Asian Junkie Asian pop. Without discretion.
Renowned Korean rapper Outsider returned with his first full-length album since he split from MC Sniper‘s Sniper Sound label last year and started his own label, and Outsider once again lived up to his name as Korea’s fastest rapper in ‘Pride And Prejudice‘. Musically, however, the album takes a very safe route and doesn’t bring anything new to the table.
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The 15-track two-disc LP certainly puts Outsider’s speed rapping skills on full display — he squeezes multiple syllables into single sub-beats whilst maintaining clear diction throughout. It’s quite amazing how he manages to subdivide beats so well without ever lagging in rhythm, and he delivers all of this with lots of energy and ease.
The best tracks to check out his skills on are both on the first disc, with “Star Wars”, which features Twista, and “Freedom”, which features Sapo. What Outsider lacks, however, is character to his rap and the ability to emote beyond shouting. Once you get over the speed rapping, his verses quickly get old in their tone. It gets pretty obvious when featuring artists stand out more on tracks than Outsider does, for example.
The uninventive production also doesn’t help to elevate the songs musically. Outsider writes the lyrics, but the album is produced and composed by a group of DJs, including ScaryP, Doplamingo, EachONE, and others. Few melodic hooks stand out, and the instrumentals are standard pop-rap fare.
The second disc cuts down on the rap features and contains mostly ballad-rap tracks, including two pre-released singles: “손” and “문신” featuring Navi. The pair of tracks double-up as the best of the lot, as Outsider sounds more accessible when he tones down the shouting and only inserts in the speed rapping at certain moments.
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All in all, the album is a decent comeback that continues to demonstrate Outsider’s skills, but isn’t particularly memorable musically.
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