Beenzino is about to embark on a five-day tour of the US, covering Seattle, San Francisco, Dallas, Boston and New York. This ground-breaking tour for the rapper goes hand-in-hand with his recent musical experimentation, as seen through the new release “Break.” In this, Beenzino has opted for a more rock-inspired track, rather than his trademark jazz hip-hop. After disappointing many fans with “So What”, “Break” is a refreshing change. This new musical direction and the fairly extensive US tour marks an exciting time for Beenzino as an artist.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLQk5TE_6yc]“Break” opens with energetic drums, almost resembling an indie rock song and clearly distinguishing it as something different. The pace of the song is consistent and therefore, very easy to get immersed in. Beenzino’s flow is solid as usual, and there are moments where it is simply captivating in its speed and rhythm, as he seems to hardly take a breath. Although the song feels very indie-rock, it has elements of blues as well, resulting in a song that truly stands out in the saturated Korean hip-hop world.
The MV is also a new look for Beenzino, with Digipedi being behind the visual feast. The colours are soft and appealing, with the peachy pink and baby blue walls making for an amazing back drop. The set is extremely simple, yet the MV is still far from boring thanks to the storyline it explores.
Beenzino and his mates (including SMTM’s Black Nut, who is famous for being a Beenzino fan boy), are all desperately trying to achieve their dreams, but end up literally and figuratively just banging their heads against a wall. They do absolutely everything to break down the walls, even if that results in blood, sweat and tears. They even resort to using bald Shin Dong-min‘s head as an attempt to crack through the wall, sustaining injuries along the way.
The MV is brilliantly edited to match the beat of the song, making all the head-against-wall scenes even funnier. They regain motivation when they manage to see their goals through a crack in the wall (with Beenzino seeing money, Dong-min seeing a trophy, JunJune seeing a beautiful woman, and Black Nut seeing, well, Beenzino.)
The watermelon-wearing drummer remains hilariously stoic throughout the whole MV, and casually walks away at the end of the MV when the others have collapsed from their efforts. The credits are actually one of the best parts of the MV, with it being BTS footage of one of the actors smashing his head against the camera at the same time that each name pops up on the screen.
Beenzino’s strong delivery also comes through in his intense presence on camera. This makes him absolutely captivating to watch, and makes the lyrics feel even punchier as Beenzino is clearly very passionate about his message.
Eccentricity and simplicity is amazingly balanced in the MV, and this clearly shows Beenzino’s effort to be an artist instead of just another performer.
Unsurprisingly, the lyrics express Beenzino’s desire to break down societal walls and simply be himself, yet be appreciated for it. He has no time for people who try to restrict his voice, and this message comes through loud and clear in his powerful delivery. Everyone’s obsessed with measuring things and demanding uniformity, with Beenzino complaining that he just “wants to be crooked” – i.e. imperfect in the best way possible. He also contradicts himself repeatedly, alternately saying he wants to be penniless but also a maire. This contradiction does not matter to Beenzino: all that matters is that he gets the freedom to work himself out. In essence, Beenzino just wants “to become”, to experience the freedom of self-expression.
Beenzino’s new musical and visual style clearly reflects this desire to be different yet be loved, and “Break” is getting him closer to that goal of being a distinctive and popular artist. Coupled with his US tour, the future looks even brighter for Beenzino.
MV: 5/5
Song: 4.5/5
Tickets are still available for fans who want to catch Beenzino’s huge US tour, which you can get at Platinum K Shows. Which one of these gigs will you be attending?
Dec. 4 – Seattle, WA – Showbox Sodo
Dec. 5 – San Francisco, CA – The Factory
Dec. 9 – Dallas, TX – Granada Theater
Dec. 11 – Boston, MA – Royale
Dec. 12 – New York, NY – Stage 482
