Browse Month

February 2012

Jay Park – ‘New Breed’ full album review: Quality and value like no other in K-pop!

Here I go again — new music from Jay Park baby! What began with the digital single “Girl Friend” last year, was then followed by volume 1 of ‘New Breed’ in December, and is now complete with the release Jay Park’s first full album.

Jay Park New Breed 1st album covers K-pop — Take your pick

The track-list for ‘New Breed‘ goes as such:

01. NEW BREED (INTRO)
02. Know Your Name
03. Girl Friend
04. Up And Down
05. I Love You
06. Go
07. I Got Your Back
08. 별 (Star)
09. 놀러와 (Come On Over)
10. 전화기를 꺼놔 (Turn Off Your Phone)
11. 너 없이 안돼 (Can’t Live Without You) [Acoustic ver.]
12. Aom&1llionaire
13. Enjoy The Show
14. 훅 갔어 (Wasted)
15. Clap

Out of the above, I’ve already dedicated one entire post for “Girl Friend,” and my ‘New Breed: Vol. 1’ review covers “Star,” “Enjoy the Show,” “Up and Down” “Can’t Live Without You” and “I Got your Back,” so I won’t be rehashing the same text here again.

Instead, here’s a review of the remaining songs:

01. “New Breed (Intro)” – The album kicks off with a lyrically hard-hitting rap track with Jay Park telling you he ain’t gonna ‘play the game’ in this business. He’s going to give you the “real shit” whether you like it or not! Ha ha, sure why not? – 3/5

02. “Know Your Name” – The lead single for this promotion cycle:

Produced by Da Beat Freakz, the New York-based production duo also behind “Girl Friend” as well, “Know Your Name” is a killer dance track. The song manages to get the right of mix Euro-pop and R&B, without ever sounding too much like any one genre. It’s a great record and makes for a perfect single! But I would love to hear the English version as the music is better suited for it, as I’m sure it was originally intended.

As for the MV, it’s a return to fast paced dancing and choreography by Andrew Baterina – one can tell, because some of the moves look recycled (something I’ve critiqued before). Other than that, the music video looks slick and props to Jay for featuring a black girl! 😉

My rating for “Know Your Name” – 4.5/5

05. “I Love You” Feat. Dynamic Duo – Oh. My. God. I was smiling as soon as Jay began singing his first verse. It’s such a good song! The beats, the melody, the chorus — it’s just lovely. The rap from my favourite Korean hip-hop group, Dynamic Duo, is awesome and I couldn’t move on to the other tracks because I had this on replay for near half-an-hour! The only flaw I found in this song is Jay’s vocals when he attempts to sustain a high pitch. Still, I’m going to give it a 5/5 anyway!

Edit: Even after a few hours of pushing this review live, I just can’t stop listening to this track! I hope Jay Park and SidusHQ consider it for a second single, it deserves to be! In my head I kept picturing the MV to feature intricate dance choreography, minimalistic colours (mostly black & white) — and for some goddamn reason, Hyoyeon as the female lead, dancing with Jay. Gosh, I’m such a SONE!

06. “Go” – A slow-paced track with the audio production made to sound as if it’s going in loops. Very listenable none the less and great vocals from Jay on this one. – 3.5/5

09. “놀러와 (Come On Over)” – I listened to this song right after “Go,” and I couldn’t help but find it a bit similar. Sure, this is an even slower track and Jay Park sings it in a mellow falsetto for much of the song. Quite sexy and atmospheric R&B – I love it! – 4/5

10. “전화기를 꺼놔 (Turn Off Your Phone)” – Smooth, sexy R&B territory again. Jay Park has surely shown his more mature side and makes no qualms about writing ‘bedroom music’ 🙂 – 3/5

