Review: ITZY - M.A.F.I.A In The Morning
When I slowly got back into K-Pop in late 2018/early 2019 after years of hiatus, ITZY was one of the first major girl group debuts that I witnessed in the return. Their first three title tracks were all 9+, and I love Not Shy more than many did. Thus, M.A.F.I.A In The Morning was one of my most anticipated songs... until the teasers dropped. I mean, they were fine, but easily weaker compared to ITZY's previous comebacks.
M.A.F.I.A plays off a minimalist hip-hop groove, very Blackpink in its style. Actually, it is more trip-hop than hip-hop, with an overtly electronic beat. It is claustrophobic and lacks the elasticity needed for it to succeed. I am actually surprised this is produced by J.Y. Park, as it lacks the groove associated with him.
Warning: Digression incoming.
JYP Ent's group plan (use for all artists)
1. Debut artists with fresh, trendsetting, and interesting style which will instantly catapult them to stardom.
2. Give them a few comebacks to become fan favorites. Give them minor songwriting opportunities.
3. Realize they will leave the agency soon, give them bad songs.
4. Throw them in the dungeon.
5. Let fans wait.
6. Let fans wait even more.
7. Release a self-produced song for the group as they leave the agency after 7 years.
8. Collaborate with them. If they are women they are a romantic option with JYP in his MV, and if they are men, they are rivals for love in the MV.
Man, I wish that was not as universal as it is.
Sorry for that rant, but it is online, so I am not really sorry. The worse part of the song is the chorus, which is extremely repetitive and annoying, with a lame mafia analogy, unfortunately, at the same time, Italy is having a major mafia trial.
The lyrics also seem to be based on the game Mafia. And while I have had a blast playing it with friends, I am not sure it works for a romantic edgy girl cruch pop song.
Thankfully, ITZY is one charismatic group and has some great vocalists and rappers. They do their best to redeem the verses, and it shows. While the song is still borderline-unlistenable, it would unlistenable in the hands of many other groups. The pre-chorus especially is a bright spot, and I think that particular section is becoming ITZY's specialty.
Now, all we can do is hope that ITZY return to releasing unique music, and doesn't follow the JYP rules listed above.
Ah! I feel so bad liking it. But then again a 7 is alright I guess. In the morning is so bland but to be fair it is quite on par with a better BP song and a better NCT production than the worst of both worlds. This is quite universally the worst ITZY song of all-time. It is just bland, juvenile and unintelligible. I guess earattack and JYP is the one to blame for this.
ReplyDeleteWhere is GALAKTIKA? Can they comeback to producing ITZY? Also, don't worry, this won't be eligible for any award buzz, simply because this is bad. LIKE VERY BAD.
Don't feel bad about liking it. If everyone had the same taste in everything, than we would be living in an Orwell novel! Variety is the spice of life.
DeleteYeah, I am waiting for Itzy to work with Galaktika again, they seem to have the best overall idea on what to do with the Itzy sound.
Woah I have never heard of trip-hop before lol. I liked the song but it was interesting seeing your take on it. I hope Itzy can break away from JYP's rules and go back on track to their signature sound and charm.
ReplyDeletePlus, I had idea Italy is facing an actual major mafia trial?! I need to look up what happened!
Great to see you hear K.H, thanks for commenting!
DeleteTrip-Hop is a relatively unused term. It basically is electronic hip-hop. A lot of K-Idol Hip-Hop is more Trip-Hop.
Glad you liked the song! Can't wait till Itzy goes back to their old style.
Also, the mafia trial seems to be somewhat under-reported by the media. I guess in this crazy era, mafias in a trial seems somewhat mundane. I guess it is big news in Italy at least.
I have no idea why it's commented as 'Unknown' but it's blueraspberry syrup from "A Floating Realm in the Corner"
ReplyDeleteYou are not the first to note the Blogger commenting system being pretty goofy. I guess it is just one of the system's issues. A temporary fix for commenting I have seen is to comment as Name/URL when you are commenting, and enter your name and the URL for A Floating Realm In The Corner. It is not great in the long-term, but at least it eases your hassle a bit.
DeleteGlad to have you here in any way though!
The JYPe group plan - I am literally in tears because you did not lie. LOL. They really do act like that, I don't understand what their issue is.
ReplyDeleteI honestly like this more than Not Shy which grew on me only because of the ITZAAAAY part lol, but I totally get why everyone's disappointed. I keep listening to it a lot though, help haha. It's the pre-chorus I think.
I also wonder what is wrong with the JYPE group plan, a little too universal. The only group I can think that did not fully follow it in the recent era is probably Twice.
DeleteLol, the 'ITZAAAAY' shout was one of my favorite parts of Not Shy. I was part of the minority that actually like Not Shy a decent bit.
Yeah, the pre-chorus here is pretty good.