If there’s a God of Music according to SEVENTEEN then member Hoshi must be the God of Manifestation himself. For those who tune into the group’s variety show Going Seventeen on YouTube, you might remember Hoshi’s hilarious moment during the ‘Scream in Silence’ game when he misunderstood the word “apple pie” for South Korean’s K-Hip-Hop trio Epik High. Tablo from Epik High then took it to X/former Twitter to share the humorous clip, joking about the trio’s similar process of coming up with their group name.

Two years later, the two acts finally got together to collaborate on the track “Screen Time” which was released on November 1. The track marks Epik High’s second release of 2023, following their EP Strawberry at the beginning of the year which included collaborations with K-Pop stars such as MAMAMOO‘s Hwasa and GOT7‘s Jackson Wang. For the SEVENTEEN performance leader, this marks his first featuring as a soloist. 

“Screen Time” is a melancholy song that shows off Hoshi’s unique and sentimental vocal tone alongside Epik High’s poetic lyrics. With a soft piano intro led by Hoshi’s warm sorrowful vocals, the track grieves the memories of an ex-lover by fixating oneself on their phone screen. Lyrics like, “Your smile was once an arrow that guided me/ Now it pierces my heart,” and, “Never mind my outfit of the day/You look good in everything/It's all right, your brand of happiness/Never fit me anyway,” tug at the emotional heartstrings and once again solidify Epik High’s genius lyricism. The repetitive chorus sung by Hoshi mirrors the fixation of the person constantly missing and thinking about their ex-lover. In the official music video, the moody color grading and mournful cameos by the Epik High members (Tablo, Mithra Jin, DJ Tukutz) and Hoshi effectively visualize the somber nature of the song.

Twenty years into their career, Epik High still proved themselves to be a quintessential act in the Korean music industry. The kismet collaboration that started as a joke between the legendary K-Hip-Hop trio and the talented idol from the record-breaking boy group is certainly one for the books. 

Check out the music video for “Screen Time” below and listen to the EP Screen Time which includes the original track, as well as its instrumental and voice-only version, on Spotify and other streaming platforms!