The day has finally come, H1GHR MUSIC‘s ‘Red Tape’ is out. This compilation album is the first half of a two part series, and is a collection of 14 tracks carefully crafted by many of the H1GHR MUSIC artists. The second part, ‘Blue Tape’ is scheduled for release on 16th September.
Compared to the previous tracks that they have released in the run up to this release, ‘The Purge’ conjures up a darker, untethered sound, almost like each artist has unleashed a part of their wild side, resulting in the production of this cutting track.
GroovyRoom laid down the beat for this song, pushing out pop sounds in favour of the deeper buzzing synths and trap percussion. They successfully created a high-tension atmosphere for each artist to contribute to. Even though this instrumental has a repetitive beat and rhythm throughout, the levels and dynamics that GroovyRoom create through the production of this track display how skilled they are as a duo.
The song opens up with Jay Park bending these notes like I’ve never heard before. I don’t know if his intention was to sound like the main character in a horror movie, but he succeeded in sending shivers up and down my spine. It’s true talent to wield unworldly vocalisations like that.
pH-1 is the first artist on the opening verse and brings across a different side to him. I’m so used to his rap holding quite the passive vibe, but there is this roughness in his verse in ‘The Purge’ that I very rarely hear in his solo music and it’s so interesting for me to experience. I’m so used to hearing this almost gentler side of him so the switch is exhilarating and feels powerful (but my heart still is aligned with homebody Harry). Following pH-1 comes BIG Naughty who provides a contrast in tone with a softer approach. It almost sounds like he’s whispering which evokes this slightly unsettling feeling. The way he plays with the musical dynamics is really clever and adds a lot of character into his part.
Before Jay hits us again with his addictive and familiar hooks, Woodie Gochild arrives to snatch us all out of our seats. Personally I feel like Woodie Gochild won the song with his short segment. Goodbye autotune, you can go – I’ve heard Woodie’s true tone with that aggressive energy and I love it. My attention is well and truly caught. I just thought that the vibe that he brought to the track was completely transformative.
In the final run of the song we see HAON, who improves every single time I hear him – or maybe he is just equally as good every single time and I’m just impressed each and every time. His syncopation when he raps is so varied, and there’s one part where his rap sounds like a drill – it is so unbelievably impressive that he can spit lyrics like that. TRADE L follows with his, as ever, confident, strong and well-rounded sound. His clean delivery cuts straight through the track, bringing a slightly higher pitch for variation. Finally we have Sik-K, who injects the original Sik-K energy into this sound He unleashes the untamed potential from within himself to close the song before Jay’s part brings the high-energy back to earth.
This track is overwhelming in the amount of fire, passion and stamina that it brings out with this uninhibited nature coursing through from start to finish. It is very in your face and undeniably impactful. I love the direction that this compilation track is allowing some of the artists to go in, since some of them make more mellow solo music, though I do wonder if ‘Red Tape’ has all the rap-focused tracks and ‘Blue Tape’ is more vocal-focused? Either way, I’m really excited to find out more!
Favourite song from the album: H1GHR (Golden’s vocals = 100%) and Closed Case
Other RED TAPE posts:
Jay Park, pH-1, Sik-K, BIG Naughty, TRADE L, HAON, Woodie Gochild – How We Rock
In preparation for the release of the H1GHR MUSIC’s Red Tape on September 2nd, the global label has released another track ‘How We Rock’ comprising of the best and brightest rappers on the label as a follow up to last week’s release of their cypher ‘도착’. Whilst this song has a similar basis in terms…
Sik-K, pH-1, Woodie Gochild, HAON, TRADE L, Jay Park – 도착 (Cypher)
I…. cannot…. cope. This is the cypher I’ve been waiting for ever since I’ve watched H1GHR MUSIC sign up artist after artist to the label, and it both met and exceeded my expectations. I cannot stop smiling – that’s how you know something is an instant hit in my eyes. Of course, I’m biased, some…
Jei's Kulture Notes 
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