Hello Everyone! My name is Brea, and I love a lot of things. But one of my guilty pleasures is my love for music – especially Korean and Japanese music. I know that some people are curious about it, and many are "closeted" fans of it; so, I wanted to create a place where I could share the music I find and introduce what I love to others who are curious about it as well. Each week, I will be updating with new releases and my ratings for them. However, the ratings are only in MY OPINION and should not to deter others from listening to the songs. Enjoy!
Monday 8.15.2016: SUGA a.k.a Agust D Mixtape
BTS’ cute, yet tough rapper, SUGA dropped his first official mixtape since debut called, Agust D on August 15th. Rumors stating that he wanted to postpone it’s release due to pressure from BTS fans made me a little worried about him going solo from the group. However, his insecurities were invalid due to the raw tracks on his mixtape. I will go through each track, and discuss how I feel about wach of them.
Intro; Dt sugA (Feat. DJ Friz): This intro has a similar feel to Bangtan’s music (which he co writes and produces). With rough hip hop beats and the edgy vinyl scratches, SUGA gives us a taste of what’s to come on the album with snippets of his lyrics as well.
Stars: 3
Agust D: This is truly his anthem, and the main song of his mixtape. Through the trumpets and old school hip hop beats, SUGA makes this song an anthem for himself. Originally, he was a gritty underground rapper before he was in BTS. But, it’s nice to see him in his element and not having to be censored by the mainstream kpop music scene.
Stars: 4
Give it to me: This song starts off like a slower version of the “Agust D” track, without the horns in the background. Thus, I was kind of turned off because I felt like I heard it before. However, SUGA’s lyrics and how he delivers the song is a lot more rough compared to “Agust D”. I though this song was okay, because of the recycling of the track.
Stars: 2
Skit :This was a cute little snippet of a conversation between him and someone else. This is something that BTS always has in their albums, to give the listeners a little taste of their everyday lives. I think it was cute to have in there, however I thought that it may not have been needed.
Stars: 2
724148: This song reminds me of the cypher tracks from BTS’ albums. I love the basic beats with lyrics, because it gives off a type of simplicity. This type of simplicity is good for talented rappers, and it makes the listener pay attention to what they want to say.
Stars: 4
The Last: This is one of my favorites from the album. Its still intense (because of the lyrics), but calming with the spooky hip hop beats in the background. The song later picks up with an intense classical feel, which is a nice partnership with the lyrics. This song also shows SUGA’s versatility and emotion in this song, which is quite different from the songs before. The song is more like an open letter about the struggles he’s had in with himself and stardom, rather than a declaration of freedom like the previous songs.
Stars: 5
Tony Montana (Feat. Yankie): This song is more trap music, which is definitely in Yankie’s area who specializes in this type of music. This song is good for it’s hard hitting trap music track, rather than the lyrics. So, if you want a good head banger…..this is definitely the song.
Stars: 4
Interlude; Dream, Reality: This track gives the listener a breather from all the hard hitting tracks previously. With the light classical mixed with hip hop percussion, it’s a beautiful way to transition to the next song in the tracklist.
Stars: 5
So far away (Feat. SURAN): This is the last song on the album, and the most calm. It is also the only song that features a female artist as well, which was a nice tough to the song. “So far away” kind of reminds me of BTS’ outro song “Love is not over”, by it’s whimsical, r&b and pop-like vibe. But, It was a good track to end on for the mixtape.
Stars: 5
Overall, I think that SUGA did a great job with the mixtape. He gave up good songs to get “Lit” too, as well as some slower songs to just relax to. Considering being an idol, I was proud that he went back to his roots and was his authentic self (pre-debut). I recommend listening to the album, because he has the classic BTS sound mixed with his own style, which shows how far he’s grown and what he has gone through as an idol.
Tuesday 8.16.2016: Cosmic Girls- Secret
This girl group has been around forever, however I always forget thet they still make music. But, with this song…….for such a long break from making music this song isn’t the best. It’s a cute “bubblegum” pop song, but that’s all it is. They actually the same sound as the I.B.I song “Molae Molae” that was released on the same day as this song. That’s all I have to say about this one; it wasn’t bad,but it wasn’t the best.