12. “Aom&1llionaire” – A song dedicated to Jay Park’s frequent collaborators. AOM are of course, Art of Movement, the B-boy dance crew Jay Park is a part of. And 1llionaire are the South Korean hip-hop record company that rappers The Quiett and Dok 2 are a part of — both of whom have been featured on many of Jay Park’s songs. Expectantly, it’s a pure rap song, and it’s alright, but I doubt I’ll be listening it too often on album replays. – 2.5/5

14. “훅 갔어 (Wasted)” – Okay, knowing how up their asses MOGEF are, this song may end up getting banned. Why? Because it’s about drinking alcohol — and lots of it. Chugging, shots and eventually getting ‘wasted’. I don’t know if Jay even drinks like that for real but this song is again, pure rap and has a bit of a spooky vibe to it. But I kinda like it! – 3/5

15. “Clap” Feat. Tiger JK & Tasha – The final track, and by the end of this album, you must have realized Jay Park is now striving to be a hip-hop star more than a pop idol. Featuring Korean hip-hop legends Tiger JK & Tasha (Yoon Mi-rae) – who are husband and wife in real life – the last song on New Breed is meant for a live experience. – 3/5

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I don’t think it’s going to be fair compare ‘New Breed‘ to ‘Take a Deeper Look’. While mini-album TADL was a good ‘first attempt’ for a newly solo artist, that too one who did a lot of the work himself with an amateur production team, New Breed on the other hand is much more than just a slight improvement. Listening to the album in its entirety, it’s simply too good! Perfectly crafted, excellent production value, and the least formulaic. It’s one among the few K-pop albums I’ve reviewed where I didn’t use the word “filler” to describe a song. Only albums from 2AM, Block B, and Wonder Girls come to my mind in terms of such quality.

I didn’t feel Jay Park was really himself on songs like “Tonight,” which seemed like pure fan-service. ‘New Breed’ on the other hand is a clever message to the K-pop scene. This former boyband idol is spearheading a new breed of idol singers in the Korean market by showing the industry what he really likes to do musically, no strings attached. This album is just quality music with a difference. From start to finish, there’s hardly any song I would skip out of pure boredom or hate. And the fact Jay Park wrote most of the songs just reinstates the faith I have in his talents!

And talk about value for your money – 15 different songs in one album! Sure, haters will argue Jay made money selling “Girl Friend” and half of this album digitally in Korea, but given how global K-pop has become (and Jay Park’s own fanbase), there are still going to be enough takers for this complete release now that it’s available on iTunes. Plus, only now can you purchase a physical copy of the album — which is what I’m going to do. Screw mp3, this album is a collector’s item! ‘New Breed‘ is probably going to be Jay Park’s last Korean release before he begins work on his English debut.

All said and done, Jay Park is taking a step-by-step approach to international super-stardom. He hasn’t taken a misstep yet, and I hope he still retains creative control when he debuts in America. I’ll be hella disappointed if he ends up doing cheap Euro-trash dance pop like the rest of America’s popstars these days.

Even if he is forced to by his label, I can always pop in ‘New Breed’ and remind myself how good Jay Park really is!

Jay Park New Breed review rating — Good job Jay! (Again)

P.S: I’m aware of the fact Jay Park also released an acoustic version of “Know Your Name”. I didn’t really review it because it’s more a promotion for a cellphone brand. That said…

Jay Park Kissing Girl Know Your Name acoustic MV — Oh Jay... are MVs your only chance to make out with a girl? 😉 You know how many fangirls are dying for the chance?

The acoustic version sounds decent enough, but I’ll take the dance version over it any day.

My other posts on Jay Park:

Jay Park – ‘New Breed: Part 1’ album review: Star rising

Jay Park – “Girlfriend” review: He kissed a girl!

Jay Park – ‘Take a Deeper Look’ album review: About time!

Jay Park live in Bangkok: First Step in Thailand fan meet (Fancam)

Mithun Divakaran with Rick Astley Singapore F1

Singapore: Day 6 – F1 Saturday (Rick Astley, Shakira and Shaggy concerts)

By Mithun Divakaran
/
Feb 03, 2012
/
Singapore, Travel

Date: September 24th, 2011

Today started real slow. Got up… I don’t know when, had breakfast at the hostel and just chatted with the other guests staying at River City Inn.

