ASTRO’s JinJin Shows Dark Side in Solo Debut “Like a King”
ASTRO’s leader and rapper JinJin surprised fans with a darker image in a fresh collaboration with SUPERBEE and myunDo in the song titled “Like a King.” The collaboration is a part of Fantagio Music’s FM201.8 digital single monthly releases.
We usually see JinJin in ASTRO’s brightly colored music videos, rapping and dancing to cute and happy songs, but in the “Like a King” music video there is no doubt that JinJin can pull off the darker, mature concepts. Fans of ASTRO have seen JinJin slowly change from the blond hair and ever-changing colored bangs during their debut era in 2016 to rocking the darker colors, setting a completely different vibe in concept.
The song was produced by Dok2 and has a strong hip-hop sound. The lyrics are about, to no one’s surprise, being the best in the business, spending money, and living that YOLO life. Though it is a rap song, the vibe changes a little bit in the chorus. Auto-tune is used as an effect in the chorus, but unlike many other cases of auto-tune, this is not overdone or exhausting to listen to. The instrumental does not change much throughout the song, but the music builds up a little for the part before the chorus and then it goes back to the same speed again.
The music video got a dark concept with different colored neon lights as the main light source. The video is set in what looks like a bar and outside on a rooftop. There was one scene in particular that really caught my attention. There is a part in the video that was filmed in two different ways, one where they filmed JinJin’s reflection in the mirror and one where they filmed him standing next to the mirror. It adds something extra that makes the video more interesting to watch.
It’s clear that even though this is a collaboration with two other artists, the main focus is on JinJin, and the response from the fans in the comment section and other online platforms is about JinJin.
Many AROHAS are hoping that ASTRO will do a similar concept like the one we see in the “Like a King” music video.
The only question left to ask is who is next in the monthly releases from Fantagio Music’s FM201.8?