On top of focusing on solo artists this weekend, I also want to also look at a new artist that I have never reviewed before. The artist who I am talking about is Jessi, who is known for her variety show appearances and the single NUNU NANA. On a quick side note, NUNU NANA scored Jessi Best Rapper and Best Female Soloist Choreography in the 2020 KPOPREVIEWED Awards. NUNU NANA was on the list for review back when it was first released last year, I never got around to writing a review and have since dropped writing anything for the song (but that doesn’t mean I won’t choose to cover it in the future). But I made a promise with myself to review her next single, whenever that might be. Well, Jessi made her comeback less than a month ago with the single, What Type of X, so it is time for that long-awaited Jessi review.

For those who don’t know, I am not a major fan of hip-hop or rap based songs. However, there is always exceptions for everything and I have enjoyed my fair share of songs from those genres and styles. What Type of X is another song to add to that exception list. You probably can guess (if you have stuck around my blog for enough) that one of the reasons to why I enjoyed What Type of X is because of the instrumentation. There is a fair bit going on in this instrumentation, from the very badass guitar work introduction, to the upbeatness the percussion throughout the verses, to the powerful and memorable synths that made up the chorus, to the impactful and relentless nature of the instrumentation from the point of the song’s climax. Everything came together quite dynamically and screamed out confidence. And if the confidence wasn’t as explicit from the instrumentation, then we can refer to Jessi. Jessi’s name is probably synonymous to the word confidence in the Korean industry. She is not afraid to be go out there and be different, and you can tell that from the song and her performance (something which I will touch on later). Her delivery shows just that, with her husky and raspy voice really coming out throughout her vocal parts. I also find her rapping voice to be so seductive during the bridge. What makes What Type of X even better are all the catchy lines we get throughout the song, adding memorable points to the song. I also find the song’s English lines (such as ‘I am a different type of beast‘ and ‘Thanks to my ex, I am onto the next‘) to be very captivating and memorable. Overall, Jessi gave us another solid song in the form of What Type of X.

As mentioned above, Jessi showcases her confidence throughout the music video, just like in the song. You can tell that she is not afraid of others talking about her as she performs in the video. And this confidence works extremely well with the song’s lyrics. Out of all the sets in this video, the chess board is probably my favourite. Jessi also looks stunning throughout the scene, especially with that headpiece on and her black outfit, representing the queen on the chessboard. The horse masks the dancers wear are slightly frightening, but they work extremely well with the rest of the scene. The rest of the sets looked typical at best, but still good. One disappointing factor was that they CGI in the falling money in one of the scenes. It just didn’t look at as cool as the rest of the video.

One of the things about NUNU NANA that caught on quickly was the iconic choreography. What Type of X followed up with something that feels like it should be just as iconic. The image of the start of the chorus where everyone is bending backwards is effectively ingrained into my mind. And every time I listen to the song, it is what I vividly imagine. It is cool and it also makes a statement, which is something you would want to do with a song like this. I wished the rest of the performance had that same feel though.

Song – 8.5/10
Music Video – 8/10
Performance – 8/10
Overall Rating – 8.3/10