The 24-year-old South Korean rapper Yong Junhyung began his career with the K-pop boy band BEAST in 2009. But back in December, Junhyung (as he is known to BEAST fans) put out a very different type of record.
"Flower" is Junhyung's first album released as a solo artist, and he's clearly gunning for an older, more hardcore hip-hop crowd beyond his chart-topping band's legions of loyal followers. "Flower" breaks away from the glossy pop BEAST is known for and gets into some more modern and sophisticated sounds.
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One of the cool things about hip-hop records is that they've always been a great space for the merging of different musical and production styles. "Flower" is no exception.
A comparison could be made with Frank Ocean's first studio album "channel ORANGE," or the ever-present Kanye West style of hip-hop production, where the musical choices are as important as the rapping, the production is understated--even subdued--and the cadence of the rapping is conversational, rather than barked.
If "Flower" has a discernible fault, it's that the record errs on the side of 90s summer jams. There's something just a little too laid back and mellow about the whole thing. To add to this fact, the raps are a bit croony at times, and often the drums lack some of those club-banging subharmonics.
Though some of the sounds are a bit cheesy or out of context, like the slap bass that sneaks up on you on the title track or the overly breathy backing vocals on "Slow," the overall sonic picture for the record is much hipper and grittier than anything you'd expect from a BEAST band member.
The first track "Nothing is Forever," features some really crackly drums sounds and a super satanic octavized vocal double. And the same title track with the aforementioned slap bass also features a crunchy Rhodes piano sound in the main keyboard part, a welcome break from BEAST's synth-lite arrangements.
The horn line in the outro is straight out of the Outkast playbook.
"Flower" also dips into some really legit 90s vibes, like the "Mary J. Blige Does K-pop" kind of hook on "Anything." Guest vocalist G. Na kills it.
On the whole, Yong Junhyung as a solo artist comes off as dark and moody, even for a BEAST member, but with an edge his bandmates can't claim. Perhaps this is the dawn of a new chapter in Junhyung's musical development. Either way, "Flower" is an album that it is worth stopping to enjoy.
Listen to the FULL ALBUM of Yong Junhyung's "Flower" RIGHT HERE
Harper Willis is a Brooklyn, New York-based producer and engineer. He has a passion for recording bands in crazy places, like ski mountains, motorcycle garages and swimming pools.
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