I only stepped out in the afternoon to meet up with my friend Aimee and her fiance for lunch. After much pondering, we sat down at a seafood restaurant on Boat Quay.

Alex Presto Aimee Marie boat quay lunch Singapore — Alex and Aimee

Alex Presto Aimee Marie boat quay restaurant — Don’t remember what the conversation was about

Haven lobster seafood restaurant Boat Quay Singapore — Haven Lobster & Seafood restaurant is where we sat

Mithun Divakaran spring rolls chopsticks Singapore — Feasting commenceth!

Aimee Marie Alex Presto lunch Boat Quay Singapore — This was just the appetizer

Chinese chilli fish Boat quay Singapore — We had this fish next, which was alright

Singapore chilli crab Boat Quay seafood restaurant — I finally got to eat some Singapore chilli crab — pretty much the city state’s most famous dish

Singapore chilli crab after — Had it with some white rice. It was yum.

It was a nice lazy lunch as I was in no hurry to enter the F1 circuit and didn’t care much for collecting today’s Fanzone passes like I did yesterday. I felt relaxed with tummy full and sipping on chilled beer. Well, relaxed until the bill came. I knew the chilli crab was pricey but I was willing to pay for it beforehand. The fish you see above cost SG$88 (Rs. 3,400) — which we felt was a ripoff as it wasn’t even that tasty! It was the price we had to pay for making the mistake of not finding out the cost before ordering.

Alas, we paid our SG$300 (Rs. 11k/$240/€180) bill — the most expensive meal I’ve had on this trip so far.

Seafood restaurants Boat Quay Singapore afternoon — I wouldn’t rate where we ate as the best in terms of taste. I’m sure there must be better in Singapore, or even here at Boat Quay.

Alaskan king crab forum seafood Singapore restaurant — The Alaskan king crab — way, way more expensive than what I just ate

Mud crabs Alaskan aquarium Boat Quay Singapore — Plenty of seafood available here — but given the location, expect to pay way more than inner Singapore

I parted ways with Aimee and her fiance, and made my way in to the F1 circuit.

Singapore parkour boys practicing — Some boys were doing a bit of parkour practice

Singapore boys parkour jumps Marina Bay — I wonder if these guys come here every weekend. Felt like asking them if the building’s management objects to this French import being practiced here.

It was 4:30pm, but I still walked straight to the Padang grounds to see if the Fanzone passes were still available.

Padang ground F1 Saturday fanzone Singapore — Guess what! They still had a few left 😛

Trouble is, I didn’t know what to do to pass time now. There was nothing on the schedule for Zone 4 I was very keen on witnessing, except for the Rick Astley gig.

Singtel booth F1 Saturday Singapore — The SingTel booth was busy as ever

Singtel booth formula one car simulators Singapore GP — I felt like having a go at one of these simulators but you needed to sign up a form first. Thought I’d do it later.

Taking underpass to Esplanade theatres Singapore — Decided to take the underpass to get to the Esplanade side of the track

Basement parking The Esplanade theatres underpass Singapore — Quite a basement

Singapore F1 circuit Esplanade view — This is in front of the Esplanade

Singapore F1 Esplanade drive zone 4 stands — The JK Racing first race was taking place

Esplanade drive Singapore F1 race stands — I walked to the stands

Esplanade drive F1 stands zone 4 Singapore GP — They have quite a few viewing platforms here

Singapore skyline JK racing Saturday race — Since it’s an elevated platform, the views are better

Walking to Theatres by the Bay Esplanade Singapore — I walked to where Rick Astley was going to be performing

Colours by the Bay Esplanade Singapore — You have bars and eateries by the Esplanade Waterfront

Panda suits Esplanade restaurant Singapore — As seen at a restaurant here

Zone 3 Bay grandstand seats Singapore F1 — This is the end for Zone 4 ticket holders, that over there is the Zone 3 Bay grandstand

