First Impression- Review #3: B.A.P. Debut Album-Warrior 

Now that that long title is done, B.A.P. just debuted on January 25th with their single and album titled “Warrior.” Even though they have just debuted as a group, members Zelo and Bang Yong Guk have released a single in a sub-group before and Bang Yong Guk has done two other solo projects.

About their name....B.A.P. which happens to stand for Best Absolute Perfect. The name seems like they just put the words to the letters after coming up with the word “BAP.” It’s a little odd. But maybe it’ll catch on. 

This will only be a review on the music tracks because the music video for Warrior and their live performance on Inkigayo (27th) will be reviewed later.

Another general comment, I was pleasantly surprised when I saw their music video and realized “Hey wait! It’s not just another cute boy band debuting! This may actually be good!” *COUGH* Boyfriend *COUGH* (Every time I hear that song I cry inside, I’m not even kidding) 

Intro- Burn It Up

I actually heard Warrior first, so when I think about the two songs, they sound very similar to me, which would make sense. Similar to other intros, doesn’t really have many lyrics. It does have English in it though but it’s that thing where I’m not sure if they are speaking English sometimes or Korean. *cough* Big Bang’s TOP *cough* But it’s not terrible. (And I’m a fan of intros in general... ^^) 

2 : Warrior  

Already listened to it more than once because I thought it was so catchy. However.. 

The beginning English confuses me again. What can we do? English in Korean songs.... -__- (What’s your B? What’s your A? What’s your P? I’m sorry, but that makes absolutely no sense to me) 

I like the mix of singing and the rap excerpts. I think the chorus is very catchy and after one time of hearing the song I already had the chorus part stuck in my head. It’s not one of those really annoying choruses that you get stuck in your head either *COUGH* Teen Top’s Supa Luv *COUGH COUGH*  What? I said nothing.

The beat is also catchy and not annoying... *cough* EXO’s What Is Love *cough* (that’s another review entirely) although...both beats or instrumental backgrounds are completely different from each other in feeling and what they are trying to portray. 

3 : Unbreakable 

The beat starts at the very beginning of the song, kind of light, and then builds up in the first 15 seconds. I’ve noticed a large use of “Hey!” “Uh!!” “Break it down,” quite classic.  

I don’t know why, but this song gives me a kind of old school American boy band feel with the chorus but a completely different feeling with the low rap. To me, the rap in the song doesn’t really fit as well as it did in Warrior, because it has a slightly different feeling. Though, this is the song that made me realize that Zelo and Bang Yong Guk remind me of another pair of rappers in the industry.... *cough* G-dragon TOP *cough* 

I think my opinion of Bang Yong Guk’s low rap voice is going to be ever-changing...

The english in the song is pronounced fine, and they even spell out “unbreakable” twice in the song! 

I think the vocals fit well with the song though. There are some high notes in the latter half of the song, near 2:30. This song is a little less catchy than Warrior in my opinion. 

4: 비밀연애 Secret Love (Ft. Song Jieun of Secret)

The song’s base in guitar, different from the other songs which have a stronger beat featuring. The feeling of this song is different from the previous two songs as well, more mellow. The rap is less “in your face” and more laid back and minimal. 

I think it would be an overstatement to say that the song is trying to “feature” vocals, because I haven’t heard really amazing vocals from the group yet. And Jieun’s vocals aren’t really shown off either. 

When Zelo’s rap came on again... I had a flash to G-Dragon. I have a feeling this may be happening with other people listening to their music just because Big Bang is so well known and G-Dragon/TOP are extremely famous. 

Was I the only one who found the fact that Song Jieun from Secret would be featuring in Secret Love amusing? It was probably just me. Anyways, it would probably be time to note that rapper Bang Yong Guk did a song with Jieun before, Jieun’s “Going Crazy” which I listened to a while back and enjoyed that song too.

Overall this song didn’t have as big of an impact as the other songs, because I think their image and style really works well with the first 1-2 tracks and maybe the third track “Unbreakable” as well. We will see how they perform in the future, and I’m looking forward to it. A review of their performance and music video soon!

Well I think I had a cough fest today, but perhaps some of you will get my many references :)