It has been a week since my last Stray Kids’ side track review. And as alluded in that review, there are a few more music videos before I can finally post my thoughts on their ★★★★★ (5-STAR) studio album. Today, I am reviewing the single TOPLINE, which features the Korean hip-hop legend and royalty Tiger JK. TOPLINE is ★★★★★ (5-STAR)’s fifth track.

As I say constantly, the hip-hop/rap genre is not my personal cup of tea. But even I have to see what the likes of Stray Kids and the legendary Tiger JK sounds like. It comes as no surprise to me that TOPLINE sounds like another hype hip-hop track. It carries the energy that Stray Kids is known for, while also allowing the rappers (including Tiger JK) to show off their skills. More specifically, TOPLINE is described as a minimalistic boom bap, old-school and East-Coast hip-hop track. Naturally, the rappers shine in this song. Needlessly to say, Tiger JK’s featuring was very clear and crisp. His flow was amazing and definitely added some finesse to the track. As for Stray Kids’ themselves, I particularly enjoyed HAN’s rapid and clean delivery in this song. But Hyunjin’s slurring is quite interesting and had more impact, while Changbin’s punctuating delivery is very much in his wheelhouse. Felix’s deep voice just adds flourishes to TOPLINE that pays off and gets the track grounded when it hits energetic peaks. The rest of the members handle the vocals. They don’t have much material to work with, but they managed to mirror the energy of the rappers quite well in the chorus. TOPLINE is a successful collaboration between two generations of Korean artists and a highlight on the album.

My overwhelming initial impression of the video is that it reflects TOPLINE‘s intensity very well. The music video features the members in a very confident demeanour throughout the video. The song is about the members being at the top, and so having the money (which probably represents their net worth and successful thus far) rain down from above is definitely behaviour that one can only indulge in when they are top tier. The video also shows the members at heights (like on top of shipping containers and on the edge of the building, above everyone else) and up there in the hierarchal chain (i.e. underlings counting their money for them). Higher heights would have been cooler. The hype energy and the fire further emphasises the tone and intensity of the song, respectively. What I thought was rather interesting was the contrast between Stray Kids and Tiger JK. He too brought intensity to the video with his cameo, but does so in a more laid-back and easy-going manner, whilst Stray Kids was moving about and flailing their arms a lot more in comparison. I put it down to the fact that is his style, but it also goes to show how a legend does it.

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