Ever since her debut, BIBI has been known for pushing the boundaries of what’s acceptable in the Korean music scene. Without the usual restrictions of the K-Pop industry imposed on her artistry, she is free to explore many different ways of artistic expression in a way we will just never get with tried-and-true K-Pop. And with pre-release single “Animal Farm,” we see her going even more violent than she ever has before.

If you’re just listening to “Animal Farm” alone without viewing the music video, it is easy to be immediately captivated by the waltz-influenced R&B track topped with BIBI’s gorgeous vocals. At first listen, the 3/4 time signature definitely caught my attention, and the building crescendo of vocals into the chorus is almost haunting. BIBI never ceases to amaze me with her vocal talents, and they’re absolutely on full display in this song. There is an instrumental break about two-thirds of the way through the track that has a heavy strings focus, and it’s delightfully unexpected when the violins are joined by an electric guitar solo. All of these combined elements in three minutes make the song incredibly unique and incredibly addictive. The lyrics do seem to be a deeper statement on the hypocrisy of society, specifically high society, for those who enjoy a meaningful track.

Now, the music video…it’s definitely not for the faint of heart. Trigger warning for blood and gore as a heads-up. BIBI unleashes her inner Kill Bill in this music video, providing us with movie quality cinematics in a four-minute piece. The video opens with BIBI sat on the center of a table like a suckling pig, surrounded by a beautifully elegant dinner set up with masked men and what appears to be pig-faced men at the head of the table. As a distortion accompanies the title of the song while BIBI bites down on the apple in her mouth aggressively, the scene quickly shifts to her walking in a white dress across the elegant dinner party. There’s no hint of what is to come from these opening shots aside from BIBI’s sharp gaze focused on a katana on a side table. And then all hell breaks loose. 

From this point, she rushes forward and slices the head clean off the pig man at the head of the table, which coats her in gushing red blood. She proceeds to cut down at least 20 other men brutally and very graphically (again, not for the faint of heart), and in the end, we see her skin and white dress stained with blood as she grabs an electric guitar and plays it among a shower of blood. Unexpectedly metal as hell. If you are interested in viewing the video yourself, it is here, but likely age restricted for how graphic it is. 

Even for someone like me who is particularly sensitive and adverse to gory imagery, it’s easy to agree that there is a lot of power in this BIBI release. There’s a strong message to be conveyed, and the music video does it through extreme metaphorical means. BIBI is a stellar creative artist, and she continues to prove it with each release.

Edited by Aleena Faisal