Asian Junkie Asian pop. Without discretion.
Rick Bridges is from Cycadelic Records and he dropped his first mixtape ‘Uncolored‘ at the end of September.
There’s so much terrible shit to wade through in Korean hip-hop (especially underground stuff) that it’s amazing every time I find one track worth the effort to write about. So the fact that I enjoyed this entire mixtape is quite remarkable.
Rick Bridges employs a flow that isn’t mumbly as hell and/or at the pace of a snail, and it’s the main thing that led to me enjoying the whole mixtape is the versatility, dexterity, and intonation he exhibits throughout. A rapper that can rap, basically.
“Get Down” itself was a standout for me because of its replayability. The xylophone sound that continues in the background is a surprisingly great combination with the bass, and how it transitions to the keyboard at times is done brilliantly, providing a quality instrumental background for everything to take place over. The hook repeating “get down” and “we on” definitely created something addictive that’s worth looking forward to.
“Burn” was fascinating to me right from the outset, and as much as I enjoyed “Get Down”, I think this was the best track. I felt this way mainly because it has this Asiatic country feel to it, if that makes sense, sort of like Bubba Sparxx but Asian or something. The instrumental is the star here, and Rick Bridges does it justice by effortlessly alternating between a more standard flow and a rapid-fire one. Then the chorus was reminiscent of something Bone Thugs-N-Harmony might’ve done, which invokes a feeling of nostalgia but more a relief that a catchy chorus that doesn’t rely on the instrumental exists.
“Later” is the trendy track that’s considered the best track, and I understand why. The tropical sounds are utilized well rather than relied on, and I enjoyed how the build itself was the chorus, instead of having a generic drop that I initially expected. Additionally, and perhaps most importantly, arguably his rapping is at its apex in this track.
“Alice” is a departure from what we’ve heard from him thus far. It sets a dark, creepy atmosphere reminiscent of the underworld or something, and the chanting chorus works here because it fits the instrumental perfectly. Quite frankly, I’d love to see this concept expanding into a music video, and that lets me know that the intent was executed well.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ew0p7DEcOHI
Overall it was just an impressive effort and definitely served its purpose of putting him on my list of rappers to watch. Hopefully he doesn’t fall into the shittier trends in Korean hip-hop and just sticks doing his own thing, as this was something I gladly would’ve paid for.