Tuesday 8.16.2016: GRAY- Summer Night (Remix) (Feat.Hoody)
AOMG’s Producer, GRAY and up-and-coming R&B singer, Hoody prove to be a great duo in the remix version of “Summer Night”. This song is definitely something you would want to play on the way to a party or to the beach. I wasn’t sure if I would like this song because I wasn’t to sure about the original song. However, this version I like a lot better, because Hoody adds what the song was missing with her airy voice over the 80s inspired track.
Stars: 5
Tuesday 8.16.2016: Sleepy- So What (Feat. Lee Guk Ju)
This song uses the same basic hip hop/R&B track as a few other songs that I have heard before. Also, not to be mean, but his voice is a little annoying after a while. As you can tell….I’m not really a fan *laugh*. However, I do believe in giving people more chances. The only highlight was having comedienne, Lee Guk Ju’s commentary in the background.
Tuesday 8.16.2016: I.B.I- Molae Molae
This is a typical Kpop girl group kind of song. It’s super cute,happy, and will definitely put you in a good mood. I thought that I wouldn’t like it, because I don’t like most girl groups that are too “bubblegum pop” like. However, I actually like this song.
Stars:3
Wednesday 8.17.2016: Penomeco-For You (Feat. Crush&Punchnello)
I was kind of excited when I saw that Penomeco had a new song today. I first heard of him when he featured on Zico’s “Yes or No” track and how weird (in a good way) his voice was. This is another summer track as well, and Penomeco couldn’t go wrong by adding R&B singer, Crush and fellow rapper, Punchnello. The song itself is very smooth and has a light trap music vibe that isn’t too overwelming that you can’t relax to it. I have had it on repeat ALL DAY!
Stars: 5
Wednesday 8.17.2016: EXO- Lotto
This song honestly is “okay”, it’s nothing I would write home about. It has that generic DJ Mustard music track and there is a use of autotune, which I am not used to for EXO. I think I understand why they used this song in the repackaging of their third album, because it’s a decent song;but, maybe not on the same caliber as “Monster” or “Lucky one” that came out a few months ago. Over all it’s a typical party/dance song…..*shrugs shoulders* and that’s about it.
Wednesday 8.17.2016: HanHae- Eyescream
HanHae has been on a roll with some good collaborations and solo music lately. This is a cute love song with a smooth pop/r&b music track, it is definitely a happy song for sure. I love the duet parts between him and singer, Jeong Eun Ji who has this innocent and whimsical voice with his sultry and manly rapping and singing.
Stars: 4.5
Wednesday 8.17.2016: Yuri & Seohyun (Girl’s Generation)- Secret
This is DEFINITELY a party song. I was surprised that the genre these two chose was Electronic, but it suited them both. I wasn’t hooked instantly, but I could listen to It when I’m working out every once and again. Plus, I already know that Yuri and Seohyun can sing, so I thought the song was pretty good.
Stars: 4
Thursday 8.18.2016: B-Free-Freedom
In this song, I liked more of the background track than the actual lyrics from B-Free. This actually doesn’t surprise me, because I didn’t care for his previous songs. However, he had some good lyrics here and there, but you can clearly see that the focus was on the music track. The song has a sultry, jazz feel throughout, and hip hop percussion appears every now and again. Overall, I can’t say the song was bad, but I would only want to listen to it one time.
Stars: 2.5
Thursday 8.18.2016: CL-Lifted
I was super excited when I saw this song was released. This song is one of her few English songs, and honestly it was a decent song. The song featured a pop music kind of vibe with hints of reggae, which to me was meant to be a summer song. I thought it was a good song, and it was nice to see her do a “feel good” kind of track this time around. Personally, it would be a song I would listen to every now and again. However, the song slightly grows on you and gets stuck in your hear. However, this is the U.S. debut that we have been waiting for; but, it feels a little disappointing since we waited SO LONG for this.Overall, and I know I may sound biased, but CL is the Queen and we all know this!
Stars: 3
Friday 8.19.2016: Badkiz-Hothae
I always forget this girl group exists, I've only heard a few songs from them, but I was never a fan..This song is pop like with hints of funk, which sound similar to previous girl group songs I have heard before. However, it was okay and not my favorite. That’s about it…but, it is a good summer party song.
Stars: 2
