Asian Junkie Asian pop. Without discretion.
Following her pre-release track “Crazy Dog“, which was made famous on ‘Unpretty Rapstar 2‘, Yezi announced that she would be releasing a mini-album by the name of ‘Foresight Dream‘. That mini includes a collab with three ‘Unpretty Rapstar 2’ alums, but the title track is called “Cider“, and the music video for it just dropped.
Given that Rhymer was the producer behind this, it’s hard to get away from the comparisons to the instrumental of Jimin‘s “Puss“, but that’s definitely a positive aspect of the production. The similar clap effects and bass are present, but there’s enough twinge to it for differentiation. Yezi accounts for the rest of the difference, both in lyrical content and overall execution, making this at least the musical equal of that hit hype song and with a lot more substance to it.
While I understand that there’s an undercurrent of people who are sick of the Yezi hype and praise — and to be fair it is basically across the board from Reddit to Asian Junkie — I feel like “Cider” is deserving of most of that gushing. The song is undeniably a jam with a banging instrumental that’s comparable to one of Rhymer’s best efforts, but one that also lets the song breathe during the verses, which forces a focus on Yezi’s lyrics and flow instead of just noise. Things also get off to a fast start, which helps draw attention, and the ramp up for the chorus is right on cue along with a catchy hook that helps complete the package. Perhaps it could’ve used a bit more pop to the middle of the hook, but that seems a bit nitpicky and probably borders on me just wanting “Puss” similarities.
The lyrics are pretty typically Yezi, which fits in with her direction as a rapper and successfully lays the groundwork to move forward. Visually, she oozes sexuality in the music video even though she looks like she’s about to stab a bitch in the neck the whole time. So her image and look definitely work, but I did think there could’ve been a bit more polish to the overall effort. Either that or maybe Yezi just won’t be venturing into acting anytime soon. Regardless, at least she gives the middle finger to being eliminated on ‘Unpretty Rapstar 2’ again, shading the show in the lyrics, tearing the script of the producers up, and throwing paint at a diamond light fixture that looks a lot like the ‘Unpretty Rapstar‘ logo. And after this, it’s hard to argue that they didn’t make a mistake.
Yezi was able to deliver on most of the hype and promise that was building after ‘Unpretty Rapstar 2’ finished, even though at one point I figured that might’ve been an impossible task. Quite honestly, “Cider” is what I thought my fave Cheetah would bring to the table with her mainstream single, and it’s basically what CL stans think CL does. It’s really remarkable how quickly Yezi has basked in the public spotlight when finally given just one chance in the limelight.
Also, for as much as hip-hop isn’t yet seen as a thing for females or femininity in Korea, the amusing part is that Yezi’s track goes harder than most mainstream rapping efforts nowadays that opt to settle for featurings on ballads or rapping softly over even softer instrumental sameness.
Savior indeed.
