[Review] WE GO UP – BABYMONSTER

BABYMONSTER also made their comeback last month with their second mini-album, WE GO UP, led by the title track of the same name (focus of this post). It is their first album release in almost a year, following their November 2024 DRIP studio album, which was led by the double title tracks DRIP and CLIK CLAK. But that wasn’t their last comeback to date. The group returned in July 2025 with the digital single HOT SAUCE (which, unsurprisingly, I have yet to review).

BABYMONSTER really establishes themselves in WE GO UP, an intense and hard-hitting hip-hop dance track. The verses reveal some powerful rap performances, while the rest of the song presents equally powerful vocal moments. This is BABYMONSTER’s strongest foot forward as a cohesive group, and really sells the group in my opinion. For the instrumentation, we get a mixture of electric guitars, synths that resemble church organs and a proud thumping beat to drive and propel WE GO UP forward. I am particularly drawn to those electric guitars, especially during the moments in the song when everything is stripped away, leaving just the guitars. The chorus lines feature repetition of the WE GO UP title, and I really like the punch this gives the song. One thing that I think WE GO UP would benefit from is an instrumental break. This could be something to really give the song that extra oomph and capitalise on the badass and intensity that WE GO UP exudes. Extra points if the dance break that corresponds does the exact same thing on stage.

WE GO UP‘s lyrics are about aiming to be on top. And what better way to depict that than multiple battles throughout the video? Essentially, we see the members battle and destroy the bad guys. The battle scenes are epic, featuring members participating in action movie-inspired fight scenes that involve guns, explosives and snipers; a katana sword fight; an underground boxing match; and even a supernatural/elemental fight. All of these result in the members coming out on top and being victorious, proving themselves to be ones to fear in the futuristic city. I really like that montage where each fight is drawn out like blown-out particles. There is probably a more technical term for this montage, but that really looked cool and epic (if the rest of the video wasn’t already enough).

The performance also taps into that epic nature and attempts to be bold. But I don’t get that from the moves. It is more a matter of the demeanour of the members, which is more of that hype nature commonly associated with hip-hop performances. I wished the moves matched that vibe, so that the comeback is well-rounded on all fronts.

Song – 9/10
Music Video – 10/10
Performance – 7.5/10
Overall Rating – 9/10