A veteran of the music industry at this point, it’s pretty much a guarantee that a new release from B.I is going to be high quality. Watching his career from being a YG Entertainment trainee, to debuting as the leader of iKON, to being ousted from his position under questionable circumstances, and all the way up to the present day where he’s thriving as a soloist has truly been a wonderful outcome. The new 15-track album TO DIE FOR features the likes of fellow K-Hip-Hop behemoths, including Jessi, Colde, and BIG Naughty.

While there is no specific music video or title track release for this album, a series of episode films was released as a teaser and put together in a full compilation for the album release. Each episode shows one part of a full narrative that showcases the story of TO DIE FOR in a dramatic yet impactful storyline.

The album opens up with “TO DIE,” an eclectic rap track that has some retro hip-hop vibes mixed with a modern beat and subdued electric guitar. It’s an unusual musical combination, but it is particularly groovy. The song switches up halfway through to a slower tempo before launching into a new hip-hop-focused melody.

“Wave (feat. Kid Milli & Lil Cherry)” goes in a totally different direction, with dubstep and EDM influences strongly throughout the song. Honestly, the dubstep catapulted me back to 2011 when that was the most popular form of music. The track goes super hard and will undoubtedly be super nostalgic for those of us that lived through the dubstep era. If that’s not your vibe, “The Island of Misfit Toys” will probably be more your speed. This song is a more acoustic pop track that has a heavier focus on vocals over rap.

“Die for love (feat. Jessi)” follows this lighter music style, just with a bit more EDM influence in the beat. Jessi’s verse also isn’t quite as sharp as she usually is in her raps, which is an interesting side to her musical talents. “Dare to Love (feat. BIG Naughty)” stands out mostly for the use of steel drums, which gives the track a particularly unique feeling. “Beautiful Life (feat. CRYING NUT)” gives us yet another totally different musical composition, this time in the form of a high-energy pop punk melody. B.I’s vocals prove incredibly versatile so far in this album with just how starkly different many of the tracks are from one another.

“Cloud Thought” reverts back to the softer acoustic, vocal-heavy influences. “Truth” then appears with a much more somber tone and slower waltz tempo to create an emotionally impactful track, quite like a ballad but not quite as soft. There is an interesting addition of a trumpet solo in this song, which I found particularly intriguing. “MICHAELANGELO” brings us back to hip-hop, wrapping us back around to the start of the album. From this point on, the tracks are previous releases from the 2021 EP COSMOS, though not the entire album is added on. It goes in this order: “COSMOS,” “Nerd (feat. Colde),” “NINETEEN,” “Lover,” “Flame,” and “Alive.” Though these are previously released songs, their additions add even more musical flavor to the overall album.

You can listen to TO DIE FOR on all streaming platforms, and I highly recommend giving it a listen. There’s something for everyone to enjoy on this album.

Edited by Vivian N.