Asian Junkie Asian pop. Without discretion.
Gallant, Tablo, and Eric Nam teamed up for a crossover collaboration on “Cave Me In” and showed the potential of these ventures when things go oh so right.
Despite the talent involved I was skeptical of this collab for three reasons: 1) Media who cover K-pop gushing over this, which I figured was meant to compensate like with others (I later remembered they just do this for everything). 2) K-pop fans acting like this was the second coming, thus I was expecting some boring emotional mess. 3) It’s a crossover effort between a Western artist and an Eastern artist, which are almost always terrible.
Fortunately, when I gave it a spin, I was not letdown at all. A throwback to the 90s slowjam with a touch of a modern twist, “Cave Me In” creates a dreamy world for the trio to operate in, and did they ever. Gallant is as buttery smooth as advertised, and when he hits the falsetto it was easy to fall for the track (or have it cave me in, amirite?). Eric Nam was at his crooning best and Tablo was appropriately subdued with his rapping, which resembled spoken word. That approach actually worked for this track because it didn’t feel out of place like other rap verses in these types of efforts can sound.
Most importantly, this didn’t give off the impression of being three soloists who threw some shit together to try and extract a quick buck from both markets. Rather, they sounded like a cohesive unit that played off one another and that all stayed on the same page. That helped maintain immersion in a song that really needed that to happen, and helped forge a rare crossover collab success.
—–
The video was also up to par, as it uses Hong Kong as a stylish backdrop to this slow burning gem…
…and they individual work as well, even if Gallant loves to be extra on the movements.
One touch I enjoyed was the transitions being represented visually, with Gallant turning away and Tablo entering and then Tablo walking away and Eric Nam entering.
And it ended with them all meeting up in the end, which was a cool way to visually express the collab, and Hong Kong served as an appropriate locale.
—–
As I said, I was skeptical about this because of the history of attempts like these, but I was happy to be proven wrong. Other than both the song and the video making instant first impressions, what stuck with me is the replayability they’ve had thus far.
Tablo himself defined the feeling best, really.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BPuTap5D8RH/
There’s no lie there either. It’s just so easy to get into and so easy to enjoy. Loved the crossover collab and wish others took cues from this.
=====
‘Cave Me In’ Single Album
“Cave Me In” Song