Sunlight ray through clouds Singapore Marina Bay — Good weather today

Man sleeping Marina Bay Singapore afternoon — For some, it was quite a relaxing setting

Amphitheatre by the bay stage Singapore — It was 5pm

Apmhitheatre by the bay concert stage Singapore — The Rick Astley gig was in an hour’s time

Amphitheater by the bay seating Singapore — But I still sat down to reserve myself a good spot

Amphitheatre audience Rick Astley concert Singapore — …because by 6pm, this was the scene

Marina Bay Sands skypark observation deck Singapore — I took out my 70-200mm zoom lens

Merlion park evening Singapore — I would be using this lens throughout the concert

Rick Astley band backup singer Singapore concert — By 6, the band got on stage

Rick Astley band playing Singapore concert — The music began…

Rick Astley entering stage Singapore F1 concert — …and from the side of the stage walked a man with a deep baritone voice

You can watch the video of his entrance here.

Rick Astley Merlion Singapore concert — Rick Astley began the concert with his number 1 hit “Together Forever”

Rick Astley singing Singapore concert Marina stage — Rick Astley still had his distinct voice — which sounded great even at age 45

Rick Astley fan Singapore concert — The 80’s pop idol posed with fans while he sang

Rick Astley winking Singapore concert — Rick had a fantastic sense of humour too

Rick Astley drinking water Singapore concert — Like when he complained about the heat in Singapore and really wished he had some cold beer

Rick Astley looking at watch Singapore GP concert — Poor Rick wonder how much longer he had to be on stage in this humidity, because the organizers denied his request to serve him alcohol on stage. The audience booed.

Rick Astley fan giving beer Singapore concert — But then came this damsel, with a glass of beer, to Rick’s rescue!

Rick Astley drinking beer Singapore concert — Relief

Rick Astley beer bottle Singapore concert — The organizers finally relented and gave Rick some beer… in this bottle. Which Rick and the crowd agreed looked like something else 🙂

Rick Astley concert audience Singapore F1 — Even though not everybody in the audience was familiar with Rick Astley’s songs, it was still a fun atmosphere

Rick Astley with back up singer Singapore concert — Heck, even I only knew “Together Forever” and his biggest hit “Never Gonna You Give You Up”

Rick Astley on stage Singapore F1 concert — After all, had it not been for an internet prank, Rick Astley wouldn’t have seen a resurgence in popularity

That prank being the “Rick-roll”. Basically it works like this: “Hey, check out this amazing video of me doing the splits while juggling!” And if you opened that link to watch the video, you just got “Rick-rolled”.

Rick Astley singing Singapore F1 grand prix concert — The British singer entertained us for over one and half hours, despite the heat!

Rick Astley ended his concert with the song everybody knew (okay, some still didn’t — they probably don’t spend too much time on the internet I presume). He even brought on a special guest for “Never Gonna Give You Up”…

Rick Astley Eddie Jordan drumming Singapore F1 concert — … racing supremo Eddie Jordan on drums!

(You can watch the final performance of Rick Astley’s set here)

Rick Astley Eddie Jordan Singapore concert — Eddie left the stage, and so did Rick soon after

It was a fun concert. Rick Astley knew the cheesiness of his 80’s pop music in today’s times but he didn’t mind indulging in the campiness of it all. After the concert, as I packed my bags, there were many middle-aged women in the audience who all spoke of how young they suddenly felt seeing their teenage idol perform. Rick Astley was a nice addition to the Singapore GP’s entertainment line-up.

Rick Astley tshirt Singapore — The Rick-roll internet meme has inspired clothing prints too

Rick Astley band backstage Singapore concert — Rick Astley was busy with photographs

Rick Astley with fans backstage Singapore gp — Rick then posed with a lot of fans/random people in attendance

Here’s a brief video I took:

I was pretty close to him and I just wanted to shake Rick Astley’s hand and tell him he still sounded amazing, but there were more ‘real fans’ eager to have a few seconds with him, so I stepped back, let them take my place and I walked back to the F1 circuit.

