Song Review: Keyveatz – A1ㄱ

Mixtapes are all the rage for K-pop acts looking to build street cred. The thing is, “street cred” doesn’t really exist in K-pop and mixtapes function essentially the same way any other release would. Girl group Keyveatz debuted earlier this year with an abrasive hip-hop sound and double down on that with their mixtape A1 GO and its promoted track A1ㄱ.

A1ㄱ is indeed a hip-hop track. The girls are rapping and kind of singing, though these vocals are slathered in effects to give the song a slurred “we don’t really care” attitude that’s meant to come off as cool and imposing. The thing is, at this point it’s just a formula and while formula may work well in a pop setting it’s a horrible vessel for showing “authenticity.” I won’t pretend this release was ever targeted toward my taste and I can appreciate what it’s trying to do, but nothing about A1ㄱ makes me want to hear more and thankful at just over two minutes in length I don’t have to.

Grade: D+