Asian Junkie Asian pop. Without discretion.
iKON tried to bore us all to death with their pre-release track, “My Type“, but that was nothing to panic about because that was still just something to test the waters. Somehow though, “RHYTHM TA” managed to be an even bigger disappointment, especially because the first few seconds are so promising.
When “RHYTHM TA” started, I actually thought this would be the iKON everybody was hyped for. The beat sounded like the song would definitely result in a banger, like a Big Bang track without G-Dragon to add the random trendy EDM crap to it. I was quite excited for a boy group to have a hip-hop song that actually had a more mature, “pure” rap feel to it. Unfortunately, everything quickly went downhill and even the instrumental never really picked up from where it started.
Seriously though, for a hep hap group, why was the rapping so mediocre and why was the “swag” so awkward and non-existent? That especially applies to B.I, who set the tone for the whole music video with his general awkwardness despite the fact that he of all people should be a veteran at camera work and had previously shown flashes of charisma in stuff like “Born Hater“. It’s actually rather shocking coming from a YG Entertainment group, who usually have that kind of presence down pat if nothing else.
Worse yet, the instrumental never really picks up at all, making the track surprisingly monotonous where I once thought this would pick up or have elements added to it. Making things worse were the odd-sounding auto-tuned vocals as the verses and a flat, chanting chorus of “RHYTHM TA” over and over.
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I honestly did give iKON and “RHYTHM TA” a chance, and for a brief moment I was actually excited by what I thought they would be bringing to the table. Unfortunately, everything that came after those fleeting seconds of optimism was executed poorly, and it really is hard to imagine a more boring attempt at a sweg anthem type of song.