Marina Bay Sands ArtsScience museum at night panorama — The guests staying at Marina Bay Sands could watch the race from the Skydeck

Marina Bay Sands skydeck watching F1 Singapore gp — Though at that height the F1 cars must look like slot cars

Esplanade Drive standing platforms Saturday night Singapore gp — The Saturday practice session was going on

F1 car barricades Singapore grand prix — This was the Esplanade Drive straight stretch

Petronas F1 car Singapore GP race — I tried my best to freeze frame but these were F1 cars — it’s no joke how fast these things go on a straight stretch

Esplanade drive barricaded track at night Singapore F1 — But I got to see how the professionals photograph an F1 race. You see that section to the right?

FIA photographer taking photos Singapore F1 race — There’s an opening, through which authorized photographers can take photos

FIA photographer taking photos Singapore gp — Like so!

Singapore F1 night race Esplande drive track — There’s also better lighting where he’s taking photos from — and no barricades covering the view

Marina Bay Sands at night from bridge Singapore — Odd looking building, but looks impressive at night none the less

ArtScience museum at night Singapore Marina — The ArtScience museum

2011 Singapore F1 crowds Esplanade drive — I decided to head back to the Padang grounds

Singapore F1 track Esplanade Drive — The practice session had just ended

Esplanade theatre dome Singapore at night — I went back to the Esplanade theatre to take the underpass

As I took the escalator down to the basement parking, I saw a familiar looking man taking a photo of a blonde woman posing with one of the security men.

Rick Astley taking photo Singapore Esplanade — 🙂

Rick Astley Mithun Divakaran Singapore F1 — So, in the end, I still got to shake Rick Astley’s hand and compliment his voice. Mithun Divakaran, officially ‘Rick-rolled’ in Singapore!

Singapore gp Saturday crowd — Everybody was heading towards the Padang stage for Shakira’s performance

Shakira concert Padang stage Singapore gp — I didn’t rush, I already had access to the Fanzone anyway

Singtel Singapore F1 Shakira concert stage — I didn’t bother trying to get too close to the stage today

Shakira Singapore F1 Saturday concert — The sexy Colombian singer hit the stage just after 8:30pm

Shakira band performing Singapore gp concert — Shakira had a pretty big band to back her up

Shakira jumbotron Singapore concert — Quite straight away, Shakira got down to ‘business’ — much to all the whistles from the audience

Shakira Singaporean girls concert Singapore F1 — During her performance of “Whenever, Wherever,” Shakira brought up on stage a few Singaporean girls

Shakira hip dancing on stage Singaporean girls F1 concert — And she taught them how to shake their hips

Shakira guitar on stage Singapore F1 concert — Despite her visual appeal, there’s no doubt Shakira has a myriad of talents. She even performed a mellow(er) version of Metallica’s “Nothing Else Matters”.

Shakira on the ground drummer Singapore F1 concert — But it wasn’t long before she was back to writhing about on stage and doing chest thrusts

Shakira dancing Singapore F1 concert — Lots of flamenco and belly dancing

Shakira music singing Singapore F1 concert — Shakira sang a lot of her Spanish songs, which I didn’t mind. I figured she was saving her English hits for later.

Shakira dancers Singapore F1 concert — Shakira went through a couple of costume changes

Shakira silhouette Singapore F1 concert — Another dress change later…

Shakira belly dancing Singapore concert — … Shakira returned to perform the first song I ever heard from her — “Ojos Asi”. It still ranks as my favourite Shakira song!

