Recently, the most active label in the rap industry is MDSK, Huang Xu started his first round of touring, and Li Daben also handed over an album containing 30 high-quality works.
Just yesterday, MDSK's big general and handsome rap representative Manshuk finally released his new album "StarDust Stardust".
Manshuk is almost a career spree in the rap circle, and unlike some rappers who can't move around, every once in a while, he releases his latest developments.
From touring to music festivals, from MVs to VLOGs, from singles to Cypher, whether it's on social media, on music platforms, or in Live House, you can be busy with Manshuk.
And this "StarDust Stardust" is a work created by Manshuk in this busy background with his free time.
You know, Manshuk's last EP was released at the end of last year, and there were several singles interspersed in the middle, such a creative speed, please ask other rappers in the rap circle are still interested in pigeons?
In this relaxed and comfortable atmosphere, it is often possible to depict the most sincere and delicate feelings in the heart of a creator.
Under Manschuk's soft brushstrokes, he wants to present a grand theme, exploring man and man, man and the world, and the relationship between man and the universe.
"When we look macroscopically, we see the starry sky, we see the universe, we see the dust of the universe. But looking at us from the cosmic perspective, we are also the dust of the universe. ”
In Manshuk's eyes, man and the universe are both independent of each other and integrated, and he integrates this concept of unity and contradiction into the album very well.
As we said before, if the concept of an album is more abstract, it can leave a large creative space for the creator.
At the same time, such a concept also requires the creator to have a better control over the overall album, otherwise it is easy to deviate from the theme and make it into four different.
From the album's intro, you can feel Manschuk's control of the overall atmosphere from the musical elements: obvious electronic dance music elements, urban pop elements, grand rhythm instruments and dreamy starry ambient sound.
Behind these musical elements is an interpretation of the abstract atmosphere and musicality of the album, which Manshuk travels through like the brightest stars in the night sky.
"Attraction" is the first song for Manshuk's new album, the music video of this song is very interesting, Manshuk plays a role in an infinite loop that constantly tries to complete his task, which is very visual sense of the movie "The Night the Comet Came".
In the MV, Manshuk's task is to bring back the album safely, and on the album shelf, he pays tribute to the well-known albums of EMINEM, LinKin Park and many other musicians, which is also a small Easter egg.
The song itself is based on funk, plus some pop elements. Manshuk blends funk's rhythms with popular melodies very well.
In Funk's strong rhythm and jumping synth, Manshuk added a lot of piano space to neutralize the atmosphere very well.
Funk's melody itself is very directional, and it is not very friendly to hip-hop works that are biased towards atmosphere. Manshuk chose to incorporate the piano into it, changing the tone of the song from passionate to bright, an emotional shift that was more appropriate for him.
At the same time, his flow control is also just right, the verse rhymes catchy at the same time, choose a strong rhythm and fast speech speed to perform a relatively soft melody, and the same as the arrangement, this neutral effect, got a very good result.
Like "Attraction", there is also the work "Trust Nobody", which is a pure dance song compared to the funk of "Attraction".
The use of a large tone as the opening of the prelude already indicates that this is a passionate dance party, and in a relaxed and pleasant atmosphere, this hard trumpet sound runs through the entire song.
What's even more interesting is that in this dance-oriented work, Manshuk did not choose to sing some barra lyrics, but expressed his trust in his team YoungJack TEAM.
YoungJack TEAM and the team that has been quietly paying since last year's Manshuk 30 City Tour, this album is also indispensable to their hard work, to have such a team, but also proves that Manshuk is not just a rapper now.
"And my brother gang burned mottles, igniting the flames of war so that they were powerless to refute it." This rapper's self-made feel is simply amazing.
The album "StarDust Stardust", since it is exploring the relationship between man and the universe, is also indispensable to some bold musical attempts.
"North Wind" is one such piece, blending the rhythm of The Drill in the pop melody, and these two seemingly completely incompatible styles are very well integrated by Manshuk.
The Hihat in Drill itself is relatively light, and in the guitar melody of this song, this Hihat fits very well.
Manshuk's flow in this song is also quite silky, with triplets and melodies, showing the determination of the north wind after the breakup.
Recently, the rap circle seems to have been involved with rock and roll, and there have been a lot of works that have merged with rock and roll, and Manshuk also made a song "Muddy" on the album.
Compared with the shoddy production of some young rappers, although manschuk's song is called "Muddy", it can be said that the content is very delicate, and the emotional gradualness can be clearly heard.
With the shallow chant of the piano, coupled with a less aggressive flow, the mood of the whole song became higher and higher as the orchestration was laid, and finally exploded at hook.
"Don't want to be pessimistic, don't look at the sadness and joy, the wound does not need to heal, but the entertainment to death, the end of the song and the discrete fit." 」
In the lyrics, Manshuk speaks of frustration, of thinking about confusion, and of the redemption he finally found in frustration.
Finally, there are pure Hip-Hop works on this album, which also means that in the process of continuous integration, Manshuk has not forgotten his original intention.
"Heating Up" is such a work, as a Trap, a relatively high BPM accompaniment, plus some rush of the background, the rest of the flow and lyrics, Manshuk is simply handy.
Such a cool and dragging work is Manshuk's area of expertise, and in the lyrics he does not blindly say some unnourishing words, but uses his own experience as an example to tell the audience that as long as you work hard, you can also succeed.
Although there are some ostentatious parts in the lyrics, but not to make the audience bored, this kind of scale is what rappers in the rap circle need to consider.
Listening to the whole album, my first feeling was that Manshuk had "changed".
Compared with the consistent dashing image he showed in "Rare and Dashing" before the end of last year, his delicate expression this time is actually a side that we rarely see, and this change in expression is what we as listeners are willing to see.
But at the same time, the album wasn't perfect.
The theme of stardust itself is very grand, and Manshuk chose a delicate expression to create a dreamy sense of atmosphere, but at a higher level of discussion, it is slightly lacking in this album.
There are also tropical dance music such as "Different" on the album, and the quality of the single itself is good, but when it is related to the theme, it is somewhat incongruous.
In addition, with such a lofty theme, the direction of the album is still more inclined to pop, which will certainly be accepted by the audience to the greatest extent, but I think it is not as free as "Rare and Dashing", which seems a bit conservative.
But in any case, Manshuk is still improving and seeking a breakthrough, which is a good thing.
Too many people in the rap circle, after becoming famous, form a path dependence on their own famous works, and repeatedly immerse themselves in the existing architecture to create.
Manshuk is the kind of rapper that jumped out, not only musically, but also careerly. While the performance is uninterrupted, we do not forget to create, and at the same time build our own team. Perhaps in the near future, we will still see the commercial map of Manshuk.
Although there are still flaws in the music, although everything is not perfect, these will not hide the dazzling things on Shuk, he is still a bright star.