We know how much I love to push the K-pop/nu metal crossover agenda around these parts, and I'm about to make one of my spiciest takes yet: Yeonjun, fourth-gen it boy and member of TOMORROW X TOGETHER (TXT), has gone nu metal more than we'd like to admit.
Last week, his song "Rockstarr" from the Street Woman Fighter: Director's War soundtrack dropped, and between the instrumentation and Yeonjun's switching between singing and rapping, it has more than earned its nu metal stripes. But if we look at the pair of his NO LABELS EPs, which are now available as part of a full album as of today, there are actually several hints of nu in the DNA. Am I reaching a bit here? Maybe, but bear with me here. Of the twelve songs that encompass the EPs, there are four that I'd like to present as evidence that the man behind bangers such as "GGUM" and "Ice Cream" may be closer-aligned to our nu world than either side of this musical fence would like to assert.
First comes the opening to part one, "Talk To You." I was met with raised eyebrows when I asked with all sincerity if this song was a teensy bit nu, and I've only been galvanized in my stance. The bassline, with all of its R&B panache, feels like something funky enough that Rage Against The Machine would have used it on their debut LP. I would go as far as to say it sounds not unlike the bassline to "Bullet In The Head." The chorus hits and the riff is two notes but insane levels of groove. If nothing else, this could easily get a rock version with some guitars and maybe a turntable scratch for good measure.
"Nothin' 'Bout Me" from the first EP is a rap-rock anthem if ever Yeonjun has done one, with a chorus that I would argue is only so far removed from Limp Bizkit's "Nookie." Given the attitude that YJ brought with this and other songs across these releases, perhaps he was close to telling someone to take that cookie and... well, you know the rest.
We then turn to part two and "Vanilla," which opens things on a hip-hop note. Again, that bass guitar is putting in the work, and that's before its six-string sibling kicks in for the chorus. There's bounce, there's energy, and plenty of nu sensibility in this EP opener, making it no wonder that he's seen it grow as a B-side, even getting a performance feature on Good Morning America during his American activities surrounding PART 02.
We then get to the profanity-laced "Fxxking Star," which has a similar structure to "Take A Look Around," while maintaining the hip-hop vibe not unlike "N 2 Gether Now." This is as pure hip-hop as Yeonjun gets across the two EPs, with his flow and his swagger dominating the track. In the usually squeaky-clean, image-obsessed world of K-pop, a song with "fuck" in the title and all over the track should not have gotten the love and the promotion that it has, but here we are. We're nowhere near the mythical forty-six fucks in this fucked up rhyme, but this is the one-time star trainee of HYBE wearing his influences on his sleeves, and feeling himself in the best way possible.
NO LABELS is available now via BIGHIT Music, a division of HYBE labels.
