The Playlist: Can BLACKPINK’s LISA Teach Us Japanese?
Five new tracks by API artists to stream right now, including AleXa’s “distraction” and HOHYUN’s “Today”.
Lisa, RCA Records
The other night my friend Sam Lui at Bunni Pop texted me. “I think I have to write about LISA’s new single ‘Rockstar’,” she said. “The BLACKPINK girls have been doing so much interesting music since starting solo projects.” And she’s right: “Rockstar” is in many ways, totally nonsensical. “Lisa, can you teach me Japanese? Hai Hai!” LISA raps in one of the most memorable and ridiculous lines. The single calls back to when K-Pop was at times completely unhinged and almost totally unconnected to what modern day hip-hop sounds like. The song shifts and turns multiple times throughout the 2 minutes and even samples Tame Impala’s “New Person, Same Old Mistakes” in the last half. Here’s to an insane artistic vision.
JUNNY: “RUSH” (featuring BOBBY)
Following a year of touring his stellar debut album “blanc”, JUNNY is back with a bouncy beat and a shock of dopamine. “RUSH”, the latest single from his EP “dopamine”, is a triumph. At his best, JUNNY’s effusive charm reverberates in his music and on “RUSH”, he’s adept at seduction. “I know you feel the tension,” he teases. “Can you get the rush?”
First drafted as a voice memo almost a year to the day that HOHYUN recorded “i can’t escape the rain”, “Today” stands as an unintentional sequel to one of his biggest hits. This is in-line with how the singer works best. HOHYUN’s music has always evolved at its own pace; “DRAMA.”, his debut album, was the album that he told me was willed to be. “Today” serves as the first single to the deluxe version of “DRAMA.: The Epilogue”, and is one of his most searing songs. “All the people watching me just say,‘Oh what a shame,” HOHYUN sings as he watches himself self-destruct. It’s heartbreaking, unflinching in its depiction of pain. But it’s also a vital listen.
“I know the truth hurts,” AleXa tells a girlfriend with a deadbeat boyfriend, “but he’s a piece of shit.” On her latest English language release “distraction”, AleXa is continuing to make the most interesting music of her career. This is was needed: AleXa has always stood apart from her K-Pop peers because of how outspoken and downright weird she can be. She’s funny, observant and can only be herself in interviews. So, it’s a relief to hear the music catch up to what makes AleXa the person so captivating. With fiery lyrics and splashy production, AleXa’s newest music is deliciously spiteful.
When I first talked to the Chinese American singer jstnwng in February he was gearing up for an image rebrand. “It’s a little more toxic,” he told me with a laugh. While jstnwng is known for moodier R&B ballads like “worth it” and “pull”, “LET ME” is all about raw sexuality. “Love it when you ride it/ When you kiss it babe,” he sings in the first verse, “When I’m up inside it, I feel heaven’s gate.” The new sound reflects the kind of music jstnwng loves: seductive, sensual slow jams that are made to cast a mood.
