Album Review: Jay Park – New Breed Part 1
Release: December 28, 2011
Distributor: Sidus HQ, Universal Music
Rating: 
As Jay Park prepares to release his first Korean studio album, New Breed, on February 1, I decided to take a look at the first five tracks this weekend. Jay Park had already gained recognition and a solid fanbase in Korea due to his former membership in JYP Entertainment‘s popular male group 2PM as well as his first Korean mini-album, Take A Deeper Look, which was released on April 27, 2011. He also has a unique advantage that many groups and solo artists don’t have: a distinctly Western feel to his music. Jay Park, being Korean-American, has managed to mix together the sound of American R&B and the style of Korean pop to create tracks that appeal to both his Korean and American fans.
Jay Park’s affinity for hip hop and R&B shine on the first five tracks of New Breed–he croons and raps along to soft instrumentals and slow beats. His talents truly come to life with the help of Jeon Goon, the songwriter and producer of Taeyang‘s I Need A Girl and Wheesung‘s 별이 지다 (Fading Star). Jeon Goon is a master at creating smooth, silky R&B songs that make listeners melt and Jay Park’s album is no different. Although I’d like to see a little more variety in his work, I can’t deny that the songs that he writes are pleasant to listen to, no matter who the artist is.
The first track on New Breed, 별 (Star), is a relaxed-sounding serenade with a 3/4 beat. The lyrics were reportedly said to have been written with the relationship between YG Entertainment artist SE7EN and actress Park Han Byul in mind. The song has an almost-overwhelmingly sweet feel, vastly different from the concept in Abandoned. Although Jay Park doesn’t rap in this song, his vocals are obviously very strong and well-suited for this type of music. However, his voice sounds a little stressed when tackling the higher notes in this song, showing his vocal limits as a singer. He doesn’t have the powerful pop ballad vocals such as Yoseob of B2ST, but for R&B, he’s obviously in his element.
As for the music video, I thought it was pretty average. The blurred edges of the camera got on my nerves a little–yes, we get it, you’re going for a softer look, but when everything looks like it’s underwater, then it’s a little overboard. Also, I couldn’t help feeling like I was watching a Taeyang video–blame the mohawk he’s got going on. On the other hand, the choreography was smooth and fitting for the song and actress Son Eun Seo did a lovely job portraying Jay Park’s love interest. The reenactment of the foam kiss from the popular 2011 drama, Secret Garden, was cute as well. But overall, the video didn’t really stand out to me. I felt like I’ve seen almost every single aspect of the music video before somewhere else, so it was a little forgettable.
The second track on New Breed is Enjoy The Show, which features Dok2 & The Quiett. Unlike 별 (Star), Enjoy The Show has a much more distinct hip hop sound–Jay Park’s rapping skills are featured prominently in this track. There are no mellow undertones and no wishy-washy lyrics. Instead, the chorus plays cleverly on a childish rhyme. I like that although Jay Park’s first single from this album was a little bland and mainstream, he brings his talents to the forefront in this song, which is definitely not mainstream or bland. It’s fun to listen to and has a punch of attitude, something that is a clear trademark of his. Jay Park is clearly a talented rapper but his clever usage of lyrics in this song (look for the line “I am the best” in the song–who else totally loves that he’s a 2NE1 fanboy?) really blew me away. The mixing for Enjoy The Show was pleasant to listen to as well, not overbearing but it gave the song a nice beat. I definitely would recommend this track to fans who enjoy Jay Park’s hip hop work more so than his R&B/pop work.
The third track from Jay Park, Up And Down, which also featured Dok2, boasted some good mixing in terms of music. The whole song had an electropop feel that made me picture a dimly lit club with lots of people dancing, drinks in hand, just having a good time with a DJ spinning tracks (kind of like Hands Up from 2PM). However, his vocals felt too autotuned and there wasn’t really much of a range, so the singing itself was only mediocre in my book. That’s not a big deal though because Up And Down is obviously a dance track. Although I would’ve liked it a little if it had a little more punch, because right now it feels like a normal dance track on any Top 40 radio station in the United States with its repetitive lyrics and unoriginal title (I almost prefer SHINee‘s Up And Down over this song). Overall, I don’t believe that Up And Down takes away from the album, although it doesn’t really contribute much either.
I Got Your Back is the fourth track on New Breed. It’s another one of those sweet, mellow R&B tracks that are so wonderfully relaxing to listen to. I especially loved the background music because it was very instrumental with a piano melody. At the same time, there were electronic elements and the song itself was set at a nice tempo with a delightfully catchy beat. I’d hedge my bets that Jay Park actually wrote the lyrics himself because there were many American R&B phrases used in the song (I caught “you’re so fine”, “you’re my style”, “boo”, and various other adorable things). Jeon Goon, the songwriter and composer 별 (Star), probably translated the lyrics for him later. I Got Your Back reminded me of Usher‘s older songs with its sugary lyrics and smooth vocals. I like that it shows off Jay Park’s vocals better than 별 (Star) did, without having high parts so that he didn’t have to strain his voice to reach them. This gave the song a velvety feel overall–it was much easier to listen to in my opinion. Another aspect of the song I enjoyed was that he included a rap part in the track as well. I’m not as much of a hip hop fan as I am a R&B one, but a short rap in a R&B serenade gives it that extra oomph. I Got Your Back was easily one of my favorites on the album.
The unique thing about 너 없이 안돼 (I Can’t Be Without You) is that the only instrument it features is the acoustic guitar, played by Johan and features Jay Park’s vocals in a ballad-style instead of a hip hop or R&B one. Otherwise, it’s simply just an acoustic guitar version with improved vocals of the original more R&B track from Take A Deeper Look.
Jay Park is a great example of a talented artist with potential leaving the realms of mainstream K-Pop and finding his niche in music. He knows that bubblegum pop wasn’t really his thing to begin with and obviously focuses his efforts in the R&B and hip hop genres instead. For that, I applaud him. In a K-Pop group, it’s easy to lose one’s identity as a musician, but Jay Park has not. Although I wasn’t the biggest fan of a few tracks on his new album, I did enjoy the fact that the work and effort he put into creating the songs was obvious (in fact, he helped write the lyrics and composed music for almost all of the songs on there). I think he still has ways to go before he becomes a truly established R&B/hip hop artist in Korea (which is what he seems to be aiming for) mostly because of his established fanbase of Hottests, but he’ll get there. As long as Jay Park shows direction in his music, there will always be improvement ahead. I look forward to the release of the rest of his album in just a few days and let us know what you thought about the tracks below!
Tracklist (recommended tracks listed in bold)
1. 별 (Star)
2. Enjoy The Show feat. Dok2 & The Quiett
3. Up And Down feat. Dok2
4. I Got Your Back
5. 너 없이 안돼 (I Can’t Be Without You)
Image source: ax3battery
Video sources: Yooyujuice, jaybumaom0425, dlxo
Note: The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely of the individual and are not those of hellokpop.
