It has been over a year since Stray Kids released their single album, Mixtape: dominATE. Despite being a big fan of Stray Kids (I acknowledge I give them a lot more attention than any other group), I have yet to review any tracks from their Mixtape: dominATE. As the one-year anniversary has just passed, now would be a timely moment to review the tracks on it. The lead single is the Korean version of their 2024 Japanese single, GIANT (which I have yet to review but will do later). Alongside GIANT are unit tracks – this post focuses on HAN and FELIX’s Truman. Links to the other unit tracks (as they are released) are below the music video.

Of the unit tracks on Mixtape: dominATE drew the least amount of attention from me, despite being quite striking in its own way. This is mainly because Truman draws heavily on hip-hop, which is not my go-to genre. I am not anti-all hip-hop songs; it is just that the very serious tone and dark intensity make it hard for me to enjoy Truman. I do appreciate these elements to some extent, as they infuse the song with character and lend it a striking atmosphere within the EDM background (relative to the other unit tracks on the single album). The soft opening over a jazzy-esque background was nice, before the EDM kicks in and the pair change up Truman completely (similar to the plot twist that featured in the movie The Truman Show – the lyrics of Truman also draw upon the same material). FELIX’s presence at the start of the song was very distinctive, and JISUNG’s dynamic rapping (particularly in the second verse of Truman) shows me that this pairing is not to be messed around with.

While the song didn’t draw much attention from me, the music video did quite the opposite. Amid the dark hip-hop profile and the serious/intense atmosphere created by the song, the music video did creep me out a bit. The reason for this is the hooded dancers/figures that both HAN and FELIX rap around. And while their presence is similar to that of other background figures/dancers in other Stray Kids videos, it is the close-ups where you see nothing but a black void that gets me. Apart from that, both HAN and FELIX have quite a commanding presence throughout the video, which I am sure fans of the duo will like.

Song – 7/10
Music Video – 7/10
Overall Rating – 7/10

Burnin’ Tires – CHANGBIN & I.N | Truman – HAN & FELIX
ESCAPE– BANGCHAN & HYUNJIN | Cinema – LEE KNOW & SEUNGMIN