"Chisa Bounce" With M.I.B

“M.I.B is back.” Hip-hop quartet M.I.B has made their comeback with the album, The Maginot Line. Headed up by “Chisa Bounce,” the group has returned to their hip-hop roots. While their last single, “Let’s Talk About You” was more on the emotional side, “Chisa Bounce” comes out on the other side. Like many recent songs from hip-hop groups, idol or otherwise, M.I.B has exploded with irreverence and cynicism about not only the hip-hop industry, but also the idol industry.

It’s not difficult to imagine that being a hip-hop group is complicated in the K-pop world. Dealing with the constant expectations to make lyrics marketable and have a perfect image are heavy weights to carry. M.I.B has had enough of such things and the unfairness of the industry. The group is announcing to the world that they are back and will keep doing things their way.

If you don’t like M.I.B’s music, then the group invites you to say so and to stop listening. In a similar vein, outside artists are encouraged to watch. M.I.B is beckoning to the little guys in the industry and calling out the elite and rich. They see those on top as cruel and thieves, of which the group wants no part. In the end, M.I.B will keep excitedly moving forward, and wants us all to “chisa bounce.”

As for the music, “Chisa Bounce” is a driving, electronic hip-hop track. With a banging bass line, the song drives forward and makes you, well, want to bounce. The song begins with a simple low range synthesized line, that’s mirrored by Kangnam’s vocals and 5zic‘s background statements. For extra emphasis, the bass lines and melody lines drop out at certain parts, particularly during bridge sections and transitions between chorus and verses. The song even adds a hi-hat and cymbal line to keep the song revving forward and upbeat.

Once the beat drops, the effected vocals stop, and we’re hit with the group’s natural voices. SIMS actually sings in “Chisa Bouce,” which isn’t unusual for M.I.B, since they’ve used the rappers as vocalists before. The distinctive voices of the rappers add an extra flair to the hook. The “ch, chisa” sections remind the listener of the sound one makes when blowing off a person or situation. Expressing M.I.B’s focus on not dealing with the industry standard, the part is a symbolic “screw you.”

The MV is colorful, yet simple. Throughout the MV, you see references to last year’s banger “Dash.” The group bring back the black outfits for a split second, and also bring the memory erasers with them. The beginning of the MV is a bit strange though. Random objects and the members doing awkward moves are simply out of place.

The members each have roles. Kangnam is clearly the “pretty” member. No other member would look quite as outstanding amongst a mass of pastel umbrellas. Cream has taken the role of a mad scientist, who apparently is cooler than any professor you’ll see in college, which his braids, dog tags, and leather ball cap. However, the colander helmet takes away most of his cool points.

5zic is a pimp, or maybe just the man in charge. Either way, he exudes power sitting in a leather chair, smoking a cigar, while yelling at the media. SIMS apparently got left in “Dash,” seeing as he’s being restrained and having his memory erased by the other members. I suppose he’s a high priority alien if those eye contacts are any indication.

Even hip-hop artists can work some pastels and bright colors. Shucking the black suits from last year, M.I.B brings out their inner color wheels. Sporting reds, blues, greens, and yellows, the guys are stylishly simple. Even though they are sporting suits, they keep it casual with t-shirts and sneakers.

Once again, M.I.B is back with their lazy dance style. Naturally, there aren’t any expectations of the group to suddenly bust a move on stage. That’s simply not their thing. However, their way of dancing is catchy in its effortless laziness. With “Dash,” we had the easy shoulder dance, which M.I.B cleverly alludes to in “Chisa Bounce.” Okay, we get it. The group clearly wants to remind us of “Dash.” Makes a bit of sense, since the song is also included in Maginot Line and was a fun MV.

With the signature move being a look-to-the-side while standing nonchalantly, there’s not much else happening. But, that’s typical M.I.B. Kangnam does provide a bit of a break with his rather hilarious “train engine” move.

“Chisa Bounce” is M.I.B in all their glory. Fun, yet lyrically confrontational and anthemic, the song expresses the group’s plans for their future: doing it the M.I.B way. The MV is visually bright and a bit weird, but fits in with the style of the song. Although the song would do well with live band instrumentation, it’s still a song that will make you nod along, or rather “chisa bounce.”

MV/Song Rating: 4 out of 5.

(M.I.B, YouTube [1])