I really hate to be a broken record with the way I start off these reviews. But we have seen a lot of EXO lately. Just not as a group. Instead, EXO has been promoting continuously as stand-alone members, making their solo debuts and releasing special singles before enlisting into the military. However, today we enter very exciting territory, with the debut of a brand new subunit from the group. Consisting of Chanyeol and Sehun, EXO-SC makes their debut with What A Life. The pair have previously come together for the SM Station release, We Young, back in 2018.

What A Life delves into the hip-hop genre, the genre which heavily uses rapping in its songs. It is a pretty laidback and loose track, whilst other hip-hop tracks tend to be more hard-hitting and heavy. So I guess there is some potential in the track. But that potential isn’t referenced in any other part of the track. The instrumental is probably one of the most uneventful ones I have ever heard in KPOP. They just used the same synthetic xylophone synth thing over and over again. It just got really dry quickly. The rapping and vocals felt quite monotone. I had expected there to be some sort of change-up or development. But as the instrumental kept on going, the vocals and rapping just didn’t deviate from that tone. The song also didn’t have much of a hook. The main repetition of What A Life during the chorus was lacklustre. Put all of these elements together and you get the What A Life package. Maybe the song will grow on me if I was to remain hopeful. But as I continuously replay the song to write this review, I am growing more tired of it.

I am personally going to say the exact same thing regarding the music video. It is also a very dry video. It looked like a few things were thrown together to make what seems to be a ‘potential hip-hop music video’. Just the way these things were utilised in the video looked very dreary and uneventful. The models throughout the video don’t add to the video’s content. The sets just acted like backdrops chosen randomly. I also didn’t feel the hazy camera filter they had on, which made very look gloomy.

I can’t find a proper live performance for the comeback yet (i.e. showcase). However, EXO-SC did perform the track at the recent EXO concert (over the weekend). Not much dancing from the duo, who focused on the live aspect of the performance. Fair enough. In the music video, there seemed to be a little more choreography, which I think looked good. So I guess we have to see what the music shows will look like.

Song – 4/10
Music Video – 5/10
Performance – 5/10 [Will comeback to update. I promise!!]
Overall Rating – 4.5/10