[#24] iKON - "M.U.P."

From: "WELCOME BACK"
Previous Best of Entries: First Entry
Other notable song(s) from 2015: "지못미", "Airplane", "오늘따라"

I'll admit that I know next to nothing about iKON, save for that they're YG's new boy band who also had their own reality show and Bobby and BI were on Mnet's Show Me The Money. But apart from that, I listened to their EP with naive ears. Which, I think is a good thing at times because it allows me to hear the music without whatever politics surrounds the group.

And as I was choosing their entry for my Top 50 this year, my main observation was that a big part of their EP sounded like tracks Big Bang had done years ago. Or at least, the tracks I liked/thought were strong. I understand the similarities that will definitely arise in production decisions and even songwriting rudiments because they're both under YG and have similar musical/conceptual trajectories, but I wanted to hear iKON, not Big Bang.

So "M.U.P." is at #24 because it was the only track on "Welcome Back" that managed to both catch my ear and sound like an iKON track, not Big Bang. It's a lot more contemporary and old-school R&B/Pop, and it's more laid-back, which is bit outside of Big Bang's musical scope, which is good. But, like prime YG material, it's extremely well-produced with a tight arrangement, rich and interesting choice of instrumentation, and a well-structured melody with a strong, yet not annoying, hook.

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