Hyuna – ‘A+’ Album Review

4Minute‘s lead rapper Hyuna makes a comeback with her new mini-album A+ this summer. Known for her sexy image and dance abilities, Hyuna has always been more of a performance artist with a strong stage presence rather than a listenable singer to me. Therefore, I didn’t have high expectations for her solo album. Turns out, my hunch is proven right as A+ gave me mostly mediocre and non-memorable tunes. Just like her Trouble Maker days, it’s evident that Hyuna still needs others to carry her songs, as I find a number of featured artists in A+ who have easily outshone her.

Track 1 – Run & Run (Intro)

As the short album intro song, Run & Run does its job in setting the overall hip hop mood for the album and smoothly leads into the next track Roll Deep. Though Run & Run is a bit darker and melancholic with heavy bass lines and piano harmonies compared to other hip hop numbers in the album.

Track 2 – 잘나가서 그래 (Roll Deep)

Roll Deep (a.k.a Because I’m the Best) is hip hop with some hints of trap and house as well — backed by weighty drum beats and synths. The beginnings of Roll Deep is not bad, but it gets weird in the pre-chorus and bridge where the bumpin’ flow of the song is unfortunately disrupted. Since the lyrics boast Hyuna’s swag and that she’s the best, I do have to admit that her rap has shown improvement with much smoother flow. But compared to pro rappers, she still lacks style and personality. Even among idols, Ilhoon from BtoB featured in this track does a better rap job, though sadly, doesn’t help this forgettable song very much.

Track 3 – 얼음 땡 (Ice Ice)

Ice Ice is another hip hop song similar to Roll Deep in structure and style — primarily relying on clapping beats and DJ scratching sound effects. I didn’t pay much attention to it at first as it sounded somewhat repetitive, though over time, the rhythm and rap did grow on me. Yet again, the featured artist Yuk Ji Dam‘s (from Unpretty Rapstar) deeper tone of voice was more memorable to me compared to Hyuna’s, who sounded a bit too whiny to channel the spirit of Ice Ice properly.

Track 4 – 내 집에서 나가 (Get Out of My House)

Here we have a mid-tempo, haunting hip hop song with some ballad sprinkled in to spice up the extremely bland rap sections. I was ready to give up on Get Out of My House until I heard 10cm‘s Kwon Jung Yeol’s vocals half way through, and it felt like he suddenly breathed life into the song. His unique voice timber gave color to even the most monotonous lines. So, I’m extremely torn about this track. While I really liked Kwon Jung Yeol’s part, considering this is Hyuna’s album, I’ll have to dock some points for her lack of presence here.

Track 5 – 평온 (Serene)

The final track of the album is a bluesy pop ballad number with a sultry mood. Serene has a pretty narrow vocal range, perhaps intentionally so to better suit Hyuna’s singing abilities. While it sounded alright upon first listen, the limitations quickly turned Serene into a repetitive bore.

What Do You Think?

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