G-Dragon. Aaaaah. Honestly, out of all the talented Kpop idols out there, I could swear by my dog's life that he is, unquestionably, the most talented one out there. And comparing him with other musicians like Jung Yonghwa and whatnot, I'd say that's a pretty good place to be at. But I have my reasons. Firstly, when idols produce songs, usually they would not partake in the production process, like writing the lyrics or composing the backing tracks. However, G-Dragon does it all. He is an amazing songwriter and 'Haru Haru' still blows my mind today. Secondly, I like his style. And by style, I do not mean in the fashion scene solely, no, I refer to his method of presenting himself. In terms of fashion, one cannot deny that he takes an unorthodox approach to clothing, with really flamboyant clothing which clash so much, yet turn out so good. In other aspects, he too does not follow the routine styles followed by majority of the other idols out there, and it is probably because of that that I respect him so so much. He is just so out there, and he just wants to tell the world that, "Hey, I'm gonna do things the GD way, and if you don't like it, screw off", and that confidence he brings with him is so endearing and utterly respectable. To top it off by doing such potentially controversial acts in a renowedly conservative nation like Korea is really really remarkable.
That being said, I had high hopes for his solo comeback. Heartbreaker in 2009 was heavily lauded, and bagged GD numerous awards, like Album of The Year at the 2009 edition of MAMA. Heartbreaker was somewhat a milestone for Kpop, as it brought this form of swag which had never really been seen before, with lightning fast raps and GD showcasing his unmatched stage presence. Even by himself on a comparatively large stage, he owns it, and swallows the stage whole. That left me a question, would I be disappointed? Usually I do not keep my expectations too high up as naturally disappointment would come about easier. Look at The Boys, where I held ridiculously low expectations for; ultimately I felt satisfied despite eventually realising that compared to legend tracks like Gee and Genie, it just felt short on so many levels. Still my trust in GD's talent and swagger led me to keeping up with my expectations and I took my first listen of One of A Kind, with a tinge of nervousness and overwhelming eagerness.
And so I did......
Everything I had said about GD, everything I had praised him forced just went full circle, back to this video and slammed me in the face with twice the force. Holy cow.
In case you had not realised, this is a positive review. The song drips with arrogance and self-flattery, so much so that one can see GD's wild and unrestrained side, and not too much that it portrays him as a snob. If the song did convince you that he was an arrogant piece of poop, then I guess it would not reflect poorly on GD's character, rather, it shows you just how incredibly magical and convincing GD's productions are. You hear it and you are engulfed by the beat, engulfed by GD's swaggy arm movements and slightly nasal rap runs, and you feel like you ARE ONE OF A KIND. You feel like you are GD. And yes, GD is a freaking awesome guy to take the role of, so being GD......well accepted.
The song is not exactly catchy, and in fact it is rather weird. The raps sort of come in triplets, and have this sort of rolling effect as they dribble relentlessly out of GD's mouth. Also, there are these odd dreary lengths of beats between verses, in addition to the speak-rap chorus. Add any one of those three elements to a regular peppy Kpop song, and I'd probably flip.
But then the magic of GD kicks in. He teases us, with the monotonous rap triplets serving as somewhat of a build-up. We start to think, 'What's coming next? Is he gonna switch back to his nasally voice or do a divalicious high note (unlikely, but hey GD is the epitomy of an enigma)?" We never know. And we wait. In anticipation.
Then it hits. Oh. Wait. It hasn't. He slows down his rap, intentionally drawling over the lyrics with a seductiveness and confidence which I do not believe anyone else in Kpop can do better than he. The tempo slows down a bit and our hearts go on a rollercoaster.
Then comes the long beat sequence. Which sort of brings things back up to speed building up the tension yet again as we wait for a loud, bombastic chorus. In Heartbreaker, GD intertwined hardcore rapping and auto-tune laced long notes which made the chorus similar to a tsunami, hitting us forcefully with heaps of electronica and hip hop. In this song, he doesn't. Instead, he goes back to his monotonous raps and contorts his voice digitally. While some may think its an anti-climax of sorts, I do not agree. It is progressive. It serves a suitably offbeat ending, rounding up all the tension from the previous verses into a speak-rap, with GD swagging about, convincing you "Hey Sir, I'm one of a kind." And hell yes, I believe that.
This pattern goes on throughout the song with some variation, which is always appreciated to break the monotony of songs sometimes. And the video ends. I close the browser. And I stone in disebelief.
After the masterpiece in Heartbreaker, GD has done it again.
Who wouldn't have expected it? He is after all, one of a kind.
- The Kpop Philosopher
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