Shakira on stage Singapore concert — Shakira got a lot of love from her truly global audience

Shakira bending belly dancing Singapore F1 — More sultry dancing

Shakira singing Singapore F1 concert — … and then back to singing

Shakira Hips Don't Lie performance Singapore F1 concert — When it came time for “Hips Don’t Lie,” we didn’t get Wyclef Jean but a guy who looked like him to sing the “Shakira, Shakira” bit

Shakira Waka Waka visuals Singapore concert — As soon as this came on, everybody cheered… because we knew what time it was

Shakira waka waka dance Singapore concert — “Waka waka” time!

Shakira waka waka concert Singapore F1 — Even though the 2010 World Cup is more than year over, this song remains wildly popular

Confetti Shakira concert end Singapore F1 — It was the last song Shakira performed

As Shakira left the stage, her latest hit “Rabiosa” came on the speakers — which sucked, because I expected her to perform it, in either English or Spanish! She didn’t perform many other hits like “Did It Again” or “Objection (Tango),” so it wasn’t a full fledged concert. Who knows, maybe Shakira had to be at some other event.

Singtel booth simulator car Singapore — I decided to try out the F1 simulator at the SingTel booth

Waiver liability form Singapore F1 car simulator — But first I needed to sign a liability form — just in case anything happens (to me)

Singtel F1 car simulator Singapore gp booth — Fortunately I got in just in time. It was 10:30pm and they closed the booth.

The experience in the F1 car simulator was alright. You go around the Singapore Grand Prix track and experience the bumps, the breaking and the jerks that one experiences (when you drive badly :P).

Cameras people thronging samba dancers Singapore — As I left the SingTel booth, there were many clamouring to take photos of some dancers

Samba dancers at Singapore F1 — It was a group of Brazilian Samba dancers

Brazilian samba dancers Singapore F1 performance — It wasn’t easy to photograph the girls. They were moving fast and many men were in front of me.

Brazilian samba dancing Singapore F1 — So I just took overhead shots the best I could

Brazilian samba dancers Singapore F1 — I had never seen hips being shaken so violently before! Forget what Shakira did on stage, this was the real deal!

For someone who ranks witnessing the Rio Carnival pretty high on his travel wishlist, it was a good experience to see real samba dancing in all its exotica. It’s like the organizers didn’t want to leave anything out as far as world-class entertainment went!

I had dinner from the circuit itself and went back to the Padang grounds for the final act in Saturday’s concert line-up.

Singapore Formula 1 Padang main stage — The artist closing out Formula One Saturday was none other than…

Shaggy Singapore F1 Saturday concert — … reggae star Shaggy(!) “Singapore, remember me?!”

Shaggy singer Singapore F1 concert — “No? Awww… come on!”

Shaggy concert Singapore — ‘Mr. Bombastic’ performed all his hits from the 1990s including “Summer Time” & “Oh Carolina” before moving on to his 2000 singles “It Wasn’t Me” and “Angel”

Shaggy concert Singapore F1 2011 — But as with all rap/urban artists, half the time it was shouting instructions: “Wave you hands!”, “Put ’em up!”, “Say ho-O!”, do this , do that! Ugh.

Shaggy mic in pants Singapore F1 concert — The way he ‘sang,’ it was as though you could sense his frustration about being ‘not so cool’ anymore

Shaggy backup singers bored Singapore Saturday concert — “Oh just give up Shaggy”

Shaggy reggae band Singapore F1 concert — He did try his best to energize the crowds

Singtel Singapore Padang concert Shaggy — But I had no energy left. It was another tiring day for me and I left the circuit past midnight.

South bridge lights at night Singapore — I walked back to the hostel and called it a night

Tomorrow was going to be the big day — the Sunday race, and Linkin Park!

Next posts:

Singapore 2011: Day 7 – Little India, F1 Sunday race, Linkin Park concert and Avalon Club

Leaving Singapore, and discovering certain truths about this famous city state

Previous posts in the series:

Singapore 2011: Day 5 – Chinatown, F1 Friday (Charice, Seungri and GD&TOP concerts)

Singapore 2011: Day 4 – Marina Bay Sands Casino and views from the SkyPark observation deck

Singapore 2011: Day 3 – Bukit Timah and Singapore Botanic Gardens

Singapore 2011: Day 2 – Jurong Bird Park and… *ouch!*

Singapore 2011: Day 1 – Landing a second time; walking around CBD

Block B – ‘Welcome to the Block’ album review: Impressive comeback!

