ARrC Hopes for an “awesome” Future in Third EP
Photo: ARrC Official X
No matter what kind of day unfolds, ARrC is here to tell you that everything will turn out awesome. The sextet released their third EP, HOPE, on July 16 with the intention of creating positivity for youth. Kien, Hyunmin, Choi Han, Andy, Rioto, Doha, and Jibeen continue their 2000’s hip-hop sound with their newest title track “awesome.” With a multicultural group and an equally multicultural-inspired music video, ARrC shows that hope is a universal wish.
TRACKLIST:
“awesome”
“dawns”
“kick back”
“vitamin I”
“night life”
A 2000’s Song for a 1980’s Aesthetic
Much like ARrC’s previous title track “nu kidz,” “awesome” uses a 2000’s hip-hop beat to help youth find optimism in unfortunate situations. Even if you end up “missing the bus by two seconds” or “forgetting an umbrella on a rainy day,” a positive attitude can shake off these mishaps. ARrC encourages listeners to “laugh it off” and keep going with a smile.*
The song and its music video mixes aspects from many cultures. Musically, “awesome” combines early 2000’s American hip-hop and takes inspiration from “Hope,” a song by Canadian prog-rock band Klaatu. Klaatu’s “Hope,” also the name of the band’s second album from 1977, says that the world relies on hope for innovation. According to a press release from Helix Publicity, the music video for “awesome” references 1980’s Japanese school films and shows ARrC encountering creatures wearing masks from South Korean, Indonesian, and Portuguese folk cultures. These creatures, the five Dokkaebi, wear traditional South Korean Hahoe masks, Portuguese Careto masks, and Indonesian Barong masks—with the first two bringing misfortune and the latter fighting against evil, the music video represents these traditionally unlucky entities as having their fates turned around.
Check out the rest of the HOPE EP for more lively songs. The nu jazz, soul, and funk song “dawns” features the first song-writing credits for rappers Hyunmin and Choi Han, and the following track “kick back” showcases a mix of DnB with bossa nova. “vitamin I” also fuses multiple genres, including hyperpop, hip-hop, and electro-funk. The last song, “night life,” sounds like a mellower version of the Kerning City theme from Maplestory: this jazzy, R&B-influenced song that winds down the EP.
*Note: lyrics taken from the English captions in the official music video.
Edited by Joi Berry