September 10, 2012

[Review] G-Dragon - One Of A Kind

Vocals: 7 / 10
This song is more heavily centered on the rapping and sing rapping than singing, but there are bits and pieces throughout playing around with GD’s vocals, and they’re decent enough. G-Dragon in my opinion has never had that good of a voice, but he makes use of it with help from the autotune. The various vocals towards the end of the song are more random shouts and noises than anything, so it doesn’t require too much vocal talent to do that.  It feels like I’m having unfair balance again, where I’m rating GD’s singing the same amount as say the rapping or the music video, but it helps me write the overall reviews so I’ll take it.
Appearance: 8 / 10
G-Dragon is back with the blonde and boy is it more bizarre than ever. G-Dragon’s hairstyles typically speak for themselves, so there’s no need for me to comment on anything regarding that and honestly aside from that, there really isn’t much more to talk about. The crazy appearances and outfits are pretty much a staple of GD’s (and to some extent even Big Bang now) that I’m sure most people weren’t really shocked by anything they saw. Did you see all those cute little kids and punk-looking thugs though? Quite the contrast in a single video.
Dance: 9 / 10
This dance is pretty neat. The fluidity (especially when the backup dancers have their backs turned and all have the dragon on their sweaters) and just the style matches the song quite nicely. I feel like the purpose of  the song could have been reflected more heavily on the style of choreography, to emphasize it being “one of a kind.” Doing so would require less of the common hilarity in the music video to be exchanged for more dance scenes / sequences, something I wouldn’t mind in future G-Dragon videos. But then again, if that was so it wouldn’t really be a true G-Dragon video then, would it?
Rap: 10 / 10
If I were to rank Korea’s top five rappers, G-Dragon would easily be in the top three if not top two. With nearly every release, he continues to showcase his dominance and talent. This song in particular is a little weird since it’s got a slow intro that suddenly picks up into a blitz. G-Dragon’s rapping voice for the most part is low which is good (in contrast to his singing voice). I’m kinda surprised I can’t really think of much more to write about the rap, it’s solid and pretty easy to listen to, if you can keep up with him, that is.
Music Video: 9 / 10
This music video is everything you’d expect a G-Dragon video to have and a little more. From the wacky hairstyles, to the pseudo-creepy backup dancers (both male and female), to the animals, to the strange sets, to the graphic hats, this is definitely one damn good music video. Unlike with 2NE1’s “Can’t Nobody” and the random dog, GD actually has a bear when he’s talking about it and the tiger matches with the fancy stripes GD sports. The children’s cameos throughout the video are also a cute addition, especially in the beginning where they’re talking to teach other through the cup phone. G-Dragon also reveals to us that he’s probably as athletically capable as a brick, since he gets destroyed in boxing and made me laugh seeing his tennis form. Taeyang’s appearance is…strange though. Taeyang doesn’t have any lines and is just there to kinda loaf around (he doesn’t even do any of the choreography) and lipsync G-Dragon’s lines, it’s actually quite confusing to me why he’s there. If anything, include the rest of Big Bang, not just your childhood buddy. Also, the Barbie section is hands down the best and funniest part of the music video.
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Overall: 86 / 100
“Yessir, I’m one of a kind.” Indeed you are, GD. Once again, you’re setting yourself apart from every other rapper and every other male singer out there in Korea with a nice beat, smooth lyrics, and a quality music video. But next time, leave Taeyang at home, okay?

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