song to just jam to. Other things I appreciated about the visuals was the life-size metallic playing cards with their names that were burning in the background of one set. One of the coolest parts was when one of the dancers was doing tricks with burning poles and then tumbling in the air with them. I had to repeat that part a few times – it looked amazing. The visuals are just top-notch and creative, producing a cinematic quality to the music video. The video’s theme seems to combine a wild [human] circus and a crazy party at a club. Basically, the whole music video emphasizes that an AOMG party is where you want to be at – because there are pretty girls dancing sexily, live entertainment, tricks, dance competitions, body paint, fire, and flashing lights, etc.

Overall, the song lyrics are nothing complex – the whole meaning of the song is captured in the title. However, the hardcore instrumental and well-designed aesthetics of this music video make it a perfect song to enjoy visually as well as  turn up to for the summer.

The music video currently has over 800,000 views. It is also available for download worldwide on iTunes.

If you like this jam and you’re interested in more Jay Park or AOMG music, check them out here:

https://www.youtube.com/user/jaybumaom0425

https://www.facebook.com/jaypaom/

Tweets by JAYBUMAOM

https://www.instagram.com/jparkitrighthere/

https://www.facebook.com/AOMGOFFICIAL/

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The post Jay Park & Ugly Duck Claims There “Ain’t No Party Like an AOMG Party” appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.