The King of K-pop has graced us with two new music videos on the day he returns with his first solo album since 2017. We’ve already heard the funky Power and nostalgic Home Sweet Home, and today’s stark Drama offered another nuance in his artistic palette. For the Anderson .Paak-featuring Too Bad, it seems all G-Dragon really wants to do is let loose and have fun. I can’t say I blame him!
In some ways, this is the track that most encapsulates GD’s solo debut era. From its spoken intro to the fun, colorful verses, there’s an ease and lightness to this song that feels like an artist simply playing around in the studio. It’s the slightest track of the four that have been promoted thus far, but may also have the widest mainstream appeal. Most of G-Dragon’s more idiosyncratic vocal tics are smoothed over, leaving the hook to .Paak. In fact, Too Bad kind of sounds as if it could have been part of an Anderson .Paak album rather than the other way around.
Me being a massive G-Dragon fan, I’m a bit greedy with his musical time and not overly interested in him ceding hooks to anyone else (unless they happen to be a member of Bigbang, of course!). Too Bad is boppy and bright and features a delightful video, but it doesn’t feel like a definitive piece of his discography. At two and a half minutes, the song is also over before you know it — never given the necessary time to develop into the funk floorburner it could have been.
Hooks
8
Production
8
Longevity
8
Bias
8
RATING
8