Of the countless rookie groups that debuted last year, very few of them really stood out to me. While many of them churned out the formulaic K-pop sound and image, few groups could be defined ‘unique’. One of those boybands was B1A4, and the other was Block B.

While I really liked B1A4’s debut single “OK Go,” I wasn’t too impressed by Block B’s “Wanna B”. But Block B still got my attention – mainly because of their attitude. Right from the get go, they didn’t seem to (or want to) conform to the cutesy, ‘act all innocent in front of the cameras’ image the other groups were going for. Instead, they were a little zany, and didn’t mind having some fun at red carpet events.

Now Block B are back with their second mini-album – and what an improvement it is!

Block B NanrinA mv screencap kpop video members — These guys could do really well on variety shows

Comprised of 5 songs (the 6th track is just an instrumental of “Narnina”), here’s a track-by-track review:

1. “LOL” – Clever title, great song! The album kicks off with an all-rap track, which at 2:25 in length, is all too brief to contain its awesome-ness. It could have been longer, but what’s the point – South Korea’s conservative party-pooper MOGEF and ~~SM Ent.’s slave~~ KBS has already banned the song for “inappropriate lyrics”. Which sucks, because this song doesn’t deserve it given how good it sounds. I just hope the boys get to perform it on the other channels, because it has to be heard. – 4/5

2. “난리나 (NanrinA)” – The lead single (which I keep misreading as ‘Narnia’):

Who would have thought baby talk “goo-goo, ga-ga” would end up in a pop song! This song is such fun, and yet, manages to pack in the attitude that Block B wants to showcase with the band’s image. With random James Brown screams and a heavy Timbaland musical influence, “Go Crazy” is an uptempo song and one that should do really well for Block B on the charts. I’ll take this song any day over B.A.P’s pretentious “Warrior“.

As for the music video, it’s alright. They show off their swagger, how gang-like they are, and the dance choreography isn’t bad (though I’m not so sure about the gorilla arm wave during the chorus :)) – 4/5

3. “했어 안했어 (Did You or Did You Not)” – For a boy band that claims to be more hip-hop than pop, this track proves that they can still cater to the female audience. And although the rappers get most of the spotlight as far as lyrics go, the vocalists in the group get their chance and prove they have the vocal chops too. But sadly, this was another song that was banned by MOGEF and KBS. They suck, this song doesn’t! – 3.5/5

4. “싱크로율 100% (Synchronization 100%)” – The vocalists get to shine some more on this guitar-tinged track. No electronic hip-hop beat to this one, but instead you get more organic instrumentals. It’s well produced and yet another stellar track on the album. – 4/5

5. “Action” – The last song on the mini-album samples 70’s American funk, but the top-notch production makes it very uplifting and fresh. The chorus is great and the “ooh la la la” just makes you want to sing along! – 3.5/5

—–

Most of the album was produced by Block B’s leader Zico and I can’t help but draw comparisons to Big Bang’s G-Dragon. Both leaders have proven to be effective songwriters and composers — a talent very few groups in K-pop can claim to have. Block B is lucky to have Zico and he’s surely got a bright future in the Korean music industry.

Last year, Block B were hardly seen much after their debut and were even neglected in the year end shows. Maybe it’s their ‘in your face’ attitude, which for old guard, maybe too much to handle. But you know what? Screw them! K-pop needs a shot in the arm and a change of attitude. Block B should remain the way they are, because they are definitely on my radar now.

‘Welcome to the Block‘ is just Block B’s second mini-album and judging by just how good this album is, they’re are about to get a lot bigger in 2012 — and censorship or not, you can’t hold these boys back!

My final rating: 4 out of 5 (Very Good)