Ready to flip the K-pop scene, KickFlip made their awaited debut on Jan. 20 with the EP ‘“Flip it, Kick it!” Embracing the transition between childhood and adulthood, the group’s current concept comforts those going through the same emotions of pressure from those around them. In contrast to other boy groups such as TWS or NCT WISH, the tracks have a hip-hop influence and stray away from the cute school-boy concepts.
While the group has continued to grow in popularity, even gaining 500,000 listeners on Spotify in less than a month after their debut, many Korean netizens have expressed their disappointment in the group’s visuals and “poorly made songs.” Despite this, the members’ vocals and choreography were enough to convince me otherwise.
The album’s title track, “Mama Said” starts off the album by setting the scene then jumping into the music. Pressing play, the first thing heard is the sound of an alarm beeping, along with a yawn before hearing the alarm being shut off. The track then transitions to all of the group members singing in unison, “Mama said, 뭐가 되려고?” roughly translating to “Mama said, what are you gonna be?” With the members’ ages ranging from 18 to 20 years old, they portray the transition from childhood to adulthood. The track itself expresses the feeling of taking things at your own pace despite hearing the nagging from parental figures. The lyrics “To my mom, I might seem likе a clumsy kid / But those who are meant to succeed will succeed, it’s all a matter of luck” embrace the track’s intended expression. The prominent guitar and bass in the instrumental are refreshing to hear as it’s quite a change up from the cutesy, fresh concepts that most fifth generation boy groups have recently taken after.
The next track is the group’s pre-debut release, “Umm Great,” stylized as “응 그래” in Korean, both of which have the same pronunciation. Similar to the previous track, the song expresses following your own path despite the thoughts of others. The lyric “Why are you stressing so much? / My head’s in the clouds / I’m all about the fun stuff” embraces this meaning by expressing that although the people around them may be stressing about their future, they’re taking everything one day at a time while still enjoying what’s around them. Many netizens pointed out how the track reminds them of TWS’ “Oh Mymy: 7s” and I definitely hear the similarities. The use of the words “umm” and “oh my” in the chorus sound nearly the same in their pronunciation, combined with the prominent kick beat in the instrumental create a similar sound that is carried through both of the tracks.
Both “WARRIORS” and “Like a Monster” had me expecting “hardcore” songs that embraced the titles of each track, one of which met my expectations, while the other failed to come close. Due to this, “WARRIORS” has to be my least favorite song on the album. It wasn’t a bad song per se, but the other tracks caught my attention much more. The track was very cute and would be the perfect song for a coming of age Korean high school drama as it reminded me of a classroom setting, but didn’t have that “warrior” aspect I assumed it would. Throughout the instrumental were the sounds of school bells ringing and the laughing of classmates, setting the scene for the song. Coupled with lyrics such as “We’ll overcome it all / Clench your fist / Raise it to the sky, warriors” showing that the song is motivational and uplifting, which explains the upbeat and school-like atmosphere of the instrumental.
On the other hand, “Like a Monster,” didn’t fail to disappoint with the hip-hop influence. At first, the instrumental reminded me of Ariana Grande’s track “yes, and?” which was interesting since I usually catch most similarities between two K-pop tracks. The track starts off with a rap which transitions to satisfying vocals in the refrain, with the use of a slight falsetto and light vocals that seem to glide smoothly like butter. This part in particular is what drew me to the song and ranked itself as one of my favorites amongst the other tracks. With the smooth transition between rap verses and vocals, I really enjoyed how cohesive the song was; each part felt like it was intentional and worked together well instead of clashing.
Like their name says, KickFlip is flipping the K-pop scene with their debut album. From the catchy and relatable lyrics, to the hip-hop influences prominent in most of their tracks, KickFlip is a group that shouldn’t be looked over and “kicked” to the curb. If you’re looking for a way to “flip” and change up your usual music taste, take a listen to “Flip it, Kick it!”
