My favourite solo K-pop artist is back with new music! I always look forward to new releases from Jay Park as rarely has the dude disappointed. Jay put out an awesome English-Korean rap track (appropriately titled) “Appetizer” in February, produced by fellow Art Of Movement crew member and good friend Cha Cha Malone. Needless to say, that was just a teaser to what Jay Park has on the way.

Titled ‘JOAH,’ this is yet another set of releases before Jay Park comes out with his second full-length album. He employed a similar strategy last year before the release of the stellar ‘New Breed’.

“JOAH”

Going by the teaser, I figured “Joah” was going to be in the same vein as “Girlfriend” was. And with a title that means “like” in Korean, it was sure to be a sweet tribute to a girl crush. “Joah” is a mid-tempo track with subtle piano keys that keep you swinging in melancholy, or simply bopping your head to the thumping beats. The song isn’t groundbreaking in anyway, and is a reminder the production talents of Jay Park’s friends can be a bit limiting (to some extent). It does feel familiar — but I still ended up liking it after two or three listens.

What I liked more was the music video, filmed in Jay Park’s hometown of Seattle. It’s a refreshing change of scene and literally “out of the box,” if you K-pop MV addicts know what I mean. There isn’t any choreographed dancing either, but no worries, we Jaywalkerz know he has moves in store for his next release 😉

“Joah” is a good listen none the less. Proof that Jay Park, despite his image of body tattoos and overall badass-ery, is just a sweet homeboy at heart. – 3.5/5

The other tracks on this EP include “Welcome” – a sexy bedroom track. Jay just seems to love making slow ballads like this, or it’s just his love for R&B contemporaries like Treyz Songz and the like. Finally we have “1HUNNIT” featuring frequent collaborator Dok2. This sounds like Snoog Dogg track I can’t seem put my finger on (or was it Busta Rhymes?).

Still, with four songs out already, I can’t wait to see what Jay Park has in store for the rest of the year. His contract with SidusHQ ends this year and he’s already stated his crew are filming several music videos for his upcoming album. This could also be Jay Park’s last Korean album for a while as he attempt to crack America next.

Rest assured, 2013 sounds like it could be an exciting year for us fans!