Where does true freedom come from? The fact is that one must be responsible in setting the boundaries between freedom and self-indulgence; to completely possess this freedom, one must not forget his own ways. In this linear process, the chains that someone put on another become memories of the past, and the free-moving limbs become the foundation of an extraordinary creativity. (This is) just like the way Jay Park is walking towards the general public. He seems to have grown wings of liberty after leaving the boundaries of a group. He shows us what true happiness is by making whatever music he wants to, regardless of the results or reactions of others; and is following the most desirable way to becoming an artist. It is true that, the music he makes without greed, is ironically the very thing that brings him good results. An uncommon face in mainstream music; that is perhaps why he brings a fatherly smile to those who keep an eye on him.

However, this path was not always happy journey. There are already a lot of artists who have dominated R&B or electrohouse, the genres he is aiming for. Artist Taeyang already uniquely dominates the domestic market, while there are Ne-Yo, Trey Songz, J. Holiday and will.i.am in the (American) market. They may be good rivals to (Jay Park), but their existence may also create a reason for him to be labelled as a “copy version”. I mean that this can become a new justification to attack him to those who do not see him with kind eyes. On top of this, pessimistic views about originality of nascent contemporary R&B or electronic pop have been explosive. In the US market, listeners have already begun to criticize these genres. The start of a movement against “copy” music that are indiscriminately having their own way under the name of “being trendy”. Amidst this double torture, Jay Park is in a difficult situation where he must achieve his musical ideal. However, the reality is not much of a barrier for him. He is learning to fight firmly without being shaken up by the people around him.
(omit image)
His first album, New Breed, is a great album if understood as an extension of the path of Jay Park. With the previously revealedNew Breed Part 1, which earned good reviews, there were two big focus points for this album. First was the issue of whether he was able to absorb the trend more as his own, as he had showed great potential with rhythmical yet emotional track, “Star”. Second is his ability to find the middle between the trend and the musicality; this had been shown in “Enjoy the Show” and “Up and Down” (omit). Looking at the tracks revealed in the new album, the two focus points are somewhat resolved – in a positive way. The title track, “Know Your Name”, is presented with excellence and makes the listener wonder if it had been saved to be released in a full-length album only. The track, which has a perfect proportion between the feel of a pop and the charisma of hip-hop, shows a very fast tempo yet is able to maintain a balance; the curiously addicting hook is charming enough to grasp the heart of the listeners right away.

“I Love You”, a collaboration with Dynamic Duo; “Wasted”, with unique-style rapper, Bizzy; and “Clap”, with top hip-hop artists, Tiger Jk and Tasha, are enough to satisfy the anticipation of the listeners. In particular, “Clap”, where the charisma of Tiger JK and Tasha are transparent, is outstanding enough to be the album’s title track; the ability of the three musicians to draw a Southern hip-hop-like line while keeping the weight is worth a thumbs-up. (omit). In addition, “Turn Off Your Phone”, which brings out a slow jam style in giving life to the real taste of R&B, and “AOM & 1llionaire”, which well embodies the trendy hip-hop sound with minimal beats are also must-hear tracks. (omit) The level of songs in this album are all well above satisfactory, reflecting the amount of effort he put into it. Of course, there is a problem of unity between the tracks due to much uniqueness in the color of the tracks and the featuring team. However, if the plan of producer Jay Park was to eventually make all songs a title track, then this is not much of a weakness.

He is calmly walking on the path of an artist. He does not simply walk on that easy road everyone talks about – this mentality is what allows him to very much enjoy a career that could be quite difficult. There is no set way to achieve a musical aim in the first place. As there are more people who agree with the way the he proposes, there is no need for him to find another solution. Know His Name, it seems that it is now the time to remember his name as an artist. His journey to find the perfect-fitting clothes has not ended yet. This is why anticipation builds up for the music that Jay Park will create in the future.
Music Critic Noh Jun-Young

SOURCE: Naver Blog TRANSLATOR: Lydia@JAYPARK.NET

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The reason that Take a Deeper Look (aka TADL) gathered so much attention was not because of the name value of “Jay Park the idol”. TADL was an album that contained a trendy R&B hip-hop color that was hard to meet in the Korean mainstream music market, and an album that most clearly showed the “winning streak” of the current global mainstream music market than any other. Of course, various opinions existed on this subject. There were cynical remarks about the album’s tendency to copy the American sound, and downgrading comments that claimed it was obvious because of his American influence. However, instead of laying down long and boring excuses, Jay Park broke through these negative views with his music. “Girlfriend” and “Demon”, the two singles released after TADL are the exact evidences: both songs exhibited outstanding perfectionism and succeeded in burying the negative criticism about him.

In reality, there are three paths in which a former member of an idol group takes after becoming a solo. First is to become an entertainer: they choose to shine their faces in various genres and succeed as an entertainer, rather than pursuing their career as a singer. They may gain support from various places in a short time, but it may not have the brightest future in the long run. Second is to continue on the path of a singer using the hit code that worked during the idol group days. This, again, may be easy to gain popularity in that they would have a friendly image to appeal to the public, but will have difficulties in the continuity of the career. The third is to place weight on the musical side, do the music that they couldn’t do when they were an idol and construct a confident career path.

This was done by Justin Timberlake from N’Sync, George Michaels from Wham! and Robbie Williams from Take That. The similarities of the three? They left a big impression in the market as male musicians with strong originalities and getting rid of their “idol star” suffix. It wasn’t an easy challenge, but the fruit of it was sweet. Looking back at the facts listed above, the critical turning point that Jay Park chose may be in the same direction as these exceptional artists.

The new album, New Breed Part 1, follows the direction that Jay Park has shown so far. With the trendy R&B and hip-hop as the background, he made possible the realization of the potential of mainstream K-Pop in this work. “Star”, created by Korea’s most talented R&B composer, JunGoon, became an issue due to its motive, which came from Se7en and Park Han-Byul’s love story – but what caught my eyes more was the skill of Jay Park to perfectly digest the slow jam feel of the song. It is definitely not easy to lead a fluent R&B track. It is also not easy to come out with a genre that is rare in Korea and make it into one’s own style. But Jay Park accomplishes it with a strong will. A deeply sensational voice that strictly removes excess emotions; listeners can do nothing but trust his musical skills. “Up and Down”, an upbeat R&B/hip-hop number, and the macho, energetic hip-hop “Enjoy the Show”, are both excellent hip-hop tracks but the writer focused mostly on “I Got You Back”, because it appropriately harmonises a K-Pop-like melody and an American trend. The melody of the song evidently portrays a typical, comfortable groove of K-Pop. But its beats and the organization reminds us of major artists like Ne-Yo and Chris Brown. This is an area that the K-Pop artists who debut in global music markets, as throwing away our style completely will only lead to assimilation. In contrast, if we keep our style too much, it will be hard to gain support. “I Got You Back” seems to suggest the most ideal ratio to the K-Pop songs.

Jay Park is an artist that one naturally learns to trust, without him having to say “Count on Me.” He is impressing the listeners with endless improvements, and his perfect understanding of the insight on musical trends is increasing his potential. New Breed Part 1 is the one shot that increases the concentration of one’s trust (for him). He is ready to become the “Bestie” of the general public.
Noh Jun-Young (Music Critic)

SOURCE: Naver Blog; TRANSLATOR: Lydia@JAYPARK.NET

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<Ahn Byung-jin> Albums that are too precious to let go in the first half of 2011: Jay Park’s Take A Deeper Look (EP)

Overestimate and underestimate are words that particularly get on one’s nerves. It seems that Jay Park, like other idol singers have both the over-decoration of fans and the underestimated critiques of critics. However, this album definitely shows that he isn’t just an idol singer but a promising child for “black” music. ‘Take A Deeper Look’ into the delicious features of Dok2 and The Quiett!

*other non-Jay related parts are omitted

SOURCE: Naver Music – Today’s Music ; TRANSLATOR: 7fsj@JAYPARK.NET
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Hi there.
I am quite cautious to leave a review in a gall of such a strong fandom. I leave a honest review after seeing Jay Park’s performance on TV and downloading his songs online.

 
Recently, K-pop is importing the international trend of electronics at the front line. It is quite inspiring of Jay Park to return with his favorite style of music, R&B, in this situation. Although the leading songs of the girl groups and their ‘hallyu’ wave are based on Electro house, originating from Europe, the main reason these songs capture the hearts of international fans is due to their appeal to the general public and the artistry. The European electro music style is highly various and deep; however, most were made for clubs thus they are long (the shortest song is seven minutes long) and some are quite hard to listen to lightly since they emphasize the artistic qualities of the DJ. However, Korean songs are edited very well, with refined melodies that grasp the trendy tunes.
 
So why am I suddenly talking about girl groups? It is because Jay Park’s ‘Abandoned’ is an Usher wannabe song. Some compare him with Taeyang but both Taeyang and Jay Park are Usher wannabes. Therefore, it is in fact meaningless to compare the two. To compare with Usher, this track (Abandoned) has the feel of Usher’s album back in 1997 – this is welcoming, seeing that Usher seems to be lost in the two-way road of R&B and club tunes these days. Anyhow, the fact that (Jay) created a track that is loyal to the basics of his style of music, instead of battling with poor club tunes, is to be highly respected. This shows his determination to do music that he likes, rather than going with the mainstream music.
 
I see frequently in numerous blogs that the track is rather boring; I think otherwise. Every song has its own philosophy and concept and ‘Abandoned’ pursues the extreme side of urbane music. Thus it cannot be bright nor have too much emotions. Some may say that it’s all bluff but R&B itself puts up a bare front. To say it nicely, the genre is refined, city-like and emotional but bluntly, it’s all bluff. However, I want to call it a refined, city-like sensibility. This kind of music does not work well yet in Korea since most Korean songs are still ‘뽕짝’ (bbong-jak; old Korean music style, very emotional though songs are upbeat). Whether it be rock, hip-hop, house, R&B, all Korean songs have this bbong-jak melody. (omit) I want to express it not as singing, but rather crying out with emotion. I’m not necessarily saying that this kind of music is bad; the problem is, this kind of music dominates 80% of K-pop. There is no variety. In this state, Jay Park’s song, which shows controlled sensibility with controlled vocals, is very appealing to people that love this kind of music.
 
In regards to Jay Park’s vocals, I believe that he is doing above average. The sound is not completely full, like that of Africans, but I believe that it will improve much if he refines his vocals which resemble the shallow yet emotional vocal of Justin Timberlake. I also believe that his voice fits very well to this kind of dance-R&B. Seeing his performance, showing that level of vocals while dancing is definitely above average for an idol singer.
 
In any case, in the world of K-pop that is divided into Korean bbong-jak and North-European electro started by SM, it was good to hear a track like ‘Abandoned’, an American style R&B that is abundant in the world yet so rare in Korea – and Jay, in addition, pushing his style of music without compromising with the reality. (The track is good to listen to) in terms of the song itself, the style and his philosophy. I do not know how well the songs are doing but I hope that, similar to Seo Taeji who brought the vanilla ice style to Korea creating a revolution, Jay’s style will rise up to the surface a bit more and become the starting point of the creation of more songs for listeners like me.
 
Thanks for reading a poor review.
 
SOURCE: dcgall; TRANSLATOR: Lydia@jaypark.net
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