Eun Ji Won
Although devastated by the news that Sechs Kies would be disbanding, k-pop fans took comfort in the fact at least two of the group members appeared to be interested in pursuing solo careers. Often these soloists fail in their attempt to capitalize on the popularity of the previously existing group. There are notable exceptions, of course, but even Paul McCartney's solo career paled in comparison to the wild success of The Beatles.
Still, I have to give a thumbs up to Eun Ji Won (American name: Matthew Eun), formerly the lead rapper of Sechs Kies. I was never a huge fan of the Jekkies, and I can't say I shed too many tears when were pulled from the k-pop stage. I didn't even care if any of the members went on to careers in music, returned to school, or became social detritus. And I all but ignored Eun Ji Won's first solo album. If you recall, the first single from the album was released on the internet via the website Dream Music earlier this year.
I don't predict that Eun Ji Won will take the music world by storm anytime soon, but I wouldn't consider his debut album G a total waste of time. The first track, in fact, turns out to be quite appealing to the side of me that likes to sit inside, stare out the window and wish the weather wouldn't be quite so cold and wintry. Never Ever [RealAudio] is a mellow ballad backed with a classical guitar. According to the liner notes, all the songs on this album were written by Eun Ji Won himself, and to his credit, this one is quite pretty. The video for Never Ever [RealVideo] really requires a high-speed connection, but hey, it shows his bare midriff.
I was pleasantly surprised to discover that I also liked the second track on the CD, A.D. 2050 [RealAudio]. This is a forward-looking commentary on the dismal state of society. The sentence I like the most is actually in English: "One for the human, two for the human. Sin of the human, ruin of the human." Pretty cool lyrics, pretty good groove beat.
The third track is A-HA [WMA], a techno-ish song. I guess I should be used to rap singers trying to sound tough with their profanity, but all it really does is bore me. And I've been trying to figure out the English lyrics to this song, and just haven't been able to get. "Freeze me, freak me," I think he's chanting, but what does that mean? 90% of this song is English, and 90% of this song has no content. "A-ha come on now" seems to provide the pith of the piece.
Memory [RealAudio] has a funk beat. Overall, I was left with the feeling that the song didn't have a lot of depth. In other words, it didn't seem like there was a whole lot going on behind the rap to add complexity to the piece. On the other hand, it wasn't completely trash, and I wouldn't skip over it when listening to the CD.
The song Ack [WMA] is really popular with the young 'uns. The lyrics are completely stupid and they're so profane I can't even repeat them here. What's up with that? Is Eun Ji Won such a dork that he has to resort to excessive posing to look tough? Everyone knows I hate it when Korean songs include English, and I especially hate it when the only English they include is a) ungrammatical and b) words you can't say in front of your mother and/or children. All it proves is that Eun Ji Won has some way to go before he matures as a musician and communicator.
Aside from that, the album is okay work. It's really short: seven songs, two of which are just different versions of other songs on the album. G is a good first effort, but Eun Ji Won has left himself plenty of room for improvement.
Dinnes Ahn
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