Hip-Hop Lives Here
Hip-Hop Lives Here
In another world, instead of being a member of BTS, Jin would front a pop-rock band, cushioning his vocals with guitar chugs and pounding drums. It’s the sound he’s favoured in all of his solo work so far, from his Coldplay-gifted debut solo single ‘The Astronaut’ to last year’s first solo album ‘Happy’. ‘Echo’, the follow-up to that latter record, continues carving out his place as a frontman, each track backed up by a band rather than digital layers of sound.
The solo projects BTS have released since 2022 have all been something of an exploration – what are each member’s individual artistic tastes and strengths, and how can they build on them away from the group? For Jin’s part, he’s used the time since he completed his military service last summer to dig deeper – not just find one niche of rock and stick to it, but adventure across its sonic spectrum.
Like ‘Happy’, ‘Echo’ reflects that. Across its seven tracks, it delivers everything from classic piano-led pop-rock to takes on alt-rock and country-rock. Not everything works – the sound of a horse neighing and a western saloon bar whistle at the start of ‘Rope It’ are far too on the nose and give the song a novelty feel right off the bat.
The pop-punk instrumental of ‘Loser’, too, feels by the numbers; a shiny, MOR pastiche of the angst that oozes out of the genre’s original sound. It lets down the snotty lyrics, that veer from almost mocking (“You love me, you miss me, you tell me I’m beautiful / Baby you need me, you don’t want to let me go”) to petulant (“Not a loser, loser / You’re a loser, loser,” featured vocalist IZ*ONE’s Yena sings) in a tale of a couple who can’t help but bicker.
Jin’s strength has always been the emotion his voice evokes, and that’s no different across ‘Echo’. On the glistening melancholy of all-English lead single ‘Don’t Say You Love Me’, he nails the pain and ambivalence of a relationship falling apart, while the people in it struggle to let go of each other. “Don’t tell me that you’re gonna miss me / Just tell me that you wanna kill me / Don’t say that you love me, ‘cause it hurts the most,” he sighs, acknowledging the sadness that comes with an amicable break-up. The stirring ballad ‘Background’ and the cinematic drama of ‘With The Clouds’ – one of several songs Jin co-wrote – also allow him to shine, his velvet tones combining perfectly with sweeping strings and glittering guitars.
‘Echo’ is an appropriate title for Jin’s second album. Following just six months after ‘Happy’, it’s not worlds apart from its predecessor but presents a slightly distorted, changed version of that record’s sound, like how an echo of a call reverberates off walls to create something familiar but new. He concentrates on polishing what he knows works for him – an important step for any artist in cementing their style. The results are varied, but this is just one frame of a much bigger picture of Jin’s solo career – one where he will undoubtedly continue to grow and prosper the more he leans into what suits him best.
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De La Soul’s tenth studio album is built around a steady and unwavering mission: to honour the life and legacy of founding member David Jolicoeur (also known as Trugoy The Dove) after his heartbreaking death in 2023. Speaking with NME earlier this year, MC Posdnuos remembered what Jolicoeur’s family told them at the funeral: “If y’all stop, Dave stops. We’re not putting necessary pressure on you, but we would love to see y’all continue on.”
The fact that De La have not shared a release since their Grammy winning 2016 album ‘And The Anonymous Nobody’ makes it clear that they only speak when they have something meaningful to offer. With so many layered emotions around grief, reflection, and legacy rising to the surface, this moment feels right for such a powerful return.
Drawing together an impressive gathering of talent, including iconic hip-hop figures like Nas, Slick Rick, Q-Tip, Pete Rock, Black Thought, and DJ Premier, all acknowledged in an extended opening roll call, Posdnuos and Maseo aim to craft an experience that fully pulls you in. With poetry and spoken word woven throughout, sweeping orchestral touches, and a clean, grounding narration from actor Giancario Esposito, ‘Cabins In The Sky’ attempts to capture the long process of facing Jolicoeur’s absence while firmly insisting on his lasting presence, expressed through lines like “When its Pos and Maseo you see, the magic will always remain three” (‘YUHDONTSTOP’).
One of the album’s most emotional moments arrives on ‘Different World’, which features poet Gina Loring and showcases some of Pos’ most exposed and heartfelt writing to date. Blending internal rhymes with a gentle flow that pulls you along, he shares: “Hard for me to cry, ‘cause I’m thankful… steering us through right and left turns / What we earn is another angel on our side.”
It is important to recognise that this album is not weighed down solely by sorrow or sentimentality. Instead, it stays grounded in the reality of the world we are living in now, offering plenty of new and outward-looking thoughts. On ‘YUHDONTSTOP’, Posdnuos reflects, “There’s high stakes being played around the world, and it’s understandable to be rooted in the present,” while also speaking honestly about De La’s place in contemporary American culture: “Some young ones don’t think we got that edge… Telling us ‘you a pioneer’ means you have American Pie nowhere near you.” Elsewhere, ‘A Quick 16 For Mama’ brings a tribute to the love and sacrifice of mothers alongside Killer Mike, and ‘Just How It Is’, which explores the story of a woman betrayed by her partner, highlights the deeper empathy and insight that maturity has given Posdnuos.
While De La Soul’s reflections on society are sharp and clear, the heart of this project belongs to David Jolicoeur and the space he has left behind. By examining the deep influence he had on their lives, both personally and creatively, the remaining members of the group shine a light on his essential contribution to American hip-hop and show exactly why they continue to be celebrated as some of the culture’s most cherished voices.
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