The Korean hip-hop scene has been extremely busy this week, with comebacks and collaborations, the rap genre has been taking the charts by storm and slowly moving away from the more softly approach of K-pop. But there has also been a few releases that have surprised us.

Our Weekly K-music Review posts are here to give you a helping hand and a quick look back to the notable releases from Korean artists in a weekly format. This article looks at releases and comebacks from 15-18 March 2018.

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Fana – Wabs
Released: 15 March

With a completely animated music video, the whole production feels as if we have been dropped into an adult version of SpongeBob SquarePants with a Korean twist. The video is fun, light-hearted and complementary to the music. The track sounds like a 90s kids show, but with husky rapping coming from Fana, it has a completely unique and fun feeling. The lyrics are a lot darker than you would expect, but it really does give this release its own genre and feeling.

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Ja Mezz – Alchemy (FEAT. DOK2, MINO)
Released: 15 March

One of the favourites for this week’s releases, the music video has a definite nod towards the anime Fullmetal Alchemist, with great visuals and CGI, it’s modern and slick. Keeping with the vibe of the music video, we believe this collaboration between Ja Mess, DOK2, and MINO is one of the best to come out of 2018. As far as K-hip-hop goes, each member has their own rap style, and whilst they keep true to their own style, they manage to represent the style on a whole. You can’t miss this release.

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Up10tion – Candyland
Released: 15 March

It has been a while since we have had a K-pop group perform a memorable pop song. It has also been a hot minute since we have seen Up10tion, so with their new release, it is a surprise that the song isn’t as sweet as the title makes us think. The song is a lot deeper, showing an influence from the recent hip-hop craze, along with an industrial vibe for the music video.

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Cheetah – bumpkins (FEAT. Minos)
Released: 15 March

Being one of the top female rappers to come from Korea, Cheetahs return to the hip-hop scene signifies a new era of women making their mark in the music industry. A standalone, hard dropped beat with rough and sketchy vocals in collaboration with Minos – the song is a hit for us, and will definitely become a go-to song for those moments when you need motivation.

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YunB – Yellow cab
Released: 16 March

Korean hip-hop has been moving forward and becoming more darker, faster, and more rough around the edges. But Yun.B has slowed things down, calmed the beat, and added emotion to his lyrics to create a chilled and respectful track that stands alone in the K-hip-hop world.

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Yeseo – Privacy
Released: 16 March

As part of SM Entertainment’s Station program, Yeseo has proven her talents with sharp and controlled vocals in an upbeat and slightly retro sounding song. The music has a familiar beat and feeling, but with the mixed English and Korean lyrics, it brings the song to the modern day. Upbeat and perfect for spring, just plug in your headphones, listen to this song and explore the city – Like Yeseo does in her music video.

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Kinie.K – Stalking
Released: 16 March

With an artistic music video and a song that compliments the latest trend in electro, pop, R&B culture, Kinie.K has managed to keep in trend whilst being completely unique to the music that’s being released right now. The song has a general beat and tone that will leave you humming the chorus for hours after listening to it.

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TJ Son – Close Your Eyes
Released: 18 March

Musical and theatrical shows are big in South Korea and their stars are just as loved as many K-pop idols. But we hardly see any musical or show music in the charts. This is where we hope to see TJ Son change the Korean music industry. With powerful vocals that are controlled and calm, this is one song not to miss.

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Jung Ilhoon – Always (FEAT. Jinho)
Released: 18 March

Following on from his first solo album last week, the second instalment of his releases is a collaboration with label mate Jinho from the boy group Pentagon. The song has a completely different feeling from his first release and shows a softer and caring Ilhoon. Looking back on photos of the artist as a child we still see that cheeky personality, but the music gives everything a sincere feeling. It’s great when we see a talented rapper let down his hip-hop guard to approach rap in a new direction.

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Jeong Sewoon – No Better Than This
Released: 18 March

From his first mini album After, Sewoon brings a sweet and soft upbeat ballad. With winter being the theme of the music video, Sewoon’s vocals create a fairy tale vibe when expressing his emotions through his lyrics. A perfect song for a rainy or more recently, a snowy day.

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With so many releases coming out each week, there really isn’t enough room for us to mention them all, so we have some special mentions to artists who have also released music this week. Female R&B singer iLLA released her song I Don’t Give A ShXX, featuring raw lyrics of giving up and just being who she is, it is a song about growth.

Boy group Pentagon’s rapping members Yuto, E’Dawn, and Wooseok released their single Trust me which features lyrics in Korean, Japanese and English, showing their talents as a group and as individuals.

Seungkwan, a vocal member of the large boy group Seventeen, gave his all with his soothing vocals in his first soundtrack release Kind Of Love for the drama Mother. Soft and caring, the music video will bring a tear to your eyes, along with the heartbreaking lyrics sung by the talented singer.

As there have been a lot of releases this week, be sure to check back for the second instalment of  K-music week in review, which will look at releases from 19 March – 21 March 